{"210251":{"#nid":"210251","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robots Able to Reach through Clutter with Whole-Arm Tactile Sensing","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, a person\u2019s arm frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMuch in the same way, robots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task. This new control method has wide applications, ranging from robots for search-and-rescue operations to assistive robotics for people with disabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUp until now, the dominant strategies for robot manipulation have discouraged contact between the robot\u2019s arm and the world,\u201d said Charlie Kemp, lead researcher and associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cInstead of avoiding contact, our approach enables the arm to make contact with objects, people and the rest of the robot while keeping forces low.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp, director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Healthcare Robotics Lab, along with his graduate students and researchers at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mekabot.com\/\u0022\u003EMeka Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E, has\u0026nbsp;developed a control method that works in tandem with compliant robotic joints and whole-arm tactile sensing. This technology keeps the robot\u2019s arm flexible and gives the robot a sense of touch across its entire arm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith their control method, Kemp\u2019s robots have performed numerous tasks, such as reaching through dense artificial foliage and a cinder block representative of environments that search-and-rescue robots can encounter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA publication describing the research, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/intl-ijr.sagepub.com\/content\/32\/4\/458\u0022\u003E\u201cReaching in Clutter with Whole-arm Tactile Sensing\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d appears in this month\u2019s edition of the \u003Cem\u003EInternational Journal of Robotics Research\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp\u0027s lab also has promising results that could impact the future of assistive robotics. They have developed tactile sensors made out of stretchable fabric that covers the entire arm of a robot. In a preliminary trial with the new control method and sensors, Henry Evans, a person with quadriplegia, used the robot to perform tasks for himself. He was able to pull a blanket over himself and grab a cloth to wipe his face, all while he was in bed at his home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis trial was conducted as part of the Robots for Humanity project with Willow Garage. In order to ensure safety, researchers from Kemp\u2019s lab closely monitored the activities. This research has been accepted and will be presented at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwconf\/icorr2013\/\u0022\u003EInternational Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E in June.\u0026nbsp;\u2028\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it\u2019s a good safety feature because it hardly presses against me even when I tell it to,\u201d Evans said after the trial. \u201cIt really feels safe to be close to the robot.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvans was also impressed by how the robot\u2019s arm \u201cjust wriggles around obstacles.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp\u2019s research team has also released the designs and code for the sensors and controller as \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hsi.gatech.edu\/hrl\/project_open_source_whole_arm_tactile_sensing.shtml\u0022\u003Eopen source hardware and software\u003C\/a\u003E so that researchers and hobbyists can build on the work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research is part of an ongoing effort to create a new foundation for robotics, where contact between the robot\u2019s arm and the world is encouraged.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur belief is that this approach is the way of the future for robots,\u201d said Kemp, who is also a member of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Robotics and Intelligent Machines\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cIt is going to allow robots to better operate in our homes, our workplaces and other complex environments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is funded by the DARPA Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) Contract W911NF-11-1- 603. The assistive technology research is also funded in part by NSF CAREER award IIS-1150157, NSF grant CNS-0958545, an NSF GRFP and Willow Garage.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATIONS\u003C\/strong\u003E: Advait Jain, Marc D Killpack, Aaron Edsinger, and Charles C Kemp. Reaching in Clutter with Whole-arm Tactile Sensing. The International Journal of Robotics Research, April 2013, 32: 458-482, doi:10.1177\/0278364912471865\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhillip M. Grice, Marc D. Killpack, Advait Jain, Sarvagya Vaish, Jeffrey Hawke, and Charles C. Kemp. Whole-arm Tactile Sensing for Beneficial and Acceptable Contact During Robotic Assistance. Accepted to the 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), June 2013.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task, thanks to technology developed by Dr. Charlie Kemp and the Healthcare Robotics Lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Robots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task, thanks to technology developed by Dr. Charlie Kemp and the Healthcare Robotics Lab."