Biomechatronics Group Director

Hugh Herr, PhD Professor Hugh Herr, who holds a joint appointment between MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences and The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, is the principal investigator of the Biomechatronics group. He received his BA in physics from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an MS in mechanical engineering from MIT, and a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University. Prior to coming to the Media Lab, Herr was assistant professor at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School. Herr's research interests include biomechanics, biological motion control, and the advancement of human rehabilitation and augmentation technology. Biography >

Hugh Herr, PhD hherr [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-419

Chris Barnhart Chris is working on a number of areas related to the electronic systems and control of hardware prototypes.

Chris Barnhart cbarn [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-095

Bruce Deffenbaugh Bruce is working on a number of areas related to the design, fabrication, and control of prosthesis hardware prototypes.

Bruce Deffenbaugh bd [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-095

Marko Popovic, PhD Popovic received a BS in physics from Belgrade University (1995), a MSc in physics from Ohio State University (1996) and a PhD in physics from Boston University (2002). In 2001-2002 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University; the same year he joined the MIT Leg Laboratory and the MIT Biomechatronics group. Popovic's expertise is in biomechanics of human movements, control, math and physics. He observed tight regulation of spin angular momentum in human walking, and introduced a new ground reference point called the Centroidal Moment Pivot (CMP) that closely tracks the ZMP during steady state walking (joint work with Prof. Herr, Dr Hofmann and Dr Gowami). He is currently working on a control scheme that modulates whole-body angular momentum to enhance center-of-mass controllability.

Marko Popovic marko [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-421

Jeff Weber Jeff Weber focuses on the mechanical design and prototyping of the next generation of prosthetic hardware including powered ankles and knees. Before Jeff joined the Biomechatronics laboratory he designed and built Humanoid robots for the Humanoid Robotics group at CSAIL MIT for manipulation and active vision research.

Jeff Weber jaweber [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-095 Personal Webpage

Postdoctoral Associates and Fellows

Samuel Au, PhD Samuel Au received PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT. He received his BS and MS degrees in the Department of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is working within the Biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab in the design of biologically realistic foot-ankle prostheses. His research interests include system dynamics, system identification, biomedical signal processing, control, biomechanics, artificial intelligence, robotics, and the design of prostheses.

Samuel Au kwau [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-054

Aaron Dollar, PhD Aaron Dollar is working to develop effective lower-limb exoskeleton devices that reduce the metabolic cost associated with load-carrying, running, and jumping. He completed his PhD at Harvard in October 2006, focusing on developing robust, adaptive robot hands for grasping in unstructured environments. He received his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from UMass Amherst in 2000.

Aaron Dollar adollar [at] mit.edu Room E15-421 Personal Webpage

Alena Grabowski, PhD Alena Grabowski received her BA (1998) and PhD (2007) degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has previously conducted research on the biomechanical effects of sports equipment, and on the biomechanics and metabolic demands of human walking and running. Alena is a postdoctoral associate in the Biomechatronics Group. Her current research goals are to implement wearable mechanical devices such as prostheses and exoskeletons to better understand the biomechanics and metabolic power required for human locomotion and to implement these devices to assist and eventually augment human walking and running performance.

Alena Grabowski alenag [at] mit.edu Room E15-419 Personal Webpage

Diana Young, PhD Young holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Music from The Johns Hopkins University, a Performer's Certificate in Violin from the Peabody Conservatory, and an M.S. (2001) and Ph.D in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT (2007). Throughout her graduate studies at the MIT Media Lab, her primary area of research was expert bowed string (violin, viola, cello, double bass) performance. In order to study the physical dynamics of violin bowing, she designed a playable calibrated measurement system to capture and record primary bowing parameters generated by real players. Other work includes the development of related sensing systems for use in live interactive music performance. The Hyperbow violin bow interface has been used in performance by several professional violinists and has recently adapted for use with cello for ongoing collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music, where Young is an Honorary Research Fellow. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including The Strad magazine, Strings Magazine, The Boston Globe, and New Scientist Podcast series. Research interests include measurement of human motion and the development of interfaces for expression and augmentation.

