Handshakes, Boxes, and More! - 09/23/2011

Ofir Nachum (MIT)

Title: Handshakes, Boxes, and More!

Abstract: The Karniel lab, located at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel has done much to advance the field of biomedical engineering through the use of haptic interfaces. The haptic devices used by the lab are of the PHANToM variety, and allow the programmer to build an interface that measures the position and velocity of a subject’s hand as well as to apply forces from a virtual world. Using these interfaces, it is possible to create an experiment which measures a subject’s reaction to a slightly altered reality versus an imitation of the real world. The Karniel lab is currently using haptic interfaces to investigate properties of a human-like handshake and to analyze predictive elements involved in human motor control when lifting a box. This talk will focus on the specifics of these experiments and how they investigate their respective topics utilizing haptic devices to produce valuable and reliable data.

-- JiaxiJin - 09 Dec 2011