Show notes
In today’s episode, Ken and Dawn interview their colleague Dr. Peter Neuhaus, a senior research scientist here at IHMC. Peter is an engineer well-known for his work on wearable robotic devices. In particular, Peter has focused on lower extremity exoskeleton devices and their applications for mobility assistance for paraplegics and other people with disabilities or partial paralysis.In 2016, Peter lead an IHMC team that won a silver medal in the international Cybathlon, a competition conducted in Zurich in which people with disabilities used advanced assistive devices, including robotic technologies, to compete against each other.In today’s interview, Peter talks about IHMC’s humanoid robotic efforts as well as his work with NASA designing an exercise machine for a human mission to Mars or other missions beyond low earth orbit.Peter also describes the work he is doing with IHMC High-Performance Director Joe Gomes, the former Oakland Raiders strength and conditioning coach. Peter and Joe as well as others at IHMC are designing exercise technologies to extend the resilience of high-performing humans, such as astronauts and elite warfighters. Many of these technologies will eventually be able to be utilized by the general public.Links: Peter Neuhaus IHMC page:https://www.ihmc.us/groups/pneuhaus/ DARPA Robotics Challenge videos:http://robots.ihmc.us/drc/ Cybathlon videos:http://robots.ihmc.us/cybathlon/ IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine article about Cybathlon:https://arxiv.org/pdf/1702.08656.pdf IHMC newsletter article about Cybathlon:https://www.ihmc.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/IHMCNewslettervol10iss3.pdf IHMC newsletter article about DARPA Robotics Challenge:https://www.ihmc.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IHMCnewslettervol13iss1.pdf Show notes:5:10: Dawn asks what it was like for Peter to teach science to 5th– and 6th-graders as well as high-schoolers in Brooklyn after he received his master’s degree from Berkeley.