Research Interests:
Although I am interested in a great many things, there is a very simple common
theme, which can be summarized as follows:
the study of complex physical
motion and the means of producing it. Obviously, this is
a broader topic than just robotics, and I am indeed interested in the motions
of humans and animals (after all, they are very good at it). However, I
take a robotics-oriented view of this subject because I am interested in
demonstrating complex motions in machines (real and simulated). The
lists below break down my overall research interest into its myriad component
parts. Clearly, I can't be interested in all of them
simultaneously. To see what I am working on currently, take a look at my
projects page.
Kinematics:
- mathematics
(screws, spatial algebras, interval arithmetic, etc.)
- algorithms
(forward and inverse kinematics, point and trajectory transforms, general
numerical methods, numerical accuracy and efficiency, loop-closure &
constraint stabilization techniques, etc.)
- redundant robots
and task-specific redundancy (redundancy resolution, least-squares
solution techniques, operational spaces, prioritized constraint
resolution, etc.)
- motion planning & synthesis
(collision avoidance, motion planning, optimization, etc.)
Dynamics:
- mathematics
(formalisms, spatial vectors, equations of motion, analysis techniques)
- algorithms
(invention of new algorithms, efficiency, complexity, numerical stability
and accuracy, parallel computation, etc.)
- contact dynamics
(contact models, friction, collision detection, contact loss detection,
simulation techniques, etc.)
- simulators for rigid-body dynamics
(design, architectures, etc.).
Control:
- force control
(force optimization in closed loops, force-based cooperative motion, force
reflection for teleoperation, etc.)
- hybrid motion/force control
(kinematic and dynamic models of contact, dynamic decoupling, etc.)
- motor skills
(walking, running, hopping, balancing, acrobatics, etc.)
- motion at the performance envelope
(controllers that can safely and robustly push the robot to its maximum
performance)
Design:
- robot/controller co-design
(i.e., a holistic approach to the design of high-performance robots)
- performance metrics
(e.g. quantifying a robot mechanism's intrinsic ability to balance, hop,
etc.)
Technology:
- actuators
(e.g. electromagnetic and electrostatic actuators, shape-memory and
superelastic alloys, electro-active polymers)
- small autonomous robots,
including robots that can run, hop, walk, crawl, climb, swim, etc.
- high-performance robots
(small, fast, accurate, responsive, indestructible, large repertoire of
motor skills, energy efficiency, high power-to-weight ratio, etc.)