The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), is investing $4 million in the next five years to drive research and collaboration in assistive robotics, to improve the health and quality of life of people with disabilities.
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| PhD student Marc Carmichael demonstrates a robotic arm exoskeleton for use in rehabilitation. Picture by Terry Clinton |
The Assistive Robotic Laboratory Project, in partnership with the Australian organisation Greystanes Disability, focuses on developing intelligent machines that collaborate with people. Researchers to date have developed demonstrators including a robotic walking assistant, intelligent wheelchair and robotic exoskeletons.
UTS is investing $4 million over the next five years to drive research and collaboration in this field.
UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Ross Milbourne said the program is delivering research with real impact in the community, enhancing the lives of people with disabilities.
“I’m very proud of this growing area of important work by UTS’s world class, next generation robotics researchers. They’ll be taking ideas out of the lab and providing lasting benefits in people’s everyday lives,” Professor Milbourne said.
“One of this team, Dr Nathan Kirchner, was named one of Popular Science’s top ten young innovators of the year in 2011, for his research into human machine interaction and robots’ sensing and perception of human cues.”
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| UTS Robotics for Disabilities Intelligent Wheelchair |
UTS Professor of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Dikai Liu said the work was challenging, as getting any device or robot to work and interact with people was more difficult than getting a robot to work autonomously.
“We have partnered with Greystanes Disability Services in this laboratory to define specific user needs and practical considerations in the development of the assistive robotics projects,” Professor Liu said.
Greystanes CEO John Le Breton said, “We are excited to assist UTS with this important research to develop new technologies that ultimately will lead to greater participation in the community by people with a disability.
“Greystanes has extensive experience in providing services to people with disabilities, including manufacturing customised seating and mobility equipment to meet specific needs.”
Dr Kirchner said the assistive robotics field had already moved well beyond the conceptual phase.
“Research on assistive robotics is coming through at a massive pace we are reaching an apex where it is possible to build a machine that has some sense of purpose,” he said. “We are at a stage now where we are looking beyond what it could do and looking at how it can coexist with us.”
For further information on engineering courses at UTS and our research, please visit the UTS website: http://www.uts.edu.au/international/prospective/studying/index.html .
Original article by Alexandra Berriman, published on the UTS Newsroom website.
Article published with the assistance from:
Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), Colombo-Sri Lanka.
Contact: David Samuel, Business Development Manager, Email: David.Samuel@austrade.gov.au |
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