Lectures and Seminars

Summer Semester

• MEDZ4620 Biorobotics (Lecture + Seminar)

Biorobotics is a rapidly evolving field at the intersection of robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience and machine learning. Biorobotic systems serve as a tool to investigate principles of biological movement generation and as a basis for biomimetic development of novel technologies. Application fields are e.g., mobile robotics, prosthetics, assistive devices and rehabilitation robotics.

In the lecture, we give an overview of the field. Topics cover are e.g., robotics concepts, biological movement generation, motors and artificial muscles, bio-inspired sensors, soft-robotics, rehabilitation robotics. In the seminar, you will get hand-son experience in builidng your own small biorobotic systems, arduino-based controllers, biorobotic computer simulations, and explore neuroprosthetic concepts.

• GTCNEURO Bionic Intelligence (Seminar)

Bionic Intelligence aims to tightly integrate intelligent technological systems with the human brain and body to overcome technical limitations, overcoming limitations of current treatment and support technology for neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Bionic Intelligence implies a tight interplay between (i) physical intelligence, (ii) software intelligence, (iii) and human embodied intelligence. Physical intelligence exploits physical and material properties to implement complex computations. Software intelligence is used to embed cognition and complex and control algorithms in such systems. Human embodied intelligence combines complex information processing by the neural system and physical properties of the body. The course will provide an introduction into all these components and concrete applications in neuroscience, and clinical treatment and diagnosis.

• KOG/INFO/GTCNEURO Motion in Human and Machine (Seminar)

This seminar offers a unique possibility to glance at research questions, methods, and results in three research labs in Baden-Württemberg. The guiding question for the seminar is: How are biological and technical movements generated and controlled? In the seminar, you will get insights into this interdisciplinary field. We will give an overview including aspects like recording and analysis of human movement, reduced biomechanical models, neuro-musculo-skeletal models, humanoid robotics, control of complex human-like movements, and machine learning. The interaction of these approaches offers new possibilities and new research focus areas. We will discuss examples in industry (Passenger safety in cars, tool design, ergonomics), in medical engineering (prosthetics, orthotics, rehabilitation robotics), Human-Robot interaction and imitation learning.

Participating in the seminar will allow you to visit the labs, listen to presentations of researchers at each institution, take part in a small research project in a field of your choice, and to get in contact with students and researchers in this interdisciplinary field.

• Teamprojekt: "TremorSense"

Winter Semester

• GTCNEURO Computational Neuromechanics (Lecture)

Computational neuromechanical models are widely used to study human movement and motor control, design assistive technologies such as prostheses and exoskeletons, improve rehabilitation strategies, and support the development of humanoid robotics. They also provide a framework for testing hypotheses in neuroscience and biomechanics that are difficult to address experimentally.

This course provides an introduction to computational approaches for modeling and simulating human movement at the neuro-musculoskeletal level. It combines background knowledge from physiology, physics, biomechanics, neuroscience and numerical methods with hands-on modeling techniques, focusing on both fundamental principles and applications.