The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $300,000 Project Grant (CFDA 47.041 - Engineering program) to Virginia Tech to develop a cooperative loco-manipulation system enabling human-robot teams to manipulate and transport complex objects in challenging environments. The 2-year project aims to establish a formal foundation for distributed planning and control algorithms that allow semi-autonomous legged robots and human operators to co-learn and co-adapt their interactions. Key objectives include creating data-driven models for human intention and multi-agent robot dynamics, developing human-aware predictive control methods, and experimentally validating the system on advanced quadrupedal robots. This work seeks to advance human-robot interaction capabilities, with potential societal impacts in areas like manufacturing, home assistance, and rehabilitation for paralyzed individuals. The project will also create educational activities to engage K-12 students and underrepresented minorities in robotics and programming.
Generated 3/4/25, 6:04 AM