Hannah Stuart

Professor Stuart’s research interests include: Dexterous manipulation; Bioinspired design; Soft and multi-material mechanisms; Skin contact conditions; Tactile sensing and haptics.

Mobile robots face a rapidly expanding range of potential applications, including remote exploration, search-and-rescue and household assistance. In many of these cases, the focus of interaction is via the robot’s end-effectors. However, current manipulators have limited capabilities in comparison to their biological counterparts. Our group is interested in improving robot dexterity through building end-effectors with embodied intelligence and robustness, especially for challenging submerged or wet environments. This includes the design of (1) novel grippers and hands, (2) touch perception for autonomous or teleoperated interventions and (3) bioinspired manipulation strategies. This vision includes the advancement of relevant design analysis tools and the validation of concepts by applying technologies in the field.