Research news – Robotics Center

Robotics Center Faculty Join ARPA-H Project to Develop Fully Automated Surgical Robot

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Zhang and Brown Receive NIH Trailblazer Award

University of Utah mechanical engineering assistant professor Haohan Zhang and Kahlert School of Computing assistant professor Daniel Brown have received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Trailblazer Award in a multi-PI proposal. This 3-year project will develop a new neck brace for patients with dropped head syndrome that use gaze tracking to help restore head-neck mobility. The Trailblazer Awards program is a prestigious opportunity for new and early-stage faculty to pursue research programs that “integrate engineering and the physical sciences with the life and/or biomedical sciences.” Dropped head syndrome is a condition most commonly associated with neuromuscular disorders where...

Utah Bionic Leg in Science Robotics

The Utah Bionic Leg, a motorized prosthetic for lower-limb amputees developed by University of Utah mechanical engineering associate professor Tommaso Lenzi and his students in the HGN Lab, is on the cover of the newest issue of Science Robotics. Science Robotics is part of the Science family of journals and covers the “latest technological advances and for the critical social, ethical and policy issues surrounding robotics.” Read more…....

Prof. Leang receives new U.S. Airforce Phase I STTR project for autonomous aerial-robot chemical sensing

Kam Leang and industry partner Nevada NanoTech System recently received a U.S. Airforce Phase I STTR project for autonomous aerial-robot chemical sensing. The project will leverage the expertise of both teams to create intelligent agents for applications that include emergency response....

Prof. Mascaro receives $348K NIH grant to simulate tendon reconstructive surgeries

“Simulating Tendon Reconstructive Surgeries using a Virtual Hand Model and Robotic Testbed,” National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH R21). PI: Stephen Mascaro, Co-PI: Kenneth Foreman, 07/02/2019-05/31/2021, $347,798. The goal of this project is to advance tendon reconstructive surgery by providing a new way to predict the surgical outcomes using a virtual model for surgeons to examine the outcomes of surgery like range of motion and strength of grip. We currently have a unique virtual model of the tendon system of the human finger that can simulate the kinematics of the tendons and predict the pose...

Prof. Lenzi receives new $600K NSF NRI grant for control of robotic leg prostheses

For amputees, walking down the sidewalk verses taking the stairs can be considerable obstacles. Mechanical engineering assistant professor Tommaso Lenzi just received collaborative funding with Drs. Nicholas Fey and Kenneth Hoyt (University of Texas at Dallas), from the National Science Foundation Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (NSF CMMI), National Robotics Initiative (NRI), for their research entitled, “Muscle Ultrasound Sensing for Intuitive Control of Robotic Leg Prostheses,” $600,987 (U), and $578,233 (UT). The goal of this project is to fill the knowledge gap regarding the integration of the user’s volition or intuitive will, in the control of lightweight robotic ankle...

Abbott, Kong, Leang and Monson receive $2M NSF EFRI Award

Congratulations to Profs. Abbott, Kong, Leang and Monson on their new $2M NSF EFRI Award, project in collaboration with R. Rajamani of Univ. of Minnesota and O. Pak of Santa Clara Univ. Project tile: “EFRI C3 SoRo: Magneto-electroactive Soft, Continuum, Compliant, Configurable (MESo-C3) Robots for Medical Applications Across Scales” The vision of this collaborative project between the University of Utah, the University of Minnesota, and Santa Clara University is to extend the capabilities of clinicians by enabling minimally invasive access to locations in the human body that are currently difficult or impossible to reach, using a new class of...

Prof. Jake Abbott’s work on magnetic capsule endoscope featured in PCMag.com

Prof. Jake Abbott’s work on magnetic capsule endoscope featured in an article in PCMag.com: https://www.pcmag.com/news/363730/this-robot-might-make-invasive-colonoscopies-a-thing-of-the ...

Prof. Lenzi receives $972K DoD CDMRP grant for motorized hip orthoses

Congratulations to Prof. Tommaso Lenzi for receiving new $972K DoD CDMRP grant entitled, “Motorized Hip Orthoses to Improve the Gait Ability of Transfemoral Amputees”. The goal of the project is to validate a new approach to improving amputees’ mobility—providing bilateral hip assistance with a motorized orthosis. Hip orthoses are very lightweight, and their mass is located close to the body center of mass, thus minimizing the metabolic energy cost of carrying this additional weight. In addition, as the orthosis is not suspended through the socket interface, it does not affect balance or socket stability. Because motorized hip orthoses can be...

Popek, Hermans, and Abbott Win Best Paper Award in Medical Robotics at ICRA 2017

Katie Popek, Tucker Hermans, and Jake Abbott’s paper entitled, “First Demonstration of Simultaneous Localization and Propulsion of a Magnetic Capsule in a Lumen Using a Single Rotating Magnet,” was recently awarded the Best Paper Award in Medical Robotics at the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Singapore. ICRA is the largest annual international robotics conference, and is the flagship conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Abbott is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hermans is an assistant professor in the School of Computing, and Popek recently earned her Ph.D. in Computing (Robotics Track) while conducting research...