}],"uid":"27462","created_gmt":"2013-04-29 15:48:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:08","author":"Liz Klipp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"210121":{"id":"210121","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter","file":{"fid":"196870","name":"kemp_robot3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2737475,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg?itok=1gdPDJT7"}},"210131":{"id":"210131","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 1","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 1","file":{"fid":"196871","name":"kemp_robot4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2735600,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot4_0.jpg?itok=o0TKFkVi"}},"210141":{"id":"210141","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 2","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 2","file":{"fid":"196872","name":"kemp_robot2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4021428,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot2_0.jpg?itok=pNx_MOIl"}},"210151":{"id":"210151","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 3","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 3","file":{"fid":"196873","name":"kemp_robot1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6015663,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg?itok=pr3NSaIa"}}},"media_ids":["210121","210131","210141","210151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/healthcare-robotics.com\/","title":"Healthcare Robotics Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/charliekemp.com\/","title":"Website of Dr. Charlie Kemp"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/HealthcareRobotics","title":"Additional Videos on YouTube"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2157","name":"Charlie Kemp"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"36141","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University"},{"id":"12319","name":"Healthcare Robotics Lab"},{"id":"65291","name":"Henry Evans"},{"id":"65331","name":"Meka Robotics"},{"id":"65321","name":"robots reaching in clutter"},{"id":"65251","name":"tactile sensing"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["klipp@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"158301":{"#nid":"158301","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Home-Based Assessment Tool for Dementia Screening","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith baby boomers approaching the age of 65 and new cases of Alzheimer\u2019s disease expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2030, Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia. The home-based computer software is patterned after the paper-and-pencil Clock Drawing Test, one of health care\u2019s most commonly used screening exams for cognitive impairment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTechnology allows us to check our weight, blood-sugar levels and blood pressure, but not our own cognitive abilities,\u201d said project leader Ellen Yi-Luen Do. \u201cOur ClockMe System helps older adults identify early signs of impairment, while allowing clinicians to quickly analyze the test results and gain valuable insight into the patient\u2019s thought processes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s ClockMe system eliminates the paper trail and computerizes the test into two main components: the ClockReader Application and the ClockAnalyzer Application. Click \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MEbWeiKxd0c\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E to see a video demo.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClockReader is the actual test and is taken with a stylus and computer or tablet. The participant is given a specific time and instructed to draw a clock with numbers and the correct minute and hour hands. Once completed, the sketch is emailed to a clinician, who uses the ClockAnalyzer Application to score the test. The software checks for 13 traits. They include correct placement of numbers and hands without extra markings. People with cognitive impairment frequently draw clocks with missing or extra numbers. Digits are sometimes drawn outside of the clock. The time is often incorrect.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to scoring automatically and consistently, ClockAnalyzer records the duration of the test and the time between each stroke. The software also replays the drawing in real-time, allowing a clinician to watch the drawing being created to observe any behavior abnormality.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe traditional paper-and-pencil test is usually overseen by a technician and later scored by a clinician, who scores the test based only on the finished drawing,\u201d said Do, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Colleges of Computing and Architecture. \u201cBy looking at the sketch, the scorer is not able to decipher whether the person struggled to remember certain numbers while drawing the clock. The ClockMe system\u2019s timing software highlights those delays.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd, because they\u2019re saved electronically, the drawings can be used to easily compare a person\u2019s cognitive ability progress or regression over time. Do\u2019s research found that traditional tests are often filed in a folder and are rarely used for future comparison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ClockMe system was initially tested at the Emory Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center in Atlanta, where it\u2019s currently being used in addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil test. Despite a lack of computer literacy, all of the elderly patients who used the software during the study said they had no problems with the pen-based, computer technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor this reason, as well as the ability to send the drawings directly to clinicians for convenient scoring, we envision ClockMe as a viable tool for home-based screening,\u201d said Do. \u201cAmerica\u2019s health care costs are expected to soar as baby boomers become senior citizens. If a screening tool can be used at home, unnecessary trips to clinics can be eliminated and medical expenses can be saved.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDo and her colleagues are hoping to commercialize the project in the future. Their research was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/iospress.metapress.com\/content\/b0841g7827151q34\/?p=f2fca69c7d9b46fb9de44239d5b178df\u0026amp;pi=4\u0022\u003Epublished\u003C\/a\u003E in September\u2019s Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award Number SHB-1117665). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith baby boomers approaching the age of 65 and new cases of Alzheimer\u2019s disease expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2030, Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia. The home-based computer software is patterned after the paper-and-pencil Clock Drawing Test, one of health care\u2019s most commonly used screening exams for cognitive impairment.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-10-01 18:14:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:54","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"158271":{"id":"158271","type":"image","title":"ClockMe System 1","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"ClockMe System 1","file":{"fid":"195348","name":"dscn1345.