My collaborator Sonia Chernova, gesturing to our prototype.

By Matthew Loper, Ph.D. Student

As a roboticist, the most frequently asked question I hear is, “where is my robot?” People are fascinated by the humanoid mechanical golems that roam across their TV screens, and to them, it’s my duty to provide one.

I could answer their question in three ways. I could tell them to buy a robotic vacuum, which cleans floors and has no human interaction. I could suggest a hobbyist kit that burdens them with implementing (or inventing!) vision and localization algorithms. Or, if pressed, I could ...

The Office of Naval Research has recently awarded funding in the expected amount of $1 million to Chad Jenkins for his research project on the development of physics-based methods for human tracking from video.

As a recipient of the PECASE award, Chad was eligible to apply for this substantial funding. This research pursues physically plausible methods for human motion tracking from video using algorithms for Newtonian physical simulation and models human neurobiomechanics. This work is expected to enable more accurate human tracking robust to physical interactions, such as foot contacts with various ground surfaces, and disturbances, such as inter-person collisions ...