University Labs
CalTech
The Dickinson Lab studies the neural and biomechanical basis of behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila. We strive to build an integrated model of behavior that incorporates an understanding of morphology, neurobiology, muscle physiology, physics, and ecology. Although our research focuses primarily on flight control, we are interested in how animals transform sensory information into a code that controls motor output and behavior.
Case Western Reserve University
Biologically Inspired Robotics
Quinn Lab
The Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research at Case Western Reserve University is directed by Dr. Roger Quinn. We are dedicated to the advancement of the field of robotics using insights gained through the study of biological mechanisms.
École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne
Biorobotics Laboratory - BioRob
The Biorobotics Laboratory (BioRob in short) is part of the Institute of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering at the EPFL. We work on the computational aspects of locomotion control, sensorimotor coordination, and learning in animals and in robots. We are interested in using robots and numerical simulation to study the neural mechanisms underlying movement control and learning in animals, and in return to take inspiration from animals to design new control methods for robotics as well as novel robots capable of agile locomotion in complex environments.
Georgia Tech
Center for Biologically Inspired Design - CBID
As the world becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, it has become clear that we do not fully understand how to foster, sustain, and propagate these interdisciplinary connections in the university and its undergraduate curricula. Such interdisciplinary education is necessary to solve the increasingly complex problems faced by the next generation of scientists and engineers, who in particular, will be faced with the challenge of integrating biology and engineering.
Harvard University
Self-Organizing Systems Research Group
Nagpal Lab
Our group is interested in self-organizing multi-agent systems, where large numbers of simple agents cooperate to produce complex and robust global behavior. We develop bio-inspired robots and algorithms for collective intelligence, drawing inspiration from social insects and multicellular organization. We also model self-organization in biology, specifically how cells and insects cooperate to achieve complex tasks. Our work combines computer science, robotics, and biology.
Lewis & Clark
Prof. Kellar Autumn’s research focus lies at the interface of biology (biomechanics), engineering (contact mechanics and materials science), and physics (intermolecular and interfacial forces. Prof. Autumn received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1988, and his PhD in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley in 1995. He continued at Berkeley as an Office of Naval Research Postdoctoral Fellow until 1998, and joined the faculty of Biology at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon in the same year. In his lab he and his students study the mechanisms and evolution of animal locomotion and develop biologically inspired materials and machines. Research has also taken him out of the lab to the Taklimakan, Gobi, and Kara Kum Deserts of central Asia.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT Media Lab
The Personal Robots Group focuses on developing the principles, techniques, and technologies for personal robots. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal and her students conduct research that advances the state-of-the-art in socially intelligent robot partners that interact with humans to promote social and intellectual benefits, work alongside with humans as peers, learn from people as apprentices, and foster more engaging interaction between people. More recent work investigates the impact of long-term, personalized Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) applied to quality of life, health, creativity, communication, and educational goals. The ability of these robot systems to naturally interact, learn from, and effectively cooperate with people has been evaluated in numerous human subjects experiments, both inside the lab and in real-world environments.
Northeastern University
Biomimetic Underwater Robot Program
Ayers Lab
We are developing neurotechnology based on the neurophysiology and behavior of animal models. We developed two classes of biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicles (see above). The first is an 8-legged ambulatory vehicle that is based on the lobster and is intended for autonomous remote-sensing operations in rivers and/or the littoral zone ocean bottom with robust adaptations to irregular bottom contours, current and surge. The second vehicle is an undulatory system that is based on the lamprey and is intended for remote sensing operations in the water column with robust depth/altitude control and high maneuverability. These vehicles are based on a common biomimetic control, actuator and sensor architecture that features highly modularized components and low cost per vehicle. Operating in concert, they can conduct autonomous investigation of both the bottom and water column of the littoral zone or rivers. These systems represent a new class of autonomous underwater vehicles that may be adapted to operations in a variety of habitat
Stanford University
Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Laboratory
Cutkosky Lab
Cutkosky applies analyses, simulations, and experiments to the design and control of robotic hands, tactile sensors, and devices for human/computer interaction. In manufacturing, his work focuses on design tools for rapid prototyping.
Berkeley
Center for Interdisciplinary Biological Inspiration in Education and Research - CiBER
The Center for Interdisciplinary Biological Inspiration in Education and Research (CiBER) at UC Berkeley focuses on how we learn from nature, innovate methods to extract principles in biology that inspire novel design in engineering, and train scientists and engineers to collaborate in mutually beneficial relationships.
University of Washington
The University of Washington’s BioRobotics Lab is home to a number of students and faculty dedicated to improving the lives of people through cyberphysical systems. Our mission is to develop science, technology, and human resources at the interface between robotics, control theory and the biological sciences. Our goal is to produce useful, innovative research and technology as well as trained researchers capable of driving technological advancement in medical and biological systems.
Our lab is interested in the control and dynamics of movement in biology. From molecular levels of organization to sensing, information processing, actuation and flight mechanics, we focus on a range of research projects aimed at reverse engineering flight control in Manduca sexta.