Stroke affects millions of people each year and although modern medicine has improved chances of survival after stroke, it has not yet been able to affect a change in repairing damaged neural tissue leaving one to two-thirds of survivors with chronic disability in their affected upper-extremity; specifically, hemiparesis, hypertonicity, loss...
Robots can be capable partners when interacting with humans, but their value is largely dependent on how information is communicated in that partnership. In physical human-robot interaction, information is communicated via motion---configurations, velocities, forces, and torques. The autonomy interprets these implicit signals using metrics, which ultimately drive the the autonomy....
This thesis presents methods to improve the manipulation capabilities of robots. People and animals can effectively handle objects of many shapes, sizes, weights, and materials using a variety of manipulation primitives such as grasping, pushing, sliding, tipping, rolling, and throwing. In contrast, most robots manipulate objects by pick-and-place. Restricting robots...
Intelligence in humans is largely characterized by the ability to encode information into compressible representations to facilitate efficient communication for collaboration and learning. The goal of this thesis is to enable robots to both learn and act on compressible representations in real-time. I show how active exploration with respect to...
In the current state of robotics, the systems we create are heavily reliant on our consistent guidance, programming of tasks, and oracle information that allow them to operate in the world that we inhabit. What happens to our robotic systems when we are unable to perform as an oracle, creating...
The theory of how humans and machines control and communicate with each other is at the core of the scientific field known as Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Researchers in this sub-discipline of robotics are therefore particularly interested in developing methods to chuppahreduce the inherent friction in this communication and control channel....
Biped robots utilize varying contact conditions and collision between their hands and feet and the walking and climbing surfaces in their environment to navigate their surroundings. This thesis presents a method for generating a continuum of gaits in a unified and extensible framework for physically-symmetric bipeds (bipeds with left and...
Assistive robotics focuses on human-robot systems that provide physical support and assistance to the elderly and people with motor-impairments. While assistive machines, such as the powered wheelchair, can significantly enhance the functional independence of individuals, many users are challenged by their direct operation, the manner in which such systems are...