Faculty receive NSF grant
Three faculty members from the Tufts Department of Computer Science — Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor Elaine Schaertl Short, James Schmolze Assistant Professor Jivko Sinapov, and Professor Matthias Scheutz – and colleagues from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Occupational Therapy – John R. Beaver Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chris Rogers and lecturer Jen Buxton – received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation National Robotics Initiative on Mutually Assistive Robotics.
The National Robotics Initiative “promotes integration of robots to the benefit of humans including human safety and human independence.” With this grant, says Short, “We will develop new methods for robot learning that empower people with disabilities to collaboratively design, control, and influence robot behavior while engaging in pleasurable hobbies, controlling their own appearance, and generally engaging in creative interaction with the world. These methods will help to ensure that the next generation of assistive robotics supports disabled people's quality of life and joyous self-expression, as well as their daily chores, significantly improving the lives of the substantial number of Americans of all ages who live with physical disabilities.”
Congratulations to the team of researchers!