Enhancing movement with computational models
It’s not every day that graduate students get to test out their research on their advisors. But MIT’s David Hill, a PhD student in media arts and sciences, builds computational models of human locomotion, which are the basis for designing ever-better prosthetics — and his advisor, Hugh Herr, an associate professor of media arts and sciences, is a double amputee. Hill says living in the world of theoretical models can be somewhat insular, so having a real-life example of someone who can benefit from — and pilot — some of the work he does is part of what helps him stay focused. “I don’t ever want to do research that doesn’t benefit someone else’s life directly,” Hill says. Beyond prosthetics Hill’s modeling work in the MIT Media Lab extends beyond the world of prosthetics