Developing a wearable robot for assisted motion and balance, suitable for continuous use in real-life environments

The University of Bath is inviting applications for the following PhD project commencing in January 2022.

Funding is available to candidates who qualify for ‘Home’ fee status. Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the rules governing fee status have changed and, therefore, candidates from the EU/EEA are advised to check their eligibility before applying. Please see the Funding Eligibility section below for more information.

Project team: Dr Erfan Shahabpoor & Prof Plummer

Informal queries should be directed to Dr Erfan Shahabpoor - [Email Address Removed]

Project:

Assistive technologies have immense unexploited potential to help aging population to remain mobile and independent for longer. This project aims at developing a novel wearable lower-limb robot to assist aging population with focus on assisted motion, weight support and balance. As part of this project, various options for robot structure, sensory system, control system and actuation mechanism will be explored and the most fit combination for the purpose will be designed, prototyped and tested at the Human-Environment Advanced Dynamics (HEAD) laboratory of the University of Bath. The developed robotic system then will be tested using different control schemes to identify the design strengths and shortcomings and to evaluate its effects on the users gait, balance and agility. The PhD candidate will be able to use the state-of-the-art experimental and technical facilities of the HEAD laboratory of the University of Bath including optical motion capture system, instrumented treadmill, wearable inertial measurement units, and EMG, EEG and ECG monitoring systems. 

Candidate Requirements:

Applicants should hold, or expect to receive, an undergraduate Masters first class degree or MSc distinction (or equivalent degree from a non-UK top-tier University) 

Application:

Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath’s online application form for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Please ensure that you state the full project title and lead supervisor name on the application form.

https://samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RDUME-FP01&code2=0016

More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found here:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/how-to-apply-for-doctoral-study/

Expected start date: 17 January 2022

Fee status:

Information may be found on our fee status guidance webpage, on the GOV.UK website and on the UKCISA website.