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SPOTLIGHT


 

Moving Assistive Mobility Forward with AI

 
Data-driven controller enables real-time assistance modulation by accurately estimating both the user and the environment states.

 

student walking on stairs using an exoskeleton

As we go through our daily routines of work, chores, errands and leisure pursuits, most of us take our mobility for granted. Conversely, many people suffer from permanent or temporary mobility issues due to neurological disorders, stroke, injury, and age-related causes.  Research in the field of robotic exoskeletons has shown significant potential to provide assistive support for patients with permanent mobility constraints, as well as an effective additional tool for rehabilitation and recovery after injury. 

Though the field has made great progress in the hardware and devices for these assistive technologies, there are limitations in ease of use and in the ability to move from walking to running, from flat ground to slopes and stairs, and across different terrains.  Recent developments to create exoskeleton controllers that are more responsive to the user’s environment via user-based variables such as gait and slope calculations provide rapid yet imprecise outputs. More recent inquiry into data-driven improvements such as vision-based labeling and classification are extremely promising additions in the goal to develop a true synchronous user and device interface. A major hindrance to this data-driven approach is the need for burdensome mounted cameras and on-board computing to allow for real-time in use adjustments to the environmental terrain encountered. 

 

Read More About the Tech Team's Solution

 


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New Wearable Device Monitors Joint Pain

 
Arthroba enables people — and their doctors — to follow their joint health in real time.

 

Omer Inan holds an early prototype of Arthroba.

Samer Mabrouk started playing squash as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech. Ankle injuries were to be expected, and resting for a few days was all he needed to get back on the court. Now a research engineer in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mabrouk hasn’t put his racket down, but he gets injured more often — and rest isn’t enough anymore.

Injuries like Mabrouk’s are common for active Americans. About 25,000 people sprain their ankles daily, and 25% of Americans regularly experience knee pain. But physical therapy is expensive and time-consuming, and online options for rehab aren’t precise enough to be effective. Mabrouk and Omer Inan, Regents’ Entrepreneur and Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have been working on a wearable, battery-powered device that monitors joint health and gives personalized strengthening exercises. Inan and Mabrouk’s new company, Arthroba, created a device of the same name that uses electrical sensors to track swelling and tissue damage in the knee, ankle, and other critical joints.

 

Read More About the New Device

 



 

 

IRIM Overview


 

Robotics Research

The depth and breadth of IRIM breaks through disciplinary boundaries and allows for transformative research that transitions from theory to robustly deployed systems featuring next-generation robots. Fundamental research includes expertise in mechanics, control, perception, artificial intelligence and cognition, interaction, and systems.

IRIM & Outreach

The Institute for Robotics & Intelligent Machines (IRIM) participates in numerous K-12 STEM and community outreach activities related to robotics. Additionally, IRIM hosts tours throughout the year, and our student group, RoboGrads, participates in activities to raise awareness of the importance of robotics technology and stimulate interest in the field
 

Robotics Education

Georgia Tech offers an interdisciplinary path to an M.S. and Ph.D. in Robotics to students enrolled in a participating school within either the Colleges of Computing or Engineering. A fully integrated, multidisciplinary experience, the M.S. & Ph.D. programs include both coursework and research with faculty members in various units across campus.

IRIM & Industry

Our Industry Program allows partners to explore opportunities for research collaboration, facilities and services, consulting, student hiring, and other interactions. Whether you join as a strategic partner, an affiliate, or as a member of one of our customized consortia, your team will be supported through our work as a interdisciplinary group of robotics leaders.

Core Research Facilities

The Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines at Georgia Tech supports and facilitates the operation of several core research facilities on campus allowing our faculty, students and collaborators to advance the boundaries of robotics research.

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