New Center to Improve Robot Dexterity Selected to Receive Up to $52 Million
August 2024 Under the leadership of Ed Colgate, an NSF grant marks the first time Northwestern has led an Engineering Research Center.
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The Latest CRB News
New Twist on Artificial ‘Muscles’ for Safer, Softer Robots
July 2024 Simplified, low-cost soft actuators enable worm-like crawling, bicep-like lifting, and more.
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Truby Selected to Participate in NAE Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
June 2024 Truby is one of 100 outstanding early career engineers who will meet for an intensive 2 1/2-day FOE symposium to discuss cutting-edge developments in four areas: water-air-surface connections for indoor microbiology and health; the future of AI; connections between the gut and the brain; and the impending revolution of digital twin.
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SRAlab-CRB Collaboration Wins Best Medical Robotics Paper Award at ICRA 2024
May 2024 The award was given for the paper "Exoskeleton-Mediated Physical Human-Human Interaction for a Sit-to-Stand Rehabilitation Task" presented in Yokohama, Japan.
A High Resolution Spatiotemporal Tactile Array
May 2024 A new class of haptic devices that produces high resolution spatial and temporal patterns within a fingerpad.
Breaking Barriers: Self-driving Wheelchairs Inspire Independence, Increased Mobility
May 2024 Shirley Ryan Ability Lab thinks there’s no group better served by this new technology. FOX 32's Roseanne Tellez dives in deeper to see the game-changing tech in action.
Random Robots Are More Reliable
May 2024 New AI algorithm for robots consistently outperforms state-of-the-art systems.
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Tom Wagner, CEO of Berkshire Grey, Visits the CRB
May 2024 Tom Wagner visited with student groups and faculty at the Querrey InQbation Lab, Center for Robotics and Biosystems, Shirely Ryan Ability Lab, and Robot Design Studio.
PhD Student Sylvia Tan Receives the Inaugural Mechanical Engineering Graduate Mentorship Award
April 2024 The award given is given to PhD students who have displayed exceptional commitment and leadership.
CRB Students Awarded Fellowships
April 2024 CRB students James Avtges, Drew Curtis, Rohan Kota, and Fiona Neylon have been recently awarded new fellowships from institutions including NSF, NDSEG, and NU.
CRB Celebrates the MARS Omnid Team
April 2024 The CRB Omnid Team returned from the invite-only MARS Conference hosted by Jeff Bezos, to a celebration for their arduous work.
Northwestern Robotics Team Demonstrates Mocobots to Tech Leaders
April 2024 The Omnid team was one of 20 demonstrations at the MARS Conference in Ojai, California hosted by Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
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Society of Women Engineers Hosts 2024 Career Day for Girls
March 2024 Around 180 Chicago-area middle school and high school students signed up to visit campus for the event.
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PhD Student Tommy Berrueta Chosen as a Presenter for the Future Leaders in Robotics and AI Seminar Series
February 2024 The Future Leaders in Robotics and AI: Celebrating Diversity and Innovation Seminar Series is part of the University of Maryland and Microsoft Robotics and Diversity Initiative, sponsored by Microsoft DC Metro Engineering Site.
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Accelerating the Accessibility and Safety of Power Wheelchairs
December 2023 A multidisciplinary team led by Professor Brenna Argall received a Phase 2 NSF Convergence Accelerator award.
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Ryan Truby Receives DARPA Young Faculty Award
October 2023 The DARPA program provides funding, mentoring, and industry and DoD contacts to awardees early in their careers to help them develop their research ideas in the context of national security needs. Truby's Robotic Matter Lab will receive a two-year award of $500,000.
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Instant Evolution: AI Designs New Robot From Scratch in Seconds
October 2023 A team led by Sam Kriegman and Northwestern University researchers has developed the first artificial intelligence (AI) to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch.
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Brains & Machines: A Podcast About Neuromorphic Engineering and Bio-inspired Technology
September 2023 Mitra Hartmann discusses how modelling rat whiskers can make us better both at understanding the brain and building technology, and why she finds the neuromorphic engineering community so intellectually rewarding.
PhD Student Mahdieh Nejati Javaremi Chosen as an RSS Pioneer
September 2023 The workshop program committee selected the 30 member cohort based on research excellence and potential for furthering the field of robotics research either in industry or academia.
Sam Kriegman Named Schmidt Futures 2050 Early Career Fellow
August 2023 Northwestern Engineering’s Sam Kriegman is among the inaugural cohort of Schmidt Futures 2050 Early Career Fellows, selected to solve hard problems in artificial intelligence (AI) through bold and ambitious multidisciplinary research.
