Recycling is a key process for a sustainable future, and yet it is far from desired levels of efficiency. As mixed-stream recycling is the most common approach for domestic waste, the recycling industry heavily relies on the development of reliable waste sorting technologies. Robotic systems have remarkable potential for fulfilling this need and moving the industry to the next level.
The dangerous process of dismantling large ship hulls often involves cutting down and recycling the ship’s infrastructure. According to US OSHA standards, ship breaking operations expose workers to a wide range of hazards or conditions likely to cause injury or illness. Learn how a group of WPI students worked together to develop a solution to improve worker safety in the ship-breaking industry by designing a prototype that displays the viability of a robotic approach to ship recycling.
Every year, thousands of people are killed or maimed because of land mines. Countless acres of land can’t be used to grow food because they are littered with these deadly mines. Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are working on a robotic solution that would be inexpensive enough for small towns and organizations to use. The project uses an autonomous robotic team – a rover that uses a metal detection system to detect the mine and a drone that will drop a payload on the mine to detonate it.
See how TRINA, the tele-robotic intelligent nursing assistant can be operated using different interfaces such as a game controller, stylus, and motion mapping to complete tasks. Which interface do you think will work best?
The Whittington Research Group is making models of human disease outside of the body. You can view an overview of the work, and see students in the lab. Work is described using a LEGO analogy, because we know a lot people are familiar with building models with Legos or blocks.
The Gordon Library Team created a research guide that includes information & resources about WPI research on space exploration and related topics, fun activities, and an “Archives Corner” highlighting the timeline of WPI’s space exploration.
“You can’t have autonomy without connectivity.” That’s the contention of Alexander Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an internationally recognized expert in wireless communications. One of Wyglinski’s interests is the wireless technology that will be needed to connect vehicles as they share the road. Wireless connections will enable them to exchange information about road conditions, traffic and so on, thus increasing their situational awareness well beyond the range the cameras and sensors that give autonomous vehicles a view of the environment around them. In Wyglinski’ s view, vehicle connectivity, which may involve cutting-edge technologies like cognitive radio, is an enabling technology for autonomous vehicles, as it will be essential to their safe operation.
Medical robotics is a growing focus area within the Robotics Engineering Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Researchers are working on advances in surgical robotics (including innovative robots designed to work inside MRI scanners), assistive robots (including systems to aid in stroke rehabilitation), and even robotic nursing systems. Opening in 2019, PracticePoint, a research, development, and commercialization alliance located at WPI’s Gateway Park, will provide an exciting new venue for creating and testing medical robotics and cyberphysical systems. Learn More: wpi.edu/+RBE
Learn about the research Dr. Zhong’s Integrated Materials and Processes Design (IMPD) group is working on to design the next generation of materials. Specifically, learn how the group uses computational modeling techniques such as machine learning to simulate a material’s behavior. With these simulations, the group can study the properties and performance of new materials for applications in alloys, ceramics, and nanomaterials without actually making them.
Professor Nephew and Professor King are currently focusing on using fNIRS technology to study chronic pain in hopes of identifying biomarkers or aspects of brain activity that predict levels of chronic pain. By using the fNIRS technology, the team is able to measure levels of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood which indirectly correlates with a change in brain activity. Putting those with and without chronic pain through a series of cognitive and physical tests, they are hoping to discover certain indicators or predictors of chronic pain as well measure the effectiveness of a variety of treatments for chronic pain.
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