Will swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles be able to aid humans in wildland firefighting or package delivery? Research summarized in a new paper in Field Robotics represents a big step towards realizing such a future. In this interview, Professor Julie A. Adams describes the research showing that one person can supervise more than 100 autonomous ground and aerial robots.
In this week's episode, we feature two stories from the Oregon State Robotics Group.
Ravi Balasubramanian, mechanical engineering assistant professor, is designing robo-inspired implantable mechanisms to improve orthopedic surgeries of all types--with a specific focus on tendon transfer surgery related to restoring function of the hand. We talk with him in part 1.
In part 2, we explore Project Chiron, a kit that turns a mechanized wheelchair into a self-driving wheelchair to help those with ALS. It's being developed by Bill Smart, mechanical engineering associate professor, and his graduate student Benjamin Narin.
https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-2-engineering-inclusivity/inside-and-outside-s2e5
In this episode, we hear from Greg Herman, professor of chemical engineering, about a sensor he's developed that has the potential to monitor glucose levels via a contact lens.
In Part 2, we explore the research of John Mathews, professor and head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer science, whose goal is to enable people with serious spinal cord injuries to regain the use of paralyzed limbs.
https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-2-engineering-inclusivity/lenses-and-limbs-s2e4
Nordica MacCarty, a faculty member in the Humanitarian Engineering Program at Oregon State, talks about improving the lives of women and children in the developing world through cleaner-burning cook stove technology. We also follow the unlikely journey taken by assistant professor Chinweike Eseonu, three women from the tiny town of Monroe, Oregon, Spanish instructor Loren Chavarria, and three determined engineering students, all made possible by some tasty Mexican food.
In part one, we meet computer science Assistant Professor Stephen Ramsey, who uses computational modeling to look deep into the human genome. His goal: predict who among us is more susceptible to heart disease. The information could determine not only who will benefit most from preventive action, but may even lead to new drugs for treating cardiovascular disease.
We then shift from humans to the world of plants and animals with Ph.D. student Caitlin Condon and Ph.D. candidate Delvan Neville from the Radioecology Research Group in the School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. They are both creating voxel phantom models: Caitlin for pine trees, and Delvan for marine life. By creating these 3-D models, they hope to begin to much more accurately understand radiation dose rates in biota.
https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/hearts-and-phantoms-s1e6