ShanghAI Lectures: Patrick van der Smagt “Biomimetic Robotics”

Guest talk in the ShanghAI Lectures, 2010-10-21

In this guest presentation, Patrick van der Smagt talks about biomimetic approaches to robot control, kinematics, grasping, and ways to use the human body to control robots.

The ShanghAI Lectures are a videoconference-based lecture series on Embodied Intelligence, run and organized by Rolf Pfeifer (from 2009 till 2012), Fabio Bonsignorio (since 2013), and me with partners around the world. 

Van der Smagt is head of terrestrial robotics and bionics at the Institute of Robotics and Dynamics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He leads various EC projects, focusing on biomimetic robotics, with the goal of analyzing human motion behaviour and constructing the next generation of robots. This involves measuring and modelling limbs, but also understanding the underlying neural mechanisms.

To match the dexterity of the human upper extremities, van der Smagt analyses various aspects of the human biological components (using magnetic resonance tomography, sonography, electrode implantation, biophysics, and other tools).

The ShanghAI Lectures have brought us a treasure trove of guest lectures by experts in robotics. You can find the whole series from 2012 here. Now, we’re bringing you the guest lectures you haven’t yet seen from previous years, starting with the first lectures from 2009 and releasing a new guest lecture every Thursday until all the series are complete. Enjoy!

Nathan Labhart Co-organizing the ShanghAI Lectures since 2009.

Nathan Labhart Co-organizing the ShanghAI Lectures since 2009.