Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and Controls Laboratory

An interdisciplinary laboratory consisting of researchers from Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering.

University of California, Davis

PI: Professor Sanjay S. Joshi, maejoshi@ucdavis.edu (PI webpage)

July 2009:  Our laboratory was invited by the National Science Foundation to present our research on cyber-physical systems as part of a workshop for the United States Senate on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. The workshop included projects from 16 different laboratories around the country. We presented results on our robotic models for the study of animal behavior, and new human-computer interfaces for the disabled.

June 2009:  Our lab presented our latest results on a new human-computer interface that uses electrical signals created at an ear muscle to control computer cursors. We presented our work as part of a platform session at the 2009 Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America Annual Conference (RESNA 2009), New Orleans, LA.

February 2009:  Our laboratory has begun a collaboration with the UC Davis Health System, Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) to develop human-machine interfaces to help paralyzed and otherwise challenged persons to move about it their environment and operate devices. Please see this website for more developments as the project continues.

September 2008:  Our laboratory has begun a collaboration with the NASA Ames Research Center to develop control systems for small satellites. "Nanosats" will house payloads on the order of a few 10s of cubic centimeters, and will drastically reduce the cost to fly small experiments in space, as compared to more traditional orbiting spacecraft. Please see this website for more developments as the project continues.

August 2008: New research paper appears in the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics on Robot Following Using Behavioral Cues based on the work of former students Mike Chueh (now at Google), Will Au Yeung (now at Microsoft), and Cal Lei (now at Goldman Sachs). Vol. 55, No. 8, August 2008, pp. 3124-3132. See paper at IEEE Xplore.

See Recent Press Coverage: MSNBC.com Frontiers Column, Physorg Website

In our lab, we explore how a wide range of robotics and controls technology can be used to design novel engineered systems. In addition, we study how robotics and controls technologies can be used as tools for understanding biology and animal behavior. Our applications currently span medicine, space science, and animal behavior.

We have a variety of ongoing projects within the laboratory, and we are currently or have been supported by the NASA Ames Research Center, National Institutes of Health via the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center, National Science Foundation, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and the University of California.

Medical Assistive Devices

human-computer interfaces that can help paralyzed individuals move about in their environment and operate devices. Students: Scott Vernon, Lynn Nguyen, and Josh Roth.

functional electrical stimulation (FES) control systems that can use external stimulation to move muscles in purposeful ways (with the University of Delaware). Staff Scientist: Ramu Perumal, Ph.D. (University of Delaware)

Spacecraft Engineering

small-satellite control systems that can allow science experiments to be conducted in space at much lower cost than previous spacecraft  missions (with NASA Ames). Students: Matt Sorgenfrei and Giacomo Marangoni.

Biorobotics

robotic models of animals that can help study biological hypotheses in animal behavior, by trying to mimic the behavior of animals or by allowing the robotic animals to physically interact with live animals (with San Diego State University & UCD Department of Psychology).

Ground Squirrels Use an Infrared Signal to Deter Rattlesnake Predation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) (see open access article)

UC Davis robotic rat pup project (see website)

PI: Professor Sanjay Joshi (webpage)

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Graduate Group Faculty, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Graduate Group Faculty, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Graduate Group Faculty, Department of Computer Science

Matt Sorgenfrei, Ph.D. student, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Scott Vernon, M.S. student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Josh Roth, Ph.D. student, Department of Biomedical Engineering (On Rotation)

Lynn Nguyen, Undergraduate student, Department of Biological Systems Engineering

Giacomo Marangoni, Undergraduate student, Visitor from University of Padova, Italy

Information for Prospective Students

Thank you for your interest in our laboratory. All graduate students at UC Davis obtain graduate degrees through Graduate Groups (like Departments in other universities). Students pursue Ph.D. and M.S. degrees within the laboratory, as part of the degree requirements set by their particular graduate group. We also have a few undergraduates who work in the lab for experience. We take students from the Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Graduate Group, Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group, Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Group, and Computer Science Graduate Group.   If you feel your interests and background match those of our lab, please apply to the UC Davis graduate program that best represents your past training/future goals.  Students are accepted into each individual graduate group on a competitive basis. Please specify that you are interested in our laboratory (PI: S. Joshi).  The number of accepted students that the lab can accommodate varies from year to year based on project needs and availability of funding. If you already have funding from an external agency, you may want to contact us directly to inquire about availability before you apply. We wish you all the best in your graduate career.

