Johns Hopkins University Computer Perception
and Robotics Laboratory (JHU. LCSR)
Basic Introduction
Johns Hopkins University is the first research university in the United States, and the National Science Foundation has ranked it as the highest university in the United States for research funding for 33 consecutive years. JHU has 29 Nobel Prize winners, currently including 4 who are teaching, such as molecular biologist Peter Agre and Carol Greider, geneticist Gregg Semenza, and astrophysicist Adam Riess.
The Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR) is composed of researchers from the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE), the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (SOM), the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. It is an international leader in the field of medical robotics, autonomous systems, and biosensing, and is one of the largest and most technologically advanced robotics research centers in the world.
LCSR is currently engaged in many research areas, including:
-
Robotics and computer-assisted surgery
-
Robotics in extreme environments
-
Perception and cognitive systems
-
Modeling, dynamics, navigation, and control
-
Human-robot collaboration systems
-
Bio-robotics
The History of LCSR
The research on robotics at Johns Hopkins University can be traced back to the early 1960s (robotics as an engineering discipline began with remote manipulation systems used to handle radioactive materials during World War II).
At that time, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL) developed the Johns Hopkins Beast, a wheeled mobile robot capable of navigating corridors and automatically locating and connecting to wall outlets to recharge its batteries.
Robotics research at the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) began in the mid-1990s, and the arrival of Gregory Chirikjian in 1992, Louis Whitcomb in 1995, and Russell Taylor spurred robotics development. Subsequently, the establishment of the NSF Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technologies (CISST ERC) in 1998 led to significant growth in robotics projects, focusing on medical robotics.
The Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR) was established in 2007 to provide infrastructure for a wide range of interdisciplinary robotics research projects. Johns Hopkins University is widely regarded as one of the top robotics research institutions in the world, ranked first in the field of medical robotics.
LCSR’s Medical Robotics Research Overview
(Laboratory Name and Director)
1. Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems (CIIS) Laboratory – Russell Taylor
Professor Russell Taylor is the director of the Computer-Integrated Interventional Systems (CIIS) Laboratory. The laboratory exists to develop surgical systems that integrate new computer and human-machine interface technologies that will radically change surgical procedures, extending the capabilities of surgeons to achieve better outcomes at lower costs. Recent research projects include robot-assisted microsurgery (stable hand-eye coordination robots), surgical control and planning, snake robots, deformable human anatomical models, intelligent surgical instruments, radiation oncology treatment planning optimization, image overlay, laparoscopic-assisted robotic systems, and robot-assisted ultrasound and MRI-compatible robots.
2. Photoacoustic and Ultrasound Systems Engineering (PULSE) Laboratory – Muyinatu Bell
The PULSE laboratory integrates light, sound, and robotics to develop innovative biomedical imaging systems while addressing unmet clinical needs and improving patient care. The focus is on diagnostic and surgical ultrasound and photoacoustic technologies applied to neurosurgical cancer detection and treatment as well as women’s health.
3. Medical Ultrasound Imaging and Intervention Collaboration (MUSiiC) – Emad Boctor
The MUSiiC research laboratory develops innovative ultrasound technologies for medical applications, ranging from prostate cancer and breast cancer treatments to liver ablation and brachytherapy.
4. Haptic and Medical Robotics Laboratory (HAMR) – Jeremy Brown
The HAMR laboratory aims to expand the existing knowledge around human perception of touch, particularly as it relates to human-robot interaction and collaboration applications. Perception is involved in minimally invasive surgical robots, upper limb prosthetic devices, and rehabilitation robots, applying techniques from human perception, human motion control, neuro-mechanics, and control theory.
5. Locomotion in Mechanical and Biological Systems (LIMBS) – Noah Cowan
Led by Noah J. Cowan, the LIMBS laboratory is dedicated to revealing the principles of sensory-guided locomotion in animals and robots. For animals, it is an analytical problem: reverse-engineering the biomechanics and neural control principles behind animal movement. For robotics, it is a design problem: combining biological inspiration and engineering insights to synthesize new methods of robotic control. The research program includes several projects in sensing, navigation, and control for both robots and animals (including humans).
