IRIM Fall 2024 Seminar | Wearer-Robot Symbiosis: Empowering individuals with Motor Challenges

Abstract: As the global population with motor deficits increases, there is an urgent need for novel assistive and rehabilitation technologies that can restore the motor functions and promote health and independent living. Advanced wearable robotics, such as dexterous prosthetic hands, motorized prosthetic legs, and advanced exoskeletons, have become commercially available. However, the functionality and acceptance of these robotic devices for clinical use remain limited.

In this talk, I will present my lab's research focused on establishing a true symbiosis between humans and wearable robots. We explore how human wearers interact with these devices and develop AI-based control systems and neural-machine interfaces to ensure that wearable robots can adapt to both the physical and cognitive needs of their users, as well as to the specific tasks they perform. Our innovative approaches will further advance the function of modern wearable robots and significantly improve the quality of life of individuals with movement deficits.

Bio: Dr. Helen Huang is the Jackson Family Distinguished Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University (NC State) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the Director of the Closed-Loop Engineering for Advanced Rehabilitation (CLEAR) core. Her research interest lies in neural-machine interfaces, rehabilitation wearable robotics, learning-based wearable robot control, wearer-robot interaction and co-adaptation, and human motor control/biomechanics. She was a recipient of the Delsys Prize for Innovation in Electromyography, NIDILRR Switzer Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, ASA Statistics in Physical Engineering Sciences Award, and NC State ALCOA Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award. She is a Fellow of AIMBE, Fellow of IEEE, and NC State faculty scholar. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and an Editorial Board Member for IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.