The Mechatronics and Robotics Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. The lab is directed by Professor Frank Sup. We focus on advancing physical human-machine interaction. The core of the lab’s research is human-centered mechatronic design for the development of collaborative and rehabilitative technologies. Core research areas include wearable robotics, intelligent prosthetics and exoskeletons, human motion prediction, advanced control methodologies, and integrated robotic and sensing systems that bridge engineering and nursing to improve safety, workflow, and care delivery.
The MRRL plays a leading role in the NSF-funded graduate training program, Strengthening Healthcare Innovation through Nursing and Engineering (SHINE), a cross-college initiative that bridges engineering and nursing at UMass Amherst. SHINE integrates robotics, mechatronics, automation, and human–robot collaboration with the expertise of nurses and clinicians to reimagine how technology supports patient care. Through this program, MRRL advances research at the intersection of robotics and healthcare, developing systems that improve safety, efficiency, and quality of care.
Creating the groundwork for modularized robotic educational tools that nursing and engineering students can use to increase familiarity with robots that may be encountered in the workplace
Using bioelectrical signals, like EMG, and motion to continuously predict future human joint movements for robotic teleoperation
Leveraging Fluid Structure Interaction principles to design underwater assistive gait systems
Focused on creating sensors for measuring pressures and forces for interactions with soft bodies
Developing advanced methods for capturing human and robotic motion and new technologies for recording human biomechanics.
Predicting optimal behavior of wearable robotics to optimize the user’s performance, efficiency, and loading of their limbs based on their individual constraints and needs
