Robotics and Motion Control
Machine assistance to improve our quality of life
Vision-guided robotics, autonomous robots, artificial muscles, creative movements—machine-guided solutions and robotic assistance can help us communicate better, tackle labor-intensive and dangerous tasks, conduct surgery and visit harsh environments.
Whether we’re looking to access a sewer pipe, disarm a bomb or even assist in the caring of our aging population, robots can drastically improve our quality of life. Motion-control innovations like harmonic dampening on buildings to reduce the impact of earthquakes and power electronics to control the loading conditions on wind turbines keep us safer and our infrastructure stronger. From vibration analysis to friction-and-wear optimization to robotic assistance, we’re pushing forward the capabilities of machines to better serve our society.
Centers and institutes that conduct research in Robotics and Motion Control
Faculty who conduct research in Robotics and Motion Control
Changyong (Chase) Cao
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Study the mechanics, designs, and manufacturing of smart multifunctional materials, soft robotics, soft electronics, and self-powered sensing systems.
M. Cenk Cavusoglu
Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Director, Medical Robotics and Computer Integrated Surgery Laboratory
Develops next-generation medical robotic systems for surgery and image-guided interventions
Zonghe Chua
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
I develop intelligent telerobotic systems that sense and reason about their operator to deliver smart multisensory feedback that enhances the human-robot system performance.
Kathryn Daltorio
Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Co-Director, Biologically-Inspired Robotics Lab
Develops robots that can traverse and operate in new environments, inspired by biological models of smart physical systems
Robert Gao
Department Chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Develops multi-physics sensing and stochastic modeling methods for improving observability in dynamical systems
Mario Garcia-Sanz
Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Bridges the gap between advanced control theory and energy, industrial and space applications
Greg Lee
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Develops robotic systems
Michael Lewicki
Professor, Computer and Data Sciences Department
Develops theoretical models of computation and representation in sensory coding and perception
Wei Lin
Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Researches nonlinear control, time-delay systems, adaptive control, stochastic stability/control with applications to renewable energy, power systems and smart grid.
Wyatt Newman
Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering
Designs intelligent robots, machines and software for diverse applications
Roger Quinn
Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Director, Biologically Inspired Robotics
Develops neural and mechanical models of animals and uses data to design and control robots and exoskeletons
Brian Taylor
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Uses engineering approaches to understand biological sensation and navigation, and leverages biological understanding to develop novel engineered autonomous systems.