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1345_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1345_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2533123,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn1345_0.jpg?itok=CMEM510F"}},"158281":{"id":"158281","type":"image","title":"ClockMe System 2","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"ClockMe System 2","file":{"fid":"195349","name":"dscn1347.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1347_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1347_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2519660,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn1347_0.jpg?itok=QfKzAl9q"}},"158291":{"id":"158291","type":"image","title":"Sample Clock Drawing-Impairment","body":null,"created":"1449178883","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:23","changed":"1475894794","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:34","alt":"Sample Clock Drawing-Impairment","file":{"fid":"195350","name":"dementia-clock.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dementia-clock_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dementia-clock_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":21028,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dementia-clock_0.jpg?itok=6lkURDGq"}}},"media_ids":["158271","158281","158291"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"44881","name":"Alzheimer\u0027s Disease"},{"id":"1945","name":"Ellen Yi-luen Do"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"156701":{"#nid":"156701","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Creating High-Tech Tools to Study Autism","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EResearchers in Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Behavior Imaging have developed two new technological tools that automatically measure relevant behaviors of children, and promise to have significant impact on the understanding of behavioral disorders such as autism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EOne of the tools\u2014a system that uses special gaze-tracking glasses and facial-analysis software to identify when a child makes eye contact with the glasses-wearer\u2014was created by combining two existing technologies to develop a novel capability of automatic detection of eye contact. The other is a wearable system that uses accelerometers to monitor and categorize problem behaviors in children with behavioral disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EBoth technologies already are being deployed in the Center for Behavior Imaging\u2019s (CBI) ongoing work to apply computational methods to screening, measurement and understanding of autism and other behavioral disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EChildren at risk for autism often display distinct behavioral markers from a very young age. One such marker is a reluctance to make frequent or prolonged eye contact with other people. Discovering an automated way to detect this and other telltale behavioral markers would be a significant step toward scaling autism screening up to much larger populations than are currently reached. This is one goal of the five-year, $10 million \u201cExpeditions\u201d project, funded in fall 2010 by the National Science Foundation under principal investigator and CBI Director Jim Rehg, also a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EThe eye-contact tracking system begins with a commercially available pair of glasses that can record the focal point of their wearer\u2019s gaze. Researchers took video of a child captured by a front-facing camera on the glasses, worn by an adult who was interacting with the child. The video was then processed using facial recognition software available from a second manufacturer. Combine the glasses\u2019 hard-wired ability to detect wearer gaze with the facial-recognition software\u2019s ability to detect the child\u2019s gaze direction, and the result is a system able to detect eye contact in a test interaction with a 22-month-old with 80 percent accuracy. The study was conducted in Georgia Tech\u2019s Child Study Lab (CSL), a child-friendly experimental facility richly equipped with cameras, microphones and other sensors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003E\u201cEye gaze has been a tricky thing to measure in laboratory settings, and typically it\u2019s very labor-intensive, involving hours and hours of looking at frames of video to pinpoint moments of eye contact,\u201d Rehg said. \u201cThe exciting thing about our method is that it can produce these measures automatically and could be used in the future to measure eye contact outside the laboratory setting. We call these results preliminary because they were obtained from a single subject, but all humans\u2019 eyes work pretty much the same way, so we\u2019re confident the successful results will be replicated with future subjects.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe other new system, developed in collaboration with the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta and Dr. Thomas Ploetz of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, is a package of sensors, worn via straps on the wrists and ankles, that uses accelerometers to detect movement by the wearer. Algorithms developed by the team analyze the sensor data to automatically detect episodes of problem behavior and classify them as aggressive, self-injurious or disruptive (e.g., throwing objects).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers first developed the algorithms by putting the sensors on four Marcus clinic staff members who together performed some 1,200 different behavior instances, and the system detected \u201cproblem\u201d behaviors with 95 percent accuracy and classified all behaviors with 80 percent accuracy. They then used the sensors with a child diagnosed along the autism spectrum, and the system detected the child\u2019s problem-behavior episodes with 81 percent accuracy and classified them with 70 percent accuracy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003E\u201cThese results are very promising in leading the way toward more accurate and reliable measurement of problem behavior, which is important in determining whether treatments targeting these behaviors are working,\u201d said CSL Director Agata Rozga, a research scientist in the School of Interactive Computing and co-investigator on the Expeditions award. \u201cOur ultimate goal with this wearable sensing system is to be able to gather data on the child\u2019s behavior beyond the clinic, in settings where the child spends most of their time, such as their home or school. In this way, parents, teachers and others who care for the child can be potentially alerted to times and situations when problem behaviors occur so that they can address them immediately.