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Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

http://web.stanford.edu/group/charm/cgi-bin/pmwiki/uploads///okamura-hires.jpg

Professor Allison Okamura is an Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford, at the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine Laboratory working on haptics and surgical robotics.

Biography
Professor Okamura completed her BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley in 1994**, followed by her MS degree also in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1996**. Her PhD in "...", within Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2000. Supervised XX PhDs. including Katherine J. Kuchenbecker.

Research
"at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, is studying, along with a team of neuroscientists, the potential applications of a robotic exoskeleton for patients who have suffered damage to the cerebellum. Such patients have trouble controlling their limbs; the exoskeleton robot would encase their arms and coördinate physical movements. The patient could use the robot until he recovered, or perhaps for the rest of his life, if the deficit persisted."

Haptics and Surgical Robotics
Haptics

Surgical robotics

She presented a TEDx Stanford talk "Touch, Engineered" in 2013 on the subject of her work on haptics along with a brief history of surgical technology.

Vinebot
Vinebot - snake-like plant vine robot "snake-like robot that is able to to squeeze through tight gaps which could prove to be invaluable in search and rescue scenarios. By using a process known as 'eversion' the tube is able to unfurl itself from the inside using pressurised air. By gently pulling the tube in different directions, the operator is able to manipulate the robot's shape making it easy to navigate past small obstacles." "Collaborators on this research include Elliot Hawkes of University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sean Follmer and Jonathan Fan of Stanford University." "And because it’s inflatable, vinebot can squeeze into those hard-to-reach places. “There's a clear tradeoff between traditional robots that can be very robust and made of strong materials like metal, and the soft robots which might be more delicate but have more flexibility,” says Okamura." "One model with a 2-inch diameter started out a foot long and quickly grew to 236 feet. As the device lengthens, wires can grow with it, attached to a sensor or a camera that can provide information about the robot’s environment as it progresses. How does all this happen? The robot, made of soft plastic, usually has three wires running its length. The device starts out compressed into a cylinder that includes a spool containing additional tubing from which “growth” can occur at the tip. The plastic “vine” is driven by air pumped into the stationary end. Controllers can steer the robot—based on the video it sends back—by adding air to one or another of the long control chambers running along the walls. This causes the emerging tip to bend, changing the direction of growth." . “A soft robot that navigates its environment through growth,” Elliot W. Hawkes, Laura H. Blumenschein, Joseph D. Greer and Allison M. Okamura, Science Robotics (June 19)

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/407005/surgical-robots-get-a-sense-of-touch/

https://robohub.org/25-women-in-robotics-you-need-to-know-about/

"My research focuses on developing the principles and tools needed to realize advanced robotic and human-machine systems capable of haptic (touch) interaction, particularly for biomedical applications. Haptic systems are designed and studied using both analytical and experimental approaches. Topics of particular interest are: (1) Teleoperation: Devices, models, and control systems that allow human operators to manipulate environments that are remote in scale and/or distance. (2) Virtual Environments: Models, control systems, and devices that enable compelling touch-based interaction with computers. (3) Robotic manipulation: Robots that physically manipulate their environment or their own shape, incorporating novel designs, sensors, and control systems. Application areas include surgery, simulation and training, rehabilitation, prosthetics, neuromechanics, exploration of hazardous and remote environments, design, and education."

" She is currently Professor in the mechanical engineering department at Stanford University. She was previously Professor and Vice Chair of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. She has been an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Haptics, an editor of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation Conference Editorial Board, and co-chair of the IEEE Haptics Symposium. Her awards include the 2009 IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics Early Career Award, the 2005 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award, and the 2004 NSF CAREER Award. She is an IEEE Fellow. Her academic interests include haptics, teleoperation, virtual environments and simulators, medical robotics, neuromechanics and rehabilitation, prosthetics, and engineering education. Outside academia, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, running, and playing ice hockey."

Awards
Professor Okamura has received various awards, including:


 * Duca Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2016)
 * Robert Bosch Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2011-2015)
 * Gabilan Fellow, Stanford University (2011)
 * IEEE Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2010)
 * Early Career Award, IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics (2009)


 * Alumni Distinguished Scholar, Stanford University (2008)
 * Decker Faculty Scholar, Johns Hopkins University (2007-2010)
 * Award for Excellence, Outstanding Paper of the Year in Industrial Robot, Literati Club (2005)
 * Early Academic Career Award, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (2005)
 * CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2004-2009)
 * Diversity Recognition Award, Johns Hopkins University (2003)