Research

• Control

  Control research at UM encompasses everything from manufacturing systems to automotive vehicles, prosthetic devices and robotics. Researchers working with the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems at UM develop manufacturing systems that can be adapted to changes in the marketplace. Work in automotive engineering includes the investigation of safety and handling through modeling and simulation, developments in powertrain control systems, work on diesel technology and braking methods for Commercial Heavy Vehicles, and research to help accelerate the adoption of fuel cell and hybrid vehicles. Work in robotics has had a number of applications, including autonomous ground robots to investigate rugged or dangerous terrain; devices to track the moving position of pedestrians or vehicles without GPS; technologies to aid people with disabilities including navigation aids for the blind and those with limited mobility; haptic interface systems that exploit the sense of touch for rehabilitation or education; and micro-mechatronic systems for use in bio-medical devices or in computers. Faculty have also created award-winning tutorials for Matlab and Simulink.

• Research Highlights

• Researchers

  Johann Borenstein	Robotics, rehabilitation
  Brent Gillespie	Haptic devices, rehabilitation
  Tim Gordon	Vehicle dynamics and controls
  Art Kuo	Biomechanics of motion, prosthetic device development
  Kenn Oldham	MEMS and micro-mechantronic systems, micro-robotics
  Huei Peng	Vehicle dynamics and control systems
  Anna Stefanopoulou	Power train control systems and architectures, fuel cell power and hydrogen forming
  Jeff Stein	High efficiency dynamic formulations for vehicle dynamics
  Dawn Tilbury	Robotics and manufacturing systems, logic control, networked control systems
  Galip Ulsoy	Rotating or translating elastic systems; manufacturing automation