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Kevin Lynch to Retire as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Robotics
June 2023 Lynch will have overseen the production of 30 issues of T-RO. Among its other achievements under his leadership, T-RO has nearly doubled its submissions, which are up 90% from when Lynch took over.
How Will AI Help Humans with Mobility?
May 2023 A podcast by Solve It For Kids with Brenna Argall from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.
Brenna Argall Inducted into the AIMBE College of Fellows
April 2023 AIMBE fellows represent the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers in academia, industry, education, clinical practice, and government.
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Society of Women Engineers Hosts 2023 Career Day for Girls
March 2023 Around 70 Chicago-area Middle School and High School Students Visited Campus as Part of the February 25 Event
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Muscle-powered Robots Have Freedom of Movement
February 2023 First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control. Microelectronics give researchers remote control over biological robots.
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Ryan Truby and Sam Kriegman Receive CESR Seed Funding Award for Sustainable Design and Fabrication of Intelligent Robots
January 2023 This seed grant will be cultivated in the rich soil of the Center for Robotics and Biosystems and grow over the next year and a half into the preliminary results needed for external proposals on the topic of sustainable robotics.
Accelerating the Accessibility and Utility of Power Wheelchairs
December 2022 A multidisciplinary team led by Professor Brenna Argall received a Phase 1 NSF Convergence Accelerator award.
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The Future of Human-Robot Interaction Is Mobile
December 2022 More than 25 years after Northwestern Engineering researchers advanced the concept of collaborative robotics, researchers in the Center for Robotics and Biosystems have designed team-based, mobile “mocobots” that could signal a new era of human-robot interaction in construction, manufacturing, and space exploration.
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Chemistry Flexes Robotic Arm Without Electronics
October 2022 Popping chemical bubbles can power arm movements in microrobots.
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Northwestern Engineering Names Winners of 2022 Cole-Higgins Awards
September 2022 Five members of the Northwestern Engineering community have received the school’s annual awards for outstanding teaching and advising.
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Answering How to Collect Data for Machine Learning
August 2022 People frequently hear how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies are going to change the world. What they don’t hear as often is how most of what’s learned uses data provided by the general public, and how much data the scientific community actually has. Recent work from Northwestern Engineering researchers could provide some answers.
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PhD Student Ola Kalinowska Chosen a Cyber-Physical Systems Rising Star
June 2022 CPS Rising Stars recognizes outstanding PhD students and postdocs who are interested in pursuing academic careers in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) related areas.
Design Studio Students Show Off High-Performance Robots
June 2022 Three teams from ME 472: Robot Design Studio built robotic systems with a focus on haptics Robots.
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Thomas Berrueta Receives the Prestigious Presidential Fellowship Award
June 2022 The Presidential Fellowship award is the most prestigious fellowship awarded by Northwestern.
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Tiny Robotic Crab is Smallest-ever Remote-controlled Walking Robot
June 2022 Smaller than a flea, robot can walk, bend, twist, turn, and jump.
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Jian Cao Elected to National Academy of Engineering
February 2022 Cao is being honored by the NAE for her outstanding contributions to pioneering a flexible sheet forming system and leadership in manufacturing. Congratulations!
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John Rogers Honored by National Academy of Sciences
February 2022 Rogers was selected for his development of ‘biocompatible’ forms of electronic, optoelectronic, and microfluidic technologies with unique capabilities in basic science research and clinical care.
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Todd Murphey Appointed IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Vice President of Publication Activities
February 2022 Murphey now oversees all publications of the Robotics and Automation Society.
CRB Members and Former Student Receive the 2021 IEEE Control Systems Magazine Outstanding Paper Award
February 2022 The paper "Tutorial on Dynamic Average Consensus: The Problem, Its Applications, and the Algorithms," wins prestigious award.
Kevin Lynch Receives the George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation
January 2022 Lynch received the award in May 2022 for his "exceptional leadership" in the Robotics and Automation community.
Ryan Truby Receives Air Force Young Investigator Research Program Award
November 2021 Truby is one of 36 chosen from over 175 applicants to receive the 2022 award.
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New Holographic Camera Sees the Unseen with High Precision
November 2021 New Holographic Camera Sees the Unseen with High Precision.
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Petras Swissler and Michael Rubenstein Win the 2021 International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems Best Student Paper Award
June 2021 A paper by Petras Swissler and Michael Rubenstein was awarded the Best Student Paper Award for the 2021 International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems.
Brenna Argall Featured on "Mission Unstoppable"
March 2021 Argall is designing the next generation of medical assistive devices.
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Prof. J. Edward Colgate Elected to National Academy of Engineering
February 2021 Colgate is being recognized by the NAE for his outstanding contributions to haptics and human-robot systems, entrepreneurship, and leadership in design education. Congratulations!