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003E\u201cWhat these tools show is that computational methods and technologies have great promise and potential impact on the lives of many children and their parents and caregivers,\u201d said Gregory Abowd, Regents\u2019 Professor in the School of Interactive Computing and a prominent researcher in technology and autism. \u201cThese technologies we are developing, and others developed and explored elsewhere, aim to bring more effective early-childhood screening to millions of children nationwide, as well as enhance care for those children already diagnosed on the autism spectrum.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EBoth technologies were presented in early September at the 14\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E ACM International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp 2012). Among the other devices under study at CSL are a camera\/software system that can track children\u2019s facial expressions and customized speech analysis software to detect vocalization patterns.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EFor more information on behavioral imaging, visit the Georgia Tech\/NSF website on computational behavioral science at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cbs.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.cbs.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E. For information or to volunteer for one of CBI\u2019s ongoing studies, visit the Child Study Lab website at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/childstudy.hsi.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/childstudy.hsi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Innovations will lead to better treatment, assessment for children"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EResearchers in Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Behavior Imaging have developed two new technological tools that automatically measure relevant behaviors of children, and promise to have significant impact on the understanding of behavioral disorders such as autism.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-09-25 10:19:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:50","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"156711":{"id":"156711","type":"image","title":"Child Study Lab","body":null,"created":"1449178872","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:12","changed":"1475894792","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:32","alt":"Child Study Lab","file":{"fid":"195303","name":"child-study-lab-1_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/child-study-lab-1_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/child-study-lab-1_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":598703,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/child-study-lab-1_0_0.jpg?itok=gxnpcago"}},"60510":{"id":"60510","type":"image","title":"Gregory Abowd and James Rehg","body":null,"created":"1449176267","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:47","changed":"1475894525","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:05","alt":"Gregory Abowd and James Rehg","file":{"fid":"191144","name":"tzo30302.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tzo30302_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tzo30302_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1530299,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tzo30302_0.jpg?itok=CZnAPVtQ"}}},"media_ids":["156711","60510"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"6053","name":"Autism"},{"id":"44431","name":"Child Study Lab"},{"id":"397","name":"children"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EMichael Terrazas\u003Cbr \/\u003EAssistant Director of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollege of Computing\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mterraza@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003Emterraza@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-245-0707\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mterraza@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"145221":{"#nid":"145221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gregory Abowd, Marie Thursby Named Regents\u0027 Professors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has named Gregory Abowd of the College of Computing and Marie Thursby of the Scheller College of Business Regents\u0027 Professors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe University System of Georgia Board of Regents grants the professorships to outstanding, tenured full professors based on excellence in research and contributions to their professions and institutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are very proud of our new Georgia Tech Regents\u0027 Professors,\u0022 said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. \u0022By definition, they represent the very best among our extraordinary faculty \u2014 they are educators, academicians and scholars of the first order.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbowd, a distinguished professor in the School of Interactive Computing, arrived at Tech in 1994 and quickly developed a research agenda on the applications of novel technologies in living laboratories such as the classroom and home. Since 2002, much of his research has been devoted to challenges linking information technologies to autism. Abowd established the Atlanta Autism Consortium in August 2008, which helped to unite Atlanta\u2019s many autism-related constituencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe was selected as a Rhodes Scholar in 1986 and, after completing his research studies at the University of Oxford, worked from 1989 to 1992 as a research associate with the Human-Computer Interaction Group in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York in England. From 1992 to 1994, Abowd was a postdoctoral research associate with the Software Engineering Institute and the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I am very grateful for the recognition of this Regents\u0027 Professorship, because it recognizes the importance of the work my colleagues, students and I have been doing,\u0022 Abowd said. \u0022I am also very grateful because this recognition was initiated by my peers, and it is an indication of their respect for what I have accomplished over the years at Georgia Tech.