LCSR Seminar | Personalizing Robots for Humans: The Human Motor Control Challenge

Description

Federico Tessari, a senior postdoctoral associate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT, will give a talk titled "Personalizing Robots for Humans: The Human Motor Control Challenge" for the Laboratory for Computational Sensing + Robotics.

Abstract:

Can you imagine a world where technologies for mobility-impaired individuals are accessible, sustainable, and well-integrated with the users? Mobility—the capacity to move freely and easily—is a crucial aspect of everyone's life. In fact, mobility impairments and the associated reduction in physical activity directly affect individuals' quality of life from multiple perspectives: physical, psychological, social, and economic. However, existing technologies are struggling to find widespread adoption due to high costs, low usability/wearability, poor sustainability, and lack of proper human-machine interaction. In this talk, I will initially present how combining dedicated design methodologies and selected manufacturing solutions can improve the adoption and use of devices for mobility. I will introduce the design of a fully integrated robotic knee prosthesis, highlighting the key factors for increased adoption of such technologies. Moreover, I will delve into how improving our understanding of the human neuromotor control system can effectively change the way we model, design, and control systems for mobility impairments. Three different research efforts will be discussed, focusing on three fundamental skills of human motion: physical interaction, posture, and coordination. The results will show how the combination of dedicated mechanical design solutions ("mechatypes"), the investigation of human motion ("phenotypes"), and the understanding of underlying human motor control strategies ("neurotypes") can open the doors of technology-driven rehabilitation to every person in need.

About the speaker:

Federico Tessari is a senior postdoctoral associate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. He received his PhD in mechanical engineering through a dual program at the Italian Institute of Technology and Polytechnic School of Turin, Italy, in 2021. He is an active member of the Society for Neuroscience, and the International Consortium for Rehabilitation Robotics. His research interests combine the design of user-centered rehabilitation robots with the investigation of biomechanics and human neuromotor control. While exploring the complexities of human motion, he aims to uncover the control mechanisms that humans adopt during their motor tasks and use them to design and control innovative robotic systems for mobility-impaired individuals. His research vision aims to change the way we think, design, and manufacture systems for mobility, with a particular emphasis on user-centered sustainable solutions. Tessari received research presentation awards at the Polytechnic School of Turin for his studies on rehabilitative robots, as well as for his findings on human neuromotor control, during the Mechanical Engineering Research Exhibition at MIT. He was awarded the 2024 Trainee Professional Development Award for Neuroscience by the Society for Neuroscience, and he received the IEEE Best Paper Award at IROS 2024. Over the past four years, his vision has driven three national contests on prosthetics and bionics involving students from engineering schools across Italy.