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Papers accepted for IROS 2020
July 2020 Several papers were accepted from the Center for the upcoming IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Las Vegas, USA, in October 2020.
Ian Abraham and Todd Murphey Win the 2019 Best Paper Award for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics
March 2020 A paper by Ian Abraham and Todd Murphey was awarded the 2019 King-Sun Fu Award for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics.
Brenna Argall's Lab Featured in IndustryWeek
March 2020 Prof. Argall's progress toward semi-autonomous wheelchairs is the topic of a recent story in IndustryWeek.
CRB-led Workshop Accepted for RSS 2020
March 2020 A workshop on the topic of "AI & Its Alternatives in Assistive & Collaborative Robotics: Decoding Intent" has been accepted for RSS 2020.
Northwestern Engineering and CBS News cover a novel swarm shape formation algorithm developed at the CRB
February 2020 Swarming Robots Avoid Collisions, Traffic Jams: New algorithm could help control driverless cars, automated warehouses
Kevin Lynch to receive IEEE Robotics and Automation Society award
February 2020 Center director Kevin Lynch will be awarded the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society's Distinguished Service Award.
Jian Cao and Kevin Lynch envision manufacturing 50 years into the future
February 2020 Profs. Jian Cao and Kevin Lynch pen an opinion piece for IndustryWeek
Robotics Tomorrow published a Q&A with center director Kevin Lynch
February 2020 Robotics Tomorrow published a Q&A with center director Kevin Lynch on research and education at the Center for Robotics and Biosystems.
from Robotics Tomorrow
The Robot Report wrote a feature on research in the center
February 2020 The Robot Report wrote a feature on research in the Center for Robotics and Biosystems.
from The Robot Report
Papers accepted for ICRA 2020
January 2020 Several papers were accepted from the Center for the upcoming IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Paris, France, in June 2020.
New Center for Robotics and Biosystems Launches
December 2019 More than 100 faculty, students, and industry professionals came together on December 3 to consider “Our Future with Robots,” the launch event for Northwestern Engineering’s Center for Robotics and Biosystems.
Zack Woodruff is featured in a New York Times article on rock climbing
November 2019 Zack Woodruff is featured in a New York Times article on rock climbing.
Taosha Fan Wins Best Student Paper at International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
November 2019 Taosha Fan, PhD student at the Center for Robotics and Biosystems, wins the best student paper at one of the two largest annual conferences in robotics.
Shape-shifting Robot Built from ‘Smarticles’ Shows New Locomotion Strategy
September 2019 “Smarticles” robot built entirely from smaller robots.
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New Algorithms Discover Networks Within Systems
August 2019 Research could have implications in swarm robotics and many other fields.
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Brenna Argall to Participate in Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
July 2019 Argall is among 82 young engineers selected by the NAE.
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NxR students attend Robotics: Science and Systems conference
June 2019 NxR students traveled to Europe to attend the Robotics: Science and Systems conference in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Advancing Research through the Robot Design Studio
June 2019 Students create two robots to advance work of mechanical engineering faculty.
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Professor Mitra Hartmann receives University Teaching Award
May 2019 On May 14th, Mitra Harmann will receive the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence Award for outstanding performance and dedication to undergraduate education at Northwestern University.
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Todd Murphey Appointed to Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
April 2019 Murphey will advise on engineering and technology matters related to the Air Force mission.
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NxR students awarded national fellowships
April 2019 Congratulations to NxR graduate students Chris Miller and Milli Schlafly, who have been award the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Chris was also awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
MacIver featured on Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast
March 2019 Professor Malcolm MacIver has been featured on Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast.
NxR student attending 2018 Hand Brain Technology Conference
August 2018 Graduate student Rebecca Fenton Friesen is attending the Hand Brain Technology Conference in Ascona, Switzerland, August 26-31. She'll be presenting her work investigating tactile pitch perception of surface textures using haptic displays.
"Modern Robotics" MOOC now available on Coursera
July 2018 "Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control," Kevin Lynch and Frank Park (Cambridge University Press 2017), is now available as a MOOC (massive open online course) specialization on Coursera!
Several NxR students awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
July 2018 Congratulations to NxR graduate students Ana Pervan and Kyra Rudy, who have been awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Congratulations also to NxR graduate student Tito Fernandez, who received honorable mention.
MS in Robotics Projects Featured in ROS 10 Year Montage Video
December 2017 Open Robotics (formerly the Open Source Robotics Foundation) just released a montage video showcasing a variety of robotics projects that have been built on the Robot Operating System (ROS).
Professor Kevin Lynch Receives Harashima Award
October 2017 Kevin Lynch has received the 2017 IROS Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies, awarded by the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).