6. Computational Interaction and Robotics Laboratory (CIRL) – Gregory Hager
Led by Dr. Gregory Hager, the Computational Interaction and Robotics Laboratory focuses on research involving dynamic spatial interactions at the intersection of imaging, robotics, and human-robot interaction. The laboratory has many ongoing projects in this area. The Motion Language project seeks to develop new methods for recognizing and assessing skilled human manipulation, with a particular emphasis on surgery. Data is collected using the da Vinci surgical robot and processed into gesture-based models to support skill assessment, training, and human-robot collaborative task execution. The Manipulation and Perception (MAPS) project aims to apply computer vision principles to haptic sensing, with the goal of developing new methods for tactile object recognition. Recent work in the laboratory aims to develop general perception to support universal manipulation of objects in the physical world. The laboratory also conducts work in the field of medical imaging. An interactive computer-assisted diagnostic system based on images is also an area of interest.
7. Biomechanics and Image-Guided Surgical Systems (BIGSS) Laboratory – Mehran Armand
The Biomechanics and Image-Guided Surgical Systems (BIGSS) laboratory focuses on developing innovative computer-assisted surgical navigation systems involving novel robotics, advanced imaging, and real-time biomechanical assessment to improve surgical outcomes.
8. Intuitive Computing Laboratory – Chien-Ming Huang
The Intuitive Computing Laboratory aims to innovate interactive robotic systems that provide personalized physical, social, and behavioral support to individuals with various characteristics and needs. An interdisciplinary team designs, builds, and studies the intuitive interaction capabilities of robotic systems to improve their usability and user experience. The research draws on principles and techniques from human-robot interaction, robotics, and machine learning to address challenges in healthcare, education, and collaborative manufacturing.
9. Advanced Medical Instruments and Robotics (AMIRo) – Iulian Iordachita
Led by Dr. Iulian Iordachita, the Advanced Medical Instruments and Robotics research laboratory (AMIRo) conducts research to assist and support robot-assisted medical technologies, including medical diagnosis and treatment as well as clinical research. The primary goal is to create the next generation of medical robots and devices that help clinicians provide early diagnosis and less invasive treatments at lower costs and in less time. Application areas include robot-assisted microsurgery, MRI-compatible mechatronic systems, image-guided procedures, fiber-optic force and shape sensing, and small animal research platforms.
10. Sensing, Manipulation, and Real-Time Systems Laboratory (SMARTS Laboratory) – Peter Kazanzides
Dr. Peter Kazanzides leads the SMARTS laboratory, which is dedicated to components and integrated systems for computer-assisted surgery and robotics in extreme environments. This includes the development of mixed-reality user interfaces and the integration of real-time sensing to enable robotic assistance in challenging environments such as minimally invasive surgery, microsurgery, and outer space. Research on component technologies includes high-performance motor control, sensing, sensor fusion, and head-mounted displays. The laboratory also conducts systems architecture research, applying component-based software engineering concepts to provide a unified programming model for multithreaded, multiprocess, and multiprocessor systems.
11. Autonomous Systems, Control, and Optimization Laboratory (ASCO) – Marin Kobilarov
Led by Dr. Marin Kobilarov, the Autonomous Systems, Control, and Optimization Laboratory (ASCO) aims to develop intelligent robotic vehicles that can perceive, navigate, and accomplish challenging tasks in uncertain, dynamic, and highly constrained environments. The laboratory conducts research on analytical and computational methods for mechanics, control, motion planning, and reasoning under uncertainty, as well as the design and integration of novel mechanisms and embedded systems. Application areas include mobile robots, aircraft, and nanosatellites.
12. Intelligent Medical Robot Systems and Devices Laboratory (IMERSE) – Axel Krieger
The focus is on basic and translational research to develop new tools, imaging, and robotic control technologies for medical robots. Specifically, (i) improving intelligence and autonomy and (ii) enhancing image guidance in medical robots to perform previously impossible tasks, increasing efficiency and improving patient outcomes.
13. Dynamics Laboratory – Chen Li
Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics help humans understand how animals fly and swim, leading to the development of fast, agile, and efficient aerial and aquatic vehicles. In contrast, we know very little about how terrestrial animals move so well in nature, even the best robots still struggle in complex terrains such as construction debris, forest floors, boulders, and cluttered indoor environments. This laboratory is developing experimental tools and theoretical models to create a new field of geodynamics that describes complex motion-terrain interactions and uses geodynamics to better understand animal locomotion and advance robotics in complex terrain.
14. Computer-Assisted Medical Procedures (CAMP) – Nassir Navab
The CAMP laboratory aims to develop next-generation solutions for computer-assisted interventions. The complexity of the surgical environment requires us to study, model, and monitor surgical workflows to develop new patient- and procedure-specific imaging and visualization methods. Due to the demands for flexibility and reliability, the laboratory is dedicated to novel robotic multimodal imaging solutions to meet challenging usability requirements. Focused on data fusion and its interactive representation in augmented reality environments.
15. Advanced Robotics and Computational Augmented Environments (ARCADE) Laboratory – Mathias Unberath
The ARCADE laboratory conducts pioneering research in computer vision, machine learning, augmented reality, and medical imaging to innovate collaborative systems that assist clinical professionals in the healthcare field. Working closely with care providers to understand clinical workflows, identify opportunities and limitations, and facilitate translation.
16. Dynamics Systems and Control Laboratory (DSCL) – Louis Whitcomb
Professor Louis Whitcomb directs the DSCL laboratory, focusing on navigation, dynamics, and control issues for linear and nonlinear dynamical systems, observers, nonlinear system analysis, modeling, and sensing, related to robots interacting dynamically in extreme environments. Focused on problems driven by several application areas that share a common foundational mathematical framework, including underwater robotics, space tele-robotics, and medical robotics. Laboratory director Louis Whitcomb and his students have been involved in the development of numerous underwater vehicles for ocean science missions, including the Nereus hybrid underwater vehicle that dove to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 2009 and the Nereid Under-Ice (NUI) hybrid underwater vehicle deployed under Arctic sea ice at latitude 87 degrees north in 2016.
Affiliated Laboratories
17. Computational Sensory-Motor Systems Laboratory (CSMS) – Ralph Etienne-Cummings
Dr. Ralph Etienne-Cummings directs the CSMS laboratory. Current research includes various experiments to understand the neurophysiology of spinal neural circuits, interface with them, decode their sensory-motor relationships, and utilize these relationships to control biomimetic robots. The laboratory is developing brain-like computational systems to mimic object detection, recognition, and tracking found in humans and primates. The plan is to continue to expand this research area while leveraging the laboratory’s expertise in VLSI circuits and systems, visual and auditory information processing, neuromorphic computing systems, and biomimetic robotics.
18. Networked and Spatially Distributed Systems (NSDS) – Dennice Gayme
Led by Dr. Dennice Gayme, the Networked and Spatially Distributed Systems (NSDS) group is dedicated to characterizing, predicting, and controlling spatially distributed and networked systems to ensure stability and manage disturbances while optimizing efficiency and performance. These systems are often represented as dynamical systems interacting graphically (e.g., transportation, communication, or power networks) or as partial differential equations (e.g., wind farms, wall turbulence, and power system oscillations). Developing theoretical and computational methods for interdisciplinary applications at the intersection of dynamic systems, control, and fluid mechanics, such as coordinated control of wind farms and grid integration of renewable energy.
19. Photonics and Optoelectronics Laboratory – Jin U. Kang
The Photonics and Optoelectronics Laboratory, led by Jin U. Kang, conducts experimental and theoretical research in photonics and optoelectronics, focusing on developing novel fiber imaging and sensor systems for medical applications. Specifically, the laboratory has developed a high-speed real-time optical coherence tomography system that can guide surgical procedures and enable physicians to make accurate prognoses of surgical outcomes. Additionally, a series of “smart surgical tools” have been developed using fiber-optic OCT distal sensors to ensure safe and precise surgical operations. The laboratory is also developing a series of submillimeter endoscopic imaging systems that allow imaging of brain activity in freely moving awake mice.
20. Image Analysis and Communication Laboratory (IACL) – Jerry Prince
The research focuses on image and signal processing in medical imaging and video processing. Specific areas of interest in technology include filter banks, wavelets, multivariable systems, signal decomposition, time-frequency and time-scale analysis, active contours and deformable geometries, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and optical flow.
21. Urology Robotics (URobotics) – Dan Stoianovici
Urology Robotics is a research and education program dedicated to advancing the technologies used in urology. The primary focus of the laboratory is to develop robots for real-time image-guided interventions. The applications of the laboratory’s technologies extend to other medical specialties and industries. The program is based on a multidisciplinary team of students, engineers, and clinicians working together from bench to bedside. The laboratory specializes in the development of surgical robotic systems, particularly robotic technologies for image-guided interventions (IGI). In addition to urology, the instruments and systems created in the laboratory are also applicable to a broader range of medical fields, such as interventional radiology. The laboratory is part of the Brady Urological Institute (Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) located at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
22. Vision, Dynamics, and Learning Laboratory (VDL) – Rene Vidal
The research covers a wide range of fields, including biomedical imaging, computer vision, dynamics and control, machine learning, and robotics. In particular, reasoning problems in geometry, dynamics, photometry, and statistics, such as (1) inferring models from images (image/video segmentation and motion structure), static data (generalized PCA), or dynamic data (identification of hybrid systems), (2) using these models to complete complex tasks (landing a helicopter, chasing a group of evaders, following a formation).
Source | Siyi Medical Equipment
Typesetting | Maizi
—————–END——————-
More Exciting Content
* Why collaborative robots have become the first choice for end users and integrators for transformation and upgrading?
* Quadruped robot companies cross the border again, Unitree PUMP is here, and the field they are involved in this time is…
* Weir Intelligent launched an unmanned driving integrated kit DTV, helping the unmanned delivery market
* High salaries are recruiting | AI machine vision company VisionBot is sincerely recruiting talents!
* Ninebot launched a new terminal delivery robot, priced from 19,999, “rolling” the industry development trend
* Full-stack self-research, efficient disinfection, what has this company’s disinfection robot done well?
* Ultra-lightweight and cost-effective, the RVC lightweight 3D camera is released
* Flexible manufacturing top configuration! This workstation has been replicated nearly a thousand times in the automotive headlight industry and can achieve rapid production changes
* The first stock of nuclear industry robots is listed, the founder was once a teacher, and the operating performance is impressive
* The national heavy equipment is amazing, and this “underground vanguard” should not be underestimated!
* Congratulations! Professor Sun Lining, a well-known expert in Chinese robotics, was elected as a foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering
* Understand in one minute the 【four-wheel drive four-wheel steering mobile robot】 job illustration
* Nearly 200 million! Dazhu Robotics B+ round financing to seize the collaborative robot development track
* Products, scenarios, and ecology work together to accelerate the intelligent upgrade of the entire factory
* Unitree has received hundreds of millions in Series B financing, empowering a wide range of industry applications, and is the “next DJI” chosen by capital?
* Continuing to explore applications in the automotive industry, empowering intelligent transformation and upgrading
* The laser radar industry leader has released new products! Industrial-grade single-line prices hit bottom?
* Where is the spring of outdoor mobile composite robots?
* Highly sought after! Chinese special robots debuted at the Canton Fair, and this company stood out!
* You eat the Lianhua Qingwen capsules that are produced this way, fighting against the epidemic, these technological reverse travelers are taking action!
Join the Community
Welcome to join the 【Robot Lecture Hall】 reader discussion group, to discuss topics related to the field of robotics together and share cutting-edge technology and industry dynamics.
Discussion groups for educational robots, medical robots, legged robots, industrial robots, service robots, special robots, drones, soft robots, etc. are being recruited. Follow the Robot Lecture Hall public account, send “ discussion group ” to get the entry method!
Recruiting Authors
The Robot Lecture Hall is recruiting 【part-time content creators】. If you are interested in writing articles related to robotics 【technology】 or 【industry】, please send your resume and original works to the email: [email protected]
We have no requirements for profession, location, etc., and welcome friends to join!
Feeling tired? Tap “Read” to support us!