Prof. Shorya Awtar, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Our work spans mechatronic systems, human-centric design, mechanisms and transmissions, and precision machines. In this seminar, I will describe the journey from basic research and innovations in these areas to the conception and development of multiple technologies that are at various stages of market adoption and societal impact.

While surgical robotics has made a huge impact in healthcare, existing solutions have failed to reach more than 90% of the global population because of their massive cost and overhead. To address this, we created a compact, handheld surgical robotic system that provides precise dexterous manipulation, haptic feedback, and surgeon ergonomics. This affordable and scalable technology is enabled by innovations in parallel kinematics, biomechanical interfaces, and hybrid human-computer control. The resulting products have created a new market segment in surgical robotics and have been used in thousands of minimally invasive procedures around the world.

We have also developed the HIPERNAP technology by leveraging basic research in constraint-based design (to create new topologies), non-linear flexure mechanics (to improve load bearing), and flexible system dynamics (to eliminate non-minimum phase zeros). This has led to unprecedented performance in flexure-based nanopositioning systems in terms of payload, range, and speed. We have partnered with a leading semiconductor OEM to integrate these systems into their next generation wafer inspection machines to improve process throughput.

Next, I will present an exciting new motion sickness mitigation technology, PREACT for traditional and autonomous vehicles, that employs data-driven algorithms to predict impending inertial events (e.g. braking, speeding, turning) and delivers preemptive cues to vehicle passengers. Instead of “reacting” to inertial events, this integrated software + hardware system informs the passenger ahead of time to avert motion sickness. We have conducted extensive human subject studies to demonstrate the efficacy of this technology under real-world driving conditions and are now working with an automotive OEM to embed PREACT into their vehicle platforms.  

Speaker Bio-Sketch

Shorya Awtar, Sc.D., is the Joseph E. Shigley Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan and a serial entrepreneur. Before joining Michigan, he worked at the GE Global Research Center and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He earned his Mechanical Engineering degrees from IIT Kanpur (B.Tech., 1998), RPI (M.S., 2000), and MIT (Sc.D., 2004). He has founded multiple startup companies including FlexDex Surgical, Parallel Robotics, and Motion Sync that focus on product development, manufacturing, and commercialization. He has received the Leonardo daVinci Award and Thomas Edison Patent Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Goel Award for Translational Research from the American Society of Biomechanics, multiple R&D100 Awards, and several Best Paper awards for his research, innovations, and societal impact. Shorya is a Fellow of the ASME and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.