Jeremy D. Brown, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Department of Engineering @ Whiting School of Engineering
Johns Hopkins University

Restoring dexterity in telerobotics: An engineer’s journey into neuroscience

The human body can perform dexterous manipulation across a variety of environments. However, some environments present challenges due to limitations in function, distance, and scale. In many of these cases, access can be restored through the use of a telerobot. Dexterous manipulation via a telerobot is feasible only if it can effectively extend the user’s inherent sensorimotor control scheme to the distal environment. In this talk, I will discuss research from our lab that explores the intricate relationship between touch perception, sensorimotor control, and telerobotics in both healthy and impaired individuals. Specifically, I will focus on our efforts to 1) restore “neurally efficient” control in upper-limb prosthetics, 2) enhance skill learning and skill transfer in robotic minimally invasive surgical training, and 3) assess and augment touch perception in healthy and impaired sensorimotor systems. Throughout, I will emphasize the need for increased collaboration between engineers and neuroscientists to deepen our understanding of these long-standing societal challenges and move closer to long-term solutions.

Faculty Host: Dr. Christopher Fetsch