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThursby, a research associate of National Bureau of Economics Research since 1987, is currently Hal and John Smith Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Scheller College of Business. Her research on innovation and technology transfer has been used in congressional, National Institute of Health and U.S. National Academies policy discussions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of her major contributions to Tech since arriving in 2002, has been founding the internationally acclaimed Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Returns (TI:GER) program. TI:GER is a collaboration between the Institute and Emory University and has received multiple awards including the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award in 2006. The program teams PhD students in science and engineering with MBA and JD students in an experiential curriculum focused on the intersection of technical, legal and business issues and innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrior to arriving at Tech, Thursby was the Burton D. Morgan Chair of International\u003Cbr \/\u003EPolicy and Management at Purdue University and has held faculty appointments at the\u003Cbr \/\u003EUniversity of Michigan, Ohio State University, Syracuse University and North Carolina State University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I feel quite honored and grateful,\u0022 Thursby said. \u0022At Georgia Tech, I get to work with great colleagues and students in an environment that can\u0027t help but make one productive.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022Body1\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech has named Gregory Abowd of the College of Computing and Marie Thursby of the Scheller College of Business Regents\u0027 Professors.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech has named Gregory Abowd of the College of Computing and Marie Thursby of the Scheller College of Business Regents\u0027 Professors."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-08-09 16:33:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:40","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-08-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-08-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"145201":{"id":"145201","type":"image","title":"Gregory Abowd","body":null,"created":"1449178739","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:59","changed":"1475894777","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:17","alt":"Gregory Abowd","file":{"fid":"195051","name":"abowd.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/abowd_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/abowd_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2069602,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/abowd_0.jpg?itok=tbg0D2JP"}},"145191":{"id":"145191","type":"image","title":"Marie Thursby","body":null,"created":"1449178739","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:59","changed":"1475894777","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:17","alt":"Marie Thursby","file":{"fid":"195050","name":"thursby.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thursby_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thursby_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":977442,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/thursby_0.jpg?itok=S2yPW_Lg"}}},"media_ids":["145201","145191"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"11002","name":"Gregory Abowd"},{"id":"13925","name":"Marie Thursby"},{"id":"40061","name":"Regents\u0027 Professors"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOffice of the Provost\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"70408":{"#nid":"70408","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Receive Three NSF Emerging Frontiers Awards","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $6 million to fund \nthree projects involving researchers from the Georgia Institute of \nTechnology. Each four-year, $2 million grant was awarded through the \nNSF\u0027s Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI). \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The EFRI research teams will probe some profound aspects of the \ninterface of biology and engineering,\u0022 said Sohi Rastegar, director of \nEFRI. \u0022If they are successful, the principles and theories uncovered in \ntheir investigations could unlock many technological opportunities.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year, 14 transformative, fundamental research projects were \nawarded EFRI grants in two emerging areas: technologies that build on \nunderstanding of biological signaling, and machines that can interact \nand cooperate with humans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\nThe three Georgia Tech projects include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDeveloping a \u0022therapeutic robot\u0022 to help rehabilitate and improve motor skills in people with mobility problems;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECreating wearable sensors that allow blind people to \u0022see\u0022 with their hands, bodies or faces;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGenerating\n and rigorously testing quantitative models that describe spatial and \ntemporal regulation of cell differentiation in tissues.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe therapeutic robot could enhance, assist and improve motor skills \nin humans with varying motor capabilities and deficits. The goal of the \nproject is to program a humanoid rehabilitation robot to perform a \n\u0022partnered box step,\u0022 which is a defined pattern of weight shifts and \ndirectional changes, solely based on interpreting movement cues from \nsubtle changes in forces between the hands and arms of the robot and the\n person. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo do this, researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University will \nstudy how humans use their muscles to walk, balance and generate force \nsignals with the hands for guidance when moving in cooperation with \nanother person. They will also study \u0022rehabilitative partnered dance,\u0022 \nwhich has been specifically adapted to help improve gait and balance in \nindividuals with motor impairments. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our vision is to develop robots that will interact with humans as \nboth assistants and movement therapists,\u0022 explained principal \ninvestigator Lena Ting, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter\n Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory \nUniversity. \u0022We expect our project to have a long-term impact on quality\n of life of individuals with movement difficulties, such as those caused\n by Parkinson\u0027s disease, stroke and injury by improving fitness, motor \nskills and social engagement.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking with Ting on the project are Emory University School of \nMedicine (geriatrics) assistant professor Madeleine Hackney, Coulter \nDepartment of Biomedical Engineering assistant professor Charlie Kemp \nand Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing assistant professor \nKaren Liu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the second project, researchers at Georgia Tech and The City \nCollege of New York will investigate devices for \u0022alternative \nperception\u0022 and the principles underlying the human-machine interaction.\n Alternative perception combines electronics and the other senses to \nemulate vision. In addition to aiding the visually impaired, the \nfindings are expected to have other applications, such as the \ndevelopment of intelligent robots. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers plan to untangle how humans learn to coordinate input\n from their senses -- e.g. vision, touch -- with movements, like \nreaching for a glass or moving through a crowded room. They will then \nmap out how machines, such as robots and computers, learn similar tasks,\n to model devices that can assist humans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team envisions a multifunctional array of sensors on the body and\n has already developed prototypes for some of the devices. The full \ncomplement of wearable sensors would help a sightless person navigate by\n conveying information about his or her surroundings. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hope their findings on perception, and the prototypes\n they develop, will spawn a raft of wearable electronic devices to help \nblind people \u0022see\u0022 their environment at a distance through touch, \nhearing and other senses. The technology would also benefit sighted \nindividuals who must navigate in poor visibility, such as firefighters \nand pilots.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrincipal investigator Zhigang Zhu, professor of computer science and\n computer engineering in City College\u0027s Grove School of Engineering, \nwill collaborate with City College professor of psychology and director \nof the Program in Cognitive Neuroscience Tony Ro, City College professor\n of electrical engineering Ying Li Tian, Georgia Tech Woodruff School of\n Mechanical Engineering professor Kok-Meng Lee, and Georgia Tech School \nof Applied Physiology associate professor Boris Prilutsky.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe third project will address a fundamental question of \ndevelopmental biology: what controls the spatial and temporal patterns \nof cell differentiation? Answering this question will lead to a better \nunderstanding of the basic principles of embryogenesis, explain origins \nof developmental disorders, and provide guidelines for tissue \nengineering and regenerative medicine. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research will be conducted by principal investigator and \nPrinceton University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering \nassociate professor Stanislav Shvartsman, Georgia Tech School of \nChemical and Biomolecular Engineering associate professor Hang Lu, New \nYork University Department of Biology professor Christine Rushlow, and \nUniversity of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Department of Computer \nScience associate professor Saurabh Sinha.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists know that among an embryo\u0027s first major developments is \nthe establishment of its dorsoventral axis, which runs from its back to \nits belly. The researchers plan to study how this axis development \nunfolds -- specifically the presence and location of proteins during the\n process, which give rise to muscle, nerve and skin tissues. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo enable large-scale quantitative analyses of protein positional \ninformation along the dorsoventral axis, Lu and Shvartsman will further \ndevelop a microfluidic device they previously designed to reliably and \nrobustly orient several hundred embryos in just a few minutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By understanding this system at a deeper, quantitative level, we \nwill elucidate general principles underlying the operation of genetic \nand multicellular networks that drive development,\u0022 said Lu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Science Foundation has awarded $6 million through its Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation to fund three projects involving researchers from Georgia Tech, including Karen Liu and Charlie Kemp (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E). \u003Cem\u003ESource: GT Research News\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27174","created_gmt":"2011-09-29 14:59:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"Mike Terrazas","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70367":{"id":"70367","type":"image","title":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","body":null,"created":"1449177304","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:15:04","changed":"1475894618","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:38","alt":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","file":{"fid":"192951","name":"tinggroup195.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":54570,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg?itok=RcFrK7M2"}}},"media_ids":["70367"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1102","name":"blind"},{"id":"14478","name":"Boris Prilutsky"},{"id":"14480","name":"cell differentiation"},{"id":"2157","name":"Charlie Kemp"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"11533","name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"898","name":"Hang Lu"},{"id":"2296","name":"Karen Liu"},{"id":"14477","name":"Kok-Meng Lee"},{"id":"2266","name":"Lena Ting"},{"id":"7341","name":"microfluidic"},{"id":"1482","name":"mobility"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"167863","name":"School of Applied Physiology"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"167318","name":"sensor"},{"id":"14479","name":"therapeutic robot"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}