Optimization, Robotics and Biomechanics (2017-2020)
Prof. Mombaur received a call to the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Human-Centred Robotics and Machine Intelligence in 2020 and subsequently a call to the Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics at KIT as head of the KIT BioRobotics Lab (HCR) in 2024.
Areas of Interest
The research focus of the Optimization, Robotics & Biomechanics (ORB) group was on modeling, optimization and simulation of dynamic motions of anthropomorphic systems, i.e. humans, humanoid robots, exoskeletons and virtual human characters. From a mathematical perspective, the group was particularly interested in the application and development of efficient numerical optimal control, inverse optimal control and non-smooth optimization techniques for complex hybrid dynamical system models. Another focus was the development of efficient tools to set up realistic dynamical optimization models of humans, robots and other technical devices including rigid multibody system models, muscle models and neural control.
The research projects covered the following topics:
- optimization of humanoid walking motions in different terrains
- human movement understanding & identification of underlying objective functions of human motions in different situations
- generation of fast human-like walking, running, jumping, diving and other gymnastics motions stability optimization of human and robot motions study of
- characteristics of pathological gait in orthopedics and of walking motions with prostheses, orthoses and functional electrical stimulation
- optimization of the design and control of exoskeletons
- optimization of physically assistive devices for the elderly
- trajectory optimization for robots
- studies of artistic and emotional aspects of dynamic motions and development of art robots
- investigation of processes related to cognition and orientation during locomotion and traffic interaction
- optimal control studies of manipulation combining motor control and biomechanical modeling approaches