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New Textbook Examines Modern Robotics
September 2017 Free to download, the textbook also includes video lessons and accompanying software.
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NxR's Malcolm MacIver interviewed on PBS show "SciTechNow"
August 2017 Professor Malcolm MacIver was interviewed on the recent PNAS study on why our fish ancestors made the leap on to land 385 million years ago. The interview was for the PBS science and technology show SciTechNow and was conducted by Hari Sreenivasan.
Researchers Discuss the Future of Bio-Integrated Technology
May 2017 “The Networked Body” took place Tuesday, May 16.
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Prof. MacIver Participates in Public Panel on Future of AI
April 2017 MacIver spoke on the impact of AI on the future of work, potential benefits of AI, and how art goes beyond reflecting developments in AI to participate in shaping its trajectory.
Peshkin Receives National Educator Award from ASEE
April 2017 Ralph Coats Roe Award recognizes outstanding teachers in mechanical engineering.
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NSF Profiles Recent Work in Prof. Todd Murphey's Lab
April 2017 Today, the National Science Foundation released a new article and corresponding video in the Science Nation online magazine that focuses on recent work in Prof. Todd Murphey's lab.
Teaching Robots to Adapt to Human Unpredictability
April 2017 NSF’s Science Nation showcases Professors Todd Murphey and Julius Dewald’s work to develop more helpful robots.
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The Eyes Have It
April 2017 Professor Malcolm MacIver and collaborators studied the fossil record and discovered that fish eyes nearly tripled in size before the creatures made the water-to-land transition.
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NxR's MacIver, Mugan, and Murphey publish discovery that vision led our fish-like ancestors to land, not limbs
March 2017 In a new PNAS study, NxR's Malcolm MacIver, Ugurcan Mugan, and Todd Murphey show that eyes greatly increased in size just prior to vertebrates coming out of water to live on land, nearly 400 million years ago. The study has implications both for how and why our vertebrate ancestors came on to land, as well as for the evolution of complex cognitive abilities.
New NxR Publication Garnering Significant Social Media Attention
February 2017 A new Perspective in the journal Neuron by NxR faculty Malcolm MacIver and co-authors, entitled "Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias", has touched a nerve in social media, garnering 900 tweets reaching an upper bound of one million followers since its publication on Feb 8.
Article by Prof. Hartmann and Students Draws Global Media Interest
October 2016 A study by Yu, Graff, Bresee, Man and Professor Hartmann, published in the journal Science Advances and featured as a graphic highlight on the journal’s website, was widely reported on in the popular science media both domestically and internationally.
New Robotics Textbook Published Online by Prof. Lynch
October 2016 The robotics intro textbook is now published online.
Brenna Argall’s Plans for an Autonomous Wheelchair Profiled in Crain’s
August 2016 Smart wheelchair can adapt its actions based off of instruction.
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20 Years Later: Cobots Co-opt Assembly Lines
August 2016 Northwestern team collaborated with GM to create a new type of robot.
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Rat Whiskers Shed Light on How Neurons Communicate Touch
August 2016 Researchers find that whisker sensory neurons mainly encode mechanical information.
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Professor Malcolm MacIver Featured on Reddit - PLOS Science Wednesday
May 2016 NxR professor Malcolm MacIver will be hosting a Reddit “Ask Us Anything” session at 1 pm ET May 4, 2016.
Brenna Argall Receives CAREER Award
March 2016 The five-year, $525,000 grant will help people with a wide variety of disabilities who can benefit from robotic devices.
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Faculty Publish New Mechatronics Textbook
February 2016 Based on the ME 333 curriculum, the book is augmented by instructional videos.
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Northwestern Engineering Names Winners of 2015 Cole-Higgins Awards
December 2015 Todd Murphey and Igal Szleifer win this year’s awards.
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Engineering Touch
December 2015 Researchers are incorporating touch into robotics.
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Gantz, Colgate, and Peshkin to Enter Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame
October 2015 Members of Northwestern Engineering community will be recognized in part for helping launch Northwestern startups.
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Connoisseurs of Touch
September 2015 Northwestern Engineering researchers break through the touchscreen technology, putting tactile information at users' fingertips. Literally.
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Diverse Sea Creatures Evolved to Reach Same Swimming Solution
April 2015 Elongated fins use same mechanical motion to optimize speed across eight animal groups.
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Robot Block Party this Weekend
April 2015 Robotics experts to demonstrate their creations at Museum of Science and Industry.
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McCormick Professors Inducted into NAI
March 2015 Mechanical engineering professors J. Edward Colgate and Michael Peshkin received the high professional honor.
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Bringing Texture to Your Flat Touchscreen
February 2015 Model of ‘virtual bumps’ could lead to feeling a keyboard on your touchscreen.
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