News – Page 10 – Robotics Center

Prof. Jake Abbott receives funding for two-handed large-workspace haptic interface

The Utah Robotics Center recently added two 7-degree-of-freedom Quanser HD^2 haptic interfaces to the shared Large Robotics Lab (valued at $191,800). This equipment purchase was made possible with an award from the University of Utah Research Instrumentation Fund, lead by Prof. Jake Abbott, combined with generous academic discounts from Quanser. A haptic interface is a robotic force-feedback human-input device used to interact with virtual environments and teleoperate remote robotic systems. The haptic interface system will support research from robot-assisted retinal microsurgery to robotics for nuclear applications and nuclear facilities. The new equipment will be shared by the Robotics faculty in the Department...

Computer Vision Faculty Search in School of Computing

School of Computing – Tenure-Track Faculty Position Openings The School of Computing at the University of Utah seeks applications for multiple tenure-track faculty positions at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning Fall 2016. Exceptional candidates at higher ranks will also be considered. Applications in all areas of computer science are encouraged, but the School is particularly interested in the following areas of expertise: Computer vision Computer security Computer architecture The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I Institution, and the School of Computing is an exciting, growing school with a 50-year history of excellence in computer science education,...

New mechanical engineering building dedication featured F-35 flight simulator in Utah Large Robotics Lab

As part of the dedication ceremonies for the new home of mechanical engineering, the Rio Tinto Kennecott Mechanical Engineering Building (or MEK for short), a Lockheed Martin F-35 flight simulator was on display in the Utah Large Robotics Lab. The simulator was available to those interested in experiencing some of the capabilities of America’s new fighter jet. Read more here: http://www.sltrib.com/home/3034548-155/i-flew-americas-new-fighter-jet ...

Jake Abbott 2014 Researcher of the Year

Based on annual faculty activity report data, as well as proposal and grant data, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to recognize Prof. Jake Abbott as our researcher of the year. Jake is well-known in the robotics community for his work on magnetic manipulation, haptics, and telerobotics. The application of his work includes medical microrobots, magnetic guidance of a cochlear implant and robot-assisted rehabilitation. For more information about Jake’s research, visit http://www.telerobotics.utah.edu....

Prof. Leang and collaborators receive new $3.8M NSF funding to work on electroactive polymer materials for soft robotics

Kam Leang in collaboration with UNLV-led team (Kwang J. Kim and Paul Oh) and other researchers receive new $3.8M NSF funding to work on electroactive polymer materials for soft robotics. Goal and Objectives: This international project addresses a technologically important issues in soft robotics. Soft robotics is an important emerging field in robotics, mechatronics, and automation. Soft robotic components and systems offer new features and advances over conventional robotic devices. This project focuses on the creation of advanced multifunctional artificial muscles (AM) based on new polymer-metal composites which can be used in soft robotic applications. Artificial muscles can be transformative for...

Prof. Meek receives new NIH grant to work on Quadrupedal Human-Assistive Robotic Platform (Q-HARP)

NRI: Collaborative Research: Quadrupedal Human-Assistive Robotic Platform (Q-HARP) Prof. Meek receives new 3-year $119,523 NIH grant to work on Quadrupedal Human-Assistive Robotic Platform (Q-HARP). Aging of the population has become a long-term trend in the United States. According to The State of Aging and Health in America, the U.S. population aged 65 and older is expected to double during the 25 years following 2007, and there will be 71 million American older adults, accounting for approximately 20% of the U.S. population by 2030. For the health and wellbeing of older adults, a key factor is being physically active. However,...

Prof. Leang receives NSF grant to work on temporal-spatial control of dual-stage nanopositioning systems

Prof. Leang and collaborators from industry (Molecular Vista, Inc. (MVI)) and Villanova University (Prof. Garrett Clayton) received a new NSF grant ($305,912) from Sensors, Dynamics, & Control program to study new design and control system approaches for the development of advanced nanopositioning systems for nanoscale science and engineering applications. More specifically, the new 3-year NSF collaborative Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) research project focuses on new design and control paradigms for dual-stage nanopositioners that consider both spatial and temporal constraints. Emerging dual-stage nanopositioners have the unique ability to achieve both long-range and high-speed operation. However, typical control strategies rely on frequency-based...

Robotics Student Receives DOD SMART Scholarship for graduate studies

Mechanical engineering major at the University of Utah, Joseph Melville receives DOD SMART Scholarship for graduate studies. A transfer student from Utah Valley University, Melville has been at the U for two years. The scholarship is for Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation (SMART) and is funded by the Department of Defense (DOD), which offers full tuition, a yearly stipend, plus funding for supplies and health insurance. The award includes summer internships and a one-to-one service commitment to work as a civilian for the DOD at a sponsoring facility. From American Fork, Melville attributes his success to, “a good start at Utah County...

Prof. Meek’s NSF NRI project results in quadruped robot trotting

The video shows the quadruped robot trotting on a treadmill test fixture. The legs have fixed springs. There are no sensors or control except for the motion of the hips and shoulders. This is a demonstration of the passive stability with directionally compliant legs. This research project is led by robotics faculty Prof. Sanford Meek. The project “NSF NRI grant: Biologically-inspired, hybrid quadruped robot control” is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. ...

Dr. Tucker Hermans joins Utah Robotics as Assistant Professor in the School of Computing

Utah Robotics welcomes Dr. Tucker Hermans as Assistant Professor in the School of Computing. Dr. Hermans received his Ph.D. degree in Robotics from Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing in 2014. He worked under the supervision of Aaron Bobick and Jim Rehg in the Computational Perception Laboratory. Shortly before joining the University of Utah, Dr. Hermans was a postdoctoral researcher in the Intelligent Autonomous Systems lab at Technische Universitӓt Darmstadt in Darmstadt, Germany. There, he worked with Jan Peters on tactile manipulation and robot learning, while serving as the team leader at TUDa for the European Commission project TACMAN....