Diana Young, PhD young [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-418 Personal Webpage

PhD Candidates

Grant Elliot Grant Elliott holds an SB in Physics and an SB and MEng in Electrical Engineering from MIT and is pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering. He is currently working with the Biomechatronics Group, developing an active foot prosthesis for running. His research interests lie in sensing and control systems within the fields of medical devices and imaging. Before joining the Biomechatronics Groups, Grant worked on large scale lighting systems, field biology instrumentation, helicopter control, and charged particle detection.

Grant Elliot gelliott [at] mit.edu Room E15-054

Ken Endo Endo received BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering in Keio Univ. in Japan. There he also worked as research assistant at Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project, ERATO, JST in Japan. After graduation, he worked as a researcher for robotics technology at fuRo in CIT in Japan where he focused on developing humanoid robotics. He is currently a PhD student in EECS undertaking research in the design and control of the active-knee prosthesis and a whole robotic leg system which includes a biarticular knee and ankle.

Ken Endo kene [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-054

Ernesto C. Martinez Martinez received his BSc in electrical engineering from Universidad Panamericana campus Bonaterra in Mexico (2001), and a SM from MIT (2006). He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. undertaking research in the Biomechatronics group working in the design and control of an active-knee prosthesis. Current areas of interests include system dynamics, signal processing, control, robotics. Previous research work included the design and implementation of walking robots, as well as in the instrumentation of a Biomimetic-robotic ankle to estimate Ground Reaction Forces and ZMP for dynamic balance control strategies.

Ernesto C. Martinez ernesto [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-054

MS Degree Candidates

Michael Eilenberg Michael received a double bachelor of science in computer & systems engineering and mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is currently pursuing a master of science in mechanical engineering. His research interests include controls, dynamics, and mechatronic design. His current research involves the control of actuated ankle-foot prostheses for use on stairs and inclines. When not in the lab, Michael enjoys golf, racquetball, guitar, and is an avid skier.

Michael Eilenberg emichael [at] mit.edu Room E15-054

Matthew (Todd) Farrell Todd received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Bard College at Simon's Rock. After college he studied and worked with dynamical systems, machine vision and information visualization at CSAIL, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). Todd is currently pursuing his Master's degree with the Biomechatronics group. His research interests are applications of machine learning and optimization methods to balance control systems in robotics and advanced prosthetics. Other academic interests are dynamical systems, machine learning, robotics and computer science. Aside from work Todd enjoys piano, dancing, good cinema, and reading.

Todd Farrell mtfarrel [at] mit.edu Room E15-054 Personal Webpage

Administrative Support Staff

Tesha Myers Tesha Myers joined the Biomechatronics group in January of 2006. She brings a wealth of administrative and financial experience to the group. She is the former Director of Finance for the YWCA in Cambridge, MA and the former President and CEO of TLM and Associates, a small consulting business that provided Web, Administrative and Financial Support to several companies/ organizations. Tesha is a Certified Webmaster and holds a BS in Organizational Communication. She is married with four children. Tesha currently provides administrative support to Hugh Herr in Biomechatronics, and Ramona Allen in the Media Lab Human Resources Department.

Tesha Myers tmyers [at] media.mit.edu Room E15-401

Former Members

Sungho Jo, PhD Sungho Jo received a BS in engineering from school of mechanical&aerospace engieering, Seoul National University, Korea (1999), a MS in mechanical engineering, MIT (2001), and a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science, MIT (2006). Since July 2006, he has been working in the Biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab. Before joining the media lab, he was affiliated in the Computer Sciene and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), and Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) at MIT. His research area is computational neural engineering and biomechanics, biomimetic robots and neurorposthetics etc. His current work focuses on designing a human dynamic walking model to explain neurophysiological and biomechanical principles of human locomotion. His recent work investigated the sensorimotor neural control systems of human postural balance and bipedal walking in the sagittal plane.

Bhargav Gajjar Bhargav assisted in the electromechanical design of the hardware prototypes in the biomechatronics laboratory.

Andreas Hofmann, PhD Hofmann received an undergraduate degree from MIT, and his master's degree from RPI, both in electrical engineering. He was formerly a PhD student in computer science, working in the Biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab. The focus of his research was control systems that produce biomimetic walking motions while ensuring stability in the presence of significant disturbances. Recent work included a controller that coordinates movement of multiple non-contact limbs with contact limbs to achieve balance control. Prior to returning to MIT for his PhD, Hofmann was a founder of Gensym Corp., where he specialized in the development of expert systems for process control applications

Hartmut Geyer, PhD Hartmut Geyer received a Diploma of Physics degree (2001) and a Ph.D. degree (2005) from the University of Jena, Germany. Since 2006, he holds a Marie-Curie International Outgoing Fellowship of the European Union and, within this fellowship program, currently works as a postdoctoral affiliate in the Biomechatronics Group. His research interests are the mechanical and neuromechanical principles of legged locomotion, and their application to the design and control of legged robots and prosthetic limbs. He has worked on the mechanical principles of legged locomotion from walking to the walk-run transition to running. He has also worked on how legged robots could benefit from these principles when they must cross rough terrain, and on how animals and humans could realize these principles using muscle reflexes. His current research expands on these earlier works. He develops a human locomotion model whose legs are mainly driven by muscle-force reflexes and, together with the researchers of the Biomechatronics Group, works on implementing this model's muscle-reflex dynamics in the control of an active foot prosthesis.

Lee Magnusson Lee focused on all aspects related to the mechanical design of hardware prototypes being developed in the lab.

Waleed A. Farahat, PhD Farahat received his BSc from American University in Cairo, SM from MIT, and a PhD at MIT in mechanical engineering. His research interests include the application of dynamical systems, control, and optimization theories to neuromuscular systems, rehabilitation, and robotics. Specific projects include: i) adaptive control of muscle-actuated systems via electrical stimulation, ii) optimization of energetics in muscular systems, iii) development of experimental muscle characterization tools, and iv) building centimeter-scale muscle-actuated robotic systems. Previous academic and industrial research focused on structural dynamics and control in the context of gas turbines and computer disk drives.

Chanikarn (Mint) Wongviriyawong, SM Mint received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University with minors in Robotics and Computer Sciences. She is pursuing her master's degree. She is interested in applying engineering to biological systems. Her areas of interests also include controls, dynamics, and system identification. She previously worked on surgical instrument particularly for vitreoretinal surgery. She worked on modeling magnetometer behavior in noisy environment such as operating rooms. She recently joined the Biomechatronics Group and is working on system identification for mechanics of muscles. Apart from work, she also enjoys singing, drawing, and photography.

Ben Aisen, SM Ben worked to develop hybrid control strategies for the estimation of gait state during locomotion with a prosthetic foot.

Max Berniker, PhD Berniker received his PhD from MIT and assisted on the next generation of prostheses as a postdoctoral research associate.

Andrea Chew, SM Chew graduated from Stanford University with a BS in mechanical engineering. She pursued a joint master's degree at the MIT Media Lab and Media Lab Europe. As a researcher in both Biomechatronics at MIT ML and Palpable Machines at MLE, she explored the use of haptics as a means of enhancing the biomimetic experience of prosthetic users. Her work involved the design of a vibrotactile display to provide sensory feedback in a foot-ankle prosthetic.

Danielle Chou, SM Chou earned a BS in mechanical engineering from MIT. She is interested in design and control of robots, particularly in connection with biological systems. Her research in the biomechatronics group involved characterization of muscle and design of a swimming robot actuated by live muscle.

