Metin Sitti is the Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, which he founded in 2014. He is also a Professor in the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich, a Professor at the School of Medicine and College of Engineering at Koç University and co-founder of Setex Technologies Inc. based in Pittsburgh, USA.
The Mechanisms and Robotics Award is an honor that is given annually by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), to engineers known for a lifelong contribution to the field of mechanism design or theory. This prestigious honor can only be given once to any individual.
A powered exoskeleton is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, providing ergonomic structural support and powered by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers, hydraulics or a combination of cybernetic technologies, while allowing for sufficient limb movement with increased strength and endurance. The exoskeleton is designed to provide better mechanical load tolerance, and its control system aims to sense and synchronize with the user's intended motion and relay the signal to motors which manage the gears. The exoskeleton also protects the user's shoulder, waist, back and thigh against overload, and stabilizes movements when lifting and holding heavy items.
Larry L. Howell is a professor and Associate Academic Vice President (AAVP) at Brigham Young University (BYU). His research focuses on compliant mechanisms, including origami-inspired mechanisms, microelectromechanical systems, medical devices, space mechanisms, and developable mechanisms. Howell has also conducted research in lamina emergent mechanisms and nanoinjection. He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from BYU and master's and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University. His Ph.D. advisor was Ashok Midha, who is regarded as the "Father of Compliant Mechanisms."
Homayoon Kazerooni is an Iranian-born American roboticist, mechanical engineering, and professor. He serves as a professor of mechanical engineering, and the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Kazerooni is also the co-founder of Ekso Bionics and SuitX. As a noted authority on robotics, he is frequently profiled and quoted in the media.
John Matthew Hollerbach is a professor of computer science and research professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. He is the editor of The International Journal of Robotics Research, a Senior Editor of Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, and a Governing Board member of the electronic journal Haptics-e.
A leg mechanism is a mechanical system designed to provide a propulsive force by intermittent frictional contact with the ground. This is in contrast with wheels or continuous tracks which are intended to maintain continuous frictional contact with the ground. Mechanical legs are linkages that can have one or more actuators, and can perform simple planar or complex motion. Compared to a wheel, a leg mechanism is potentially better fitted to uneven terrain, as it can step over obstacles.
Nikolaus Correll is a roboticist and an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Department of Computer Science with courtesy appointments in the departments of Aerospace, Electrical and Materials Engineering. Nikolaus is the faculty director of the Interdisciplinary Research Theme on Multi-functional Materials at the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the founder and CTO of Robotic Materials Inc.
A Hoberman mechanism, or Hoberman linkage, is a deployable mechanism that turns linear motion into radial motion.
Reza Ghodssi is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research (ISR) at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he directs the MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab and holds the Herbert Rabin Distinguished Chair in Engineering. Ghodssi is also the Inaugural Executive Director of Research and Innovation for the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM). He is best known for his work designing micro- and nano-devices for healthcare applications, particularly for systems requiring small-scale energy conversion and biological and chemical sensing.
Yoram Koren is an Israeli-American academic. He is the James J. Duderstadt Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Manufacturing and the Paul G. Goebel Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Since 2014 he is a distinguished visiting professor at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
John X. J. Zhang is a tenured professor at Thayer School of Engineering of Dartmouth College, and an investigator in the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Before joining Dartmouth, he was an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas(UT Austin). He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, California in 2004, and was a research scientist in systems biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining the faculty at UT Austin in 2005. Zhang is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and a recipient of the 2016 NIH Director's Transformative Research Award.
Janice Jennifer Eng is a professor in the University of British Columbia's Department of Physical Therapy and Canada Research Chair in Neurological Rehabilitation.
Elena Garcia Armada is a Spanish researcher, roboticist and business founder who has conducted research on prosthetic exoskeletons to aid people in walking.
Mohsen (MO) Shahinpoor is an Iranian American engineer, scientist, and academician. He is a professor and Director at the University of Maine College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also a professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the University of Maine.
Ashutosh Dutta is a computer scientist, engineer, academic, author, and an IEEE leader. He is currently a Senior Scientist, 5G Chief Strategist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, APL Sabbatical Fellow, Adjunct Faculty and ECE Chair for EP at Johns Hopkins University. He is the Chair of IEEE Industry Connection O-RAN Initiative and Co-Chair for IEEE Future Networks Initiative.
Marcia Kilchenman O'Malley is an American mechanical engineer, the Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering and associate dean for research and innovation for the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University. Her research concerns "systems for enhancing the human sensorimotor control system", including work on exoskeletons, neuroprosthetics, haptic technology, and brain–computer interfaces.
Ali Galip Ulsoy is an academic at the University of Michigan (UM), Ann Arbor, where he is the C.D. Mote Jr. Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and the William Clay Ford Professor Emeritus of Manufacturing.
Moshe Shoham is a professor emeritus in the faculty of mechanical engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
A soft exoskeleton, also known as a soft wearable robot or a soft robotic exosuit, is a type of wearable robotic device designed to augment and enhance the physical abilities of the human body. Unlike traditional rigid exoskeletons, which are typically made of hard materials like metal and are worn over the user's limbs, soft exoskeletons are constructed from flexible and lightweight materials. Soft exoskeletons are designed to assist individuals with mobility impairments, aid in rehabilitation, augment human performance, and improve overall quality of life.
