Research

CDR research laboratories are headed by Professors Mark Cutkosky (CDR Director), Allison Okamura, Sheri Sheppard, Sean Follmer and Monroe Kennedy (CDR Co-Directors).

 The Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Lab (ARM Lab), (Professor Monroe Kennedy, PI), specializes in developing intelligent robotic systems that can perceive and model environments, humans, and tasks and leverage these models to predict system processes and understand their assistive role. 

The Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Laboratory (BDML) (Professor Mark Cutkosky, PI) research activities include modeling and control of dextrous manipulation with robotic and teleoperated hands; force and tactile feedback in telemanipulation and virtual environments; and design and control of compliant "biomimetic" robots with embedded sensors and actuators.

The Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine Lab (CHARM Lab), (Professor Allison Okamura PI), develops principles and tools needed to realize advanced robotic and human-machine systems capable of haptic (touch) interaction. Systems for teleoperation, virtual environments and robotic manipulation are designed and studied using analytical and experimental approaches. Application areas include surgery, simulation and training, rehabilitation, prosthetics, neuromechanics, exploration of hazardous and remote environments, design and education.

The Designing Education Lab (DEL) (Professor Emerita Sheri Sheppard, PI) investigates a broad range of engineering education topics, from the persistence of students and alumni in engineering fields to the impact of exposure to entrepreneurship on engineering students' career interests. DEL researchers are engaged in national and international collaborations with colleagues within and outside of engineering. Our activities and projects emphasize the relationship of research to academic and professional practice by informing the redesign of engineering course pedagogy and curriculum and the dissemination of findings in conference papers, workshops, webinars, online resources and publications.

The SHAPE Lab (Professor Sean Follmer, PI) explores how we can interact with digital information in a more physical and tangible way. Towards our goal of more human centered computing, we believe that interaction must be grounded in the physical world and leverage our innate abilities for spatial cognition and dexterous manipulation with our hands.

To learn more about each lab, click on the menu links on the left.