Peter Dilworth Dilworth was a research scientist working in the Biomechatronics group. Dilworth is best known for his work at the Leg Lab at MIT, including Troody, the first 3-D, walking, bipedal robot constructed at MIT. He worked on active ankle orthotics and prosthetics for the treatment of human gait pathologies.

William (Guillermo) Grand, SM Grand received his B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and his M.S Degree in Engineering Sciences (with a Bioengineering focus) from Harvard. After graduation, he worked for Barrett Technology to assist in the assembly of their new WAM Arm, and then proceeded to work in the Biomechatronics Group to assist in the development of exoskeletons for human augmentation, but now works for Boston Dynamics in Cambridge, MA. Grand enjoys breakdancing and loves Jesus Christ.

Daniel Paluska Paluska pursued a PhD degree in mechanical engineering at MIT. He was a team member on the orthosis project where he was researching areas on the human gait cycle where elastic mechanical components may do the work of human leg muscles. This work lead to devices that increase endurance for able-bodied individuals and a better understanding of how to design prosthetics and orthotics for the physically challenged. Paluska received his undergraduate and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT. His previous work has included the design and control of numerous robots including the twelve-degree-of-freedom humanoid robot M2.

Ken Pasch, PhD, PE Pasch's education includes PhD, SM, and SB degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT. Pasch worked as a senior design engineer in the design and systems integration group at Foster-Miller, Inc. As an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois in Chicago, he taught undergraduate courses in design and supervised graduate student research in design and control. Pasch also lectured in the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, teaching a two-semester, project-based course in machine design. He started Pasch Engineering Design in 1994, and subsequently participated in a variety of commercial and military projects involving electromechanical design, systems integration, control, and analysis. Pasch is inventor on nine US-issued patents and on four US published applications. Currently a research scientist in the Biomechatronics group, Pasch is working on the design of actuators, sensors, and control systems for powered exoskeletons, prostheses, and orthoses.

Goutam G. Reddy, SM Reddy received an undergraduate degree in EECS and mathematics from MIT, and recently acquired his master's at MIT. His work involved development of an inexpensive inertial measurement unit, including a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer. Overall project goals were to develop a sensory suite as part of an inexpensive gait lab, as well as to augment current orthotic and prosthetic control systems with symmetric information from the unaffected, healthy limbs.

Benjamin J. Swilling, SM Swilling received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in dynamics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Swilling's graduate work at MIT included neural-network control of an above-knee prosthesis, space-time optimal control schemes for the swing leg during walking, and biologically optimal control schemes for the body during walking with mass disturbance. In additon, he worked on a control topology for prosthetic knees that accounts for the morphological differences between artificial above-knee prostheses and the lower leg.

Andrew J. Valiente, SM Prior to MIT, Valiente studied electrical and mechanical engineering at LeTourneau University in Texas. He received his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 2005 and conducted thesis work within the Biomechatronics group. Valiente designed a mechanism to augment human ambulation that employs passive spring elements in parallel to the human leg. Other recent projects included building a two-link robotic arm capable of drawing a simplified picture, and a precision grinding machine involving air bearings and a linear motor. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys sailing, biking, and ballroom dancing.

Conor James Walsh, SM From his home country of Ireland, Walsh received an undergraduate degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Trinity College, Dublin, and was a mechanical engineering graduate student undertaking research in the Biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab. His research interests were primarily in the area of design and robotics, in particular exoskeleton design. For his master's degree work, Walsh worked with others on developing a robust, low-power, stable and lightweight leg orthosis or exoskeleton design to increase the locomotory endurance of humans. Thus far, Walsh's claim to fame is having presented some class work from a Concept Car Design Workshop to The Edge from U2 in their recording studios in Dublin and hopes that he and the band can collaborate on more cutting edge research in the future.

Derek Welcome Welcome joined the Media Lab with 18 years of procurement/materials management experience, and maintained a 4.0 cum average while in pursuit of a degree in Management Studies at Cambridge College. He provided administrative support to Hugh Herr in Biomechatronics, and Ramona Allen in the Media Lab Human Resources Department.