Laura is presently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computing Science underneath the supervision of Dr. Patrick Pilarski and Dr. Matthew E. Taylor. She acquired a B.Sc. with Honors in Computing Science from the University of Alberta in 2019 and an M.Sc. in Computing Science from the University of Alberta in 2022. Her analysis pursuits embrace reinforcement studying, human-robot interplay, biomechatronics, and assistive robotics. Drawing inspiration from her anatomical research with Dr. Pierre Lemelin, Laura’s analysis goals to develop management strategies for robotic manipulation with the purpose of elevated performance, usability, reliability, and security within the real-world.
We sat down for an interview on the annual 2023 Upper Bound convention on AI that’s held in Edmonton, AB and hosted by Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute).
What initially attracted you to laptop science?
So, once I got here again to high school, I wished to truly be a health care provider to start with. And work-life stability is actually essential to me, so I might spend quite a lot of time with my household. And I’ve all the time wished to only assist individuals, and I ended up taking a pc science class in my first 12 months of college, and it simply felt like such a tremendous software that you could possibly use to resolve issues. And I simply fell in love with drawback fixing and determined that with the ability to work within the house of assistive expertise the place I might put that drawback fixing to make use of and truly assist individuals within the course of was the place I wished to exist.
How did you determine that assistive expertise was your ardour to get into?
I took a robotics class in my undergrad, and it was the place we used Lego Mindstorm kits to be able to study the fundamentals of mechatronics and robotics. And it simply all clicked collectively that it was a lot enjoyable to work with, and you could possibly write packages after which instantly see the outcomes of it. So, it simply made sense to merge my love of working with these robotics programs with my need to assist individuals. Assistive expertise simply matches precisely into that house.
Could you outline mechatronics for our viewers?
It could be identical to something contained in the robotics sphere the place you’ve these {hardware} programs, and you’ll management them to be able to enact change within the surroundings.
What are among the totally different use instances you’ve got labored on for that expertise?
Right now, I’m working within the BLINC Lab (Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control) with Patrick (Pilarski), and the primary use case there’s I’m engaged on higher limb prosthetics. So, we’ve these sensible robotic gadgets that you could management by way of myoelectric indicators, and that may be the primary use case is how will we management these prosthetic limbs that are actually connected to the human physique to be able to do what the consumer needs.
How lengthy have you ever been engaged on that particularly?
I simply began my PhD in January. I did my grasp’s within the robotics and laptop imaginative and prescient group on the University of Alberta, the place I labored on robotic manipulation with robotic arms.
I’m simply now venturing into the world of prosthetics.
What are some security considerations that you’d say with the expertise in the intervening time?
With these sensible prosthetic gadgets, we all the time maintain security first and forefront. That’s all the time what we take into consideration first, as a result of these gadgets are connected to a human. So, on the finish of the day, the machine would not have the ultimate say. The human is all the time in full management. We could make ideas to the human, say, “I feel that you just need to do that,” however they all the time have the ultimate management over what occurs. So, we’re all the time enthusiastic about what’s the security of the person that’s going to be utilizing these gadgets.
In a earlier interview, Patrick was speaking about how often the mind has to study to adapt to the machine, however on this case the machine makes use of machine studying to adapt to the mind. Could you talk about your views on this?
Yes. So, we need to construct continuous studying programs for working on these gadgets. So, it is all about mapping the indicators from the consumer, which in our case could be EMG indicators. So, floor EMGs, you set electrodes on the person’s residual muscle tissues that they’ve, after which what do you do with these enter indicators? So, we need to map it to robotic movement, proper? Do you need hand open? Do you need hand closed? First we’ve to resolve how we’re doing that mapping drawback, and that is the place machine studying comes into play.
You have sample recognition programs, so we are able to predict what’s going on with the precise muscle activation. We need it to repeatedly study and adapt over time. You can assume that, say, your muscle tissues proper now. If you have been to go to the fitness center, your muscle form adjustments. So, do we’ve to now utterly practice a brand new machine studying mannequin? No. We need the machine and the machine studying elements to adapt to the particular person over time as they undergo adjustments or as their intent adjustments.
What type of timeline do you assume it’s going to be till we see these out in the actual world?
I hope inside my PhD. That is my purpose is to resolve this management drawback for higher limb prosthesis.
That could be wonderful. And what’s your imaginative and prescient for the way forward for assisted robotics, as an example in a 10-year timeline or 20-year timeline?
I envision a world the place people that wish to have a prosthetic limb to be used of their on a regular basis life would be capable to use it in a means that we use our arms. So, to make it dependable, make it intuitive, make it simple to make use of, that is what I would love for.
And do you see a customized future the place a smaller particular person would have a smaller prosthetic? Or do you assume they’d be all the identical?
No, completely. I feel for one thing as private as this, you need these gadgets to really feel as an extension of your personal physique. Right? You need it to be part of you. So, that brings us all the way down to customized and individualized healthcare. These prosthetic limbs would have to be formed and tailored to the person that’s going to be utilizing them, no less than for my part. We already see this. Right now, once you go to, say, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital right here in Edmonton, and also you’re getting match for a brand new prostheses, they take 3D modeling of your residual limb, they usually personalize the customized match of your prosthetic limb to you. So, we’re already seeing this occur, and for these sensible gadgets, it’s going to simply be much more so.
So, it’s going to be customized 3D printed, most likely, for the consumer.
Yeah, customized 3D printed, customized match, after which customized customized management programs, additionally.
And how lengthy does it take for a consumer to discover ways to use one in all these programs?
Our purpose is that we might be capable to practice a extra generalized machine studying mannequin, after which be capable to individualize it to the particular person inside a 5, 10 minute coaching session. That could be a purpose of ours.
Once you’ve got achieved this, what would you prefer to work on subsequent?
A giant a part of my analysis can also be working with the anatomy division on the University of Alberta, And I’m utterly fascinated with how we, as people, manipulate the world round us. So, every part to do with the human higher limb. So, our arms and our fingers are utterly fascinating. So, I wish to focus all my efforts on higher limb prosthesis and actually making these gadgets usable for individuals in the actual world.
In what methods is it tougher than the decrease limbs?
The decrease limb, the movement could be very repetitive. If you consider our strolling gate, it is a neater management drawback to resolve. Whereas, for the higher limb, you want to have the ability to manipulate objects in 3D house, you’ve so many extra levels of freedom. If you concentrate on it, if we shut our eyes and we attain round, we are able to nonetheless see the world round us by way of our fingers. So, we’ve these wonderful sensory organs that we are able to use to discover the surroundings. So, to have the ability to give that again to the medical neighborhood by way of prosthetic limbs, I feel, could be a wonderful,
Can you share the way you draw inspiration from anatomical research
I’ve been working with Dr. Pierre Lemelin within the anatomy division on the University of Alberta for the previous 5 years now. I’m hoping that by way of the research of human anatomy and understanding precisely how we manipulate objects within the surroundings, what are our nerve pathways, what muscle tissues are activated, we are able to use that information to be able to not simply enhance, to begin with, the construction of prosthetic limbs.
Are there small locations within the precise design of the prosthetic limb that we are able to change that may be a small little tweak in mechanical design, however see an enormous improve in operate? But additionally, the underlying management programs, how we use it. If we are able to perceive precisely which nerves are firing, once we’re considering, “Oh, open my hand,” then can we use that to be able to predict what the consumer needs to do with their prosthetic limb, after which enact that movement within the robotic machine.
Thank you for the wonderful interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to the next sources:
