UofL nanocollider Talks HMI, Sensing Fibers, Robotics in Healthcare & Conductive Materials from Plants

On September 16th, the University of Louisville hosted its first nanoCollider, touching on innovative research from several pillars in the KAMPERS project. Watch the full video below:

A summary: 

Intro: Dr Tommy Roussel Speaker

1: Dr Shamus McNamara, Title: “Fiber Optic Powered Sensor Array for Skin-Like Sensing”

• Distributed sensor array

• Power and communication are achieved using a single optical fiber

• MEMS technology for the sensors

Prof. Shamus McNamara is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Louisville. His research interests are in micromechanics, microfluidics, sensors, and microelectronics.

Speaker 2: Dr Sabur Baidya, Title: “Edge-assisted Collaborative Digital Twin for Safety-Critical Robotics”

• Digital Twin technology is playing a pivotal role in the modern industrial evolution with advanced robotics and automation for efficient operations, maintenance and safety. The usage of digital twin in robotics necessitates autonomous and remote operations. However, the uncertainty in the environment needs close monitoring and quick and accurate adaptation of the robots which need to be safety-proof and cost effective. This talk will demonstrate an edge-assisted collaborative digital twin of a safety-critical robotics application which supports real-time adaptation of the robots while operating in the uncertain and dynamic environments in industrial IoT.

Bio: Sabur Baidya (https://www.ics.uci.edu/~sbaidya) is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department of J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine in 2019 and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2013. Prior to joining UofL, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Jacobs School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) until June 2021. He was also a visiting summer researcher in the WINLAB at Rutgers University and has had prior working experience with IBM, Cisco Systems, Huawei Research Lab, and Nokia Bell Labs. His research interests include the areas of the Internet of Things, wireless networks, intelligent and autonomous systems, edge-cloud computing and Machine Learning. 

Speaker 3: Dr Mark Running, Title: “Conducting Biomaterials from Plants”

• Plants produce a multitude of natural bioproducts that have the potential to serve as a sustainable source of materials for industrial applications.

• Candidate conducting and insulating materials from exotic plants have been isolated and tested, and cloning and transformation for mass production using agricultural crops and bioreactors have been initiated.

Bio: Dr. Mark Running is a Professor of Biology and Associated Faculty of the Conn Center for Renewable Energy at UofL, and studies plant genetics with an eye toward practical applications such as the development of biofuels and biomaterials. Dr. Running received his BA in Biology from Pomona College in Claremont, CA and his PhD in Genetics from the California Institute of Technology. He is heavily involved in promotion of undergraduate research and mentoring, and is the recipient of the 2022 Trustees Award, the most prestigious award for faculty at UofL.

Speaker 4: Dr Tommy Roussel, Title: “Rockin’ Rehab: Development of a Custom, Sensorized Rocking Chair for Pediatric SCI Patients”

• Rockin’ Rehab is an instrumented rocking chair for pediatric patients with spinal cord injuries that extends the gains provided by a relatively new method of therapy called Locomotor Training.

• The chair has been safety tested and contains over a dozen sensor inputs, including novel sensing modalities developed in the KAMPERS project, that are used to track and analyze rocking activity of both healthy and injured subjects.

• Machine learning is currently being explored as a mechanism to confirm muscle activation as patients improve their level of trunk control • New developments include adding actuation with advanced control techniques to assist users with limited capacity to initiate and maintain rocking activity.

Bio: Dr. Tommy Roussel is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at UofL and currently serves as the Associate Director of LARRI. His research interests include sensors, custom instrumentation, and controls/automation, with a variety of projects supported by NSF, NIH, NASA, and the Coulter Foundation.

nanoColliders are seasonal virtual meetings that provide progress reports on strategic goals and other relevant updates of interest from each KAMPERS institution.

KY NSF EPSCoR nanoColliders allow for participants to more broadly identify opportunities to enhance existing cross-institutional collaborations or establish new connections for potential partnerships.

Learn more: http://kynsfepscor.uky.edu/highlights-and-events/nanocollider/