C. PEREZ-MALDONADO,  A. WEXLER, & S. JOSHI, Two-dimensional Cursor to Target Control from Single Muscle Site sEMG Signals, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, Currently available as forthcoming article in IEEE Xplore.

M. CHUEH,  Y.-L. YEUNG, K.-P. LEI, &  S. JOSHI, Following Controller for Autonomous Mobile Robots Using Behavioral Cues, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 55, No. 8, August 2008, pp. 3124-3132.

A. Rundus, D. Owings, S. Joshi, E. Chinn, & N. Giannini, Ground Squirrels Use an Infrared Signal to Deter Rattlesnake Predation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), Vol. 104, 04 September 2007, pp. 14372-14376.

D. DIER & S. JOSHI, Reinforcement Learning Solution to a Benchmark Time Optimal Control Problem, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Hilton Head, SC, August 2007.

D. ACOSTA & S. JOSHI, Adaptive Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Control of an Autonomous Airship for the Exploration of Titan, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Hilton Head, SC, August 2007.

R. Bish, S. Joshi, J. Schank, and J. Wexler, Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation of a Robotic Rat Pup, (Journal of) Mathematical and Computer Modeling, Vol. 45, April 2007, pp. 981-1000.

M. CHUEH, S. JOSHI,  Y.-L. YEUNG, and K.-P. LEI, Towards a Mobile Robot Following Controller Using Behavioral Cues, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, Mumbai, India, December 2006.

C. May, J. Schank, S. Joshi, J. Tran, R. Taylor, and I. Scott, Rat Pups and Random Robots Generate Similar Self-Organized and Intentional Behavior, (Journal of) Complexity, Vol. 12, No. 1, September/October 2006, pp. 53-66 (cover article).

E. KULCZYCKI, S. JOSHI, R. HESS and E. ELFES, Towards Controller Design for Autonomous Airships Using SLC and LQR Methods, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Keystone, CO, August 2006.

J. LAU, S. JOSHI, B. AGRAWAL, and S. KIM, Investigation of Periodic-Disturbance Identification and Rejection in Spacecraft, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 29, No. 4, July-August 2006, pp. 792-798.

F. GANJI, S. JOSHI, and D. BAYARD, Adaptive Formation Control for Rovers Traveling Over Unknown Terrains, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 29, No. 3, May-June 2006, pp. 714-724.

S. JOSHI and B. GUILHABERT, Sequence Learning Algorithm Based on Backward Chaining, (Journal of) Adaptive Behavior, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2006, pp. 53-71.

A. ELFES, J. MONTGOMERY, J. HALL, S. JOSHI, J. PAYNE, and C. BERGH, Autonomous Flight Control for a Planetary Exploration Aerobot, AIAA Space 2005 Conference, Long Beach, CA, August 2005.

F. HARMON, A. FRANK, and S. JOSHI, The Control of a Parallel Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System for a Small Unmanned Arial Vehicle Using a CMAC Neural Network, (Journal of) Neural Networks, Vol. 18, 2005, pp. 772-780.

F. GANJI, S. JOSHI, and D. BAYARD, Adaptive Rover Formation Control Over Unknown Terrains, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, San Francisco, CA, August 2005.

S. JOSHI, D. ACOSTA, J. PAYNE, S. SHARMA, A. ELFES, A. TREBI-OLLENNU, and J. HALL, Dynamics and Control Study of a Titan Aerobot from a System Design Perspective, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, San Francisco, CA, August 2005.

J. LAU, S. JOSHI, B. AGRAWAL, and S. KIM, Disturbance Filtering and Identification on the Naval Postgraduate School 3-Axis Spacecraft Simulator, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, San Francisco, CA, August 2005.

F. HARMON, A. FRANK, and S. JOSHI, Application of a CMAC Neural Network to the Control of a Parallel Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System for a Small Unmanned Arial Vehicle, IEEE Conference on Neural Networks, Montreal, Canada, August 2005.

Articles of Interest (Not authored by our lab, but contain information about our group's research.)

J. KNIGHT, When robots go wild., Nature, Volume 434, 21 April 2005, pp. 954-955.

______________________________________________