Dr. Jun Ueda received an National Science Foundation (NSF) grant from the Dynamical Systems (DS) program in the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) for his research on nonuniformly quantized actuation in biological motion generation. The research will result in an in-depth understanding of how modularity and variability in the neuromuscular system play key roles in coordinating multiple muscles. Specifically, this project will establish a physiologically inspired framework for recruiting compliant modular actuators for biological movement generation.

Dr. Ueda's research will advance the field of biologically inspired robotics, rehabilitation robotics, computational neuroscience, and character animation. A deeper understanding of neuromuscular physiology will provide more sophisticated computational models, resulting in a novel architecture for robotics that captures the advantages inherent in biological motor systems.

The broader impact of this project will reach students of ages. Research outcomes integrated into current courses including offering a special topic for undergraduate design research. Graduate and undergraduate students will be recruited from interdisciplinary and multicultural groups including under-represented groups. Outreach activities for K-12 students will be conducted through a Robotics Summer Camp program, Georgia Tech the Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership Program, and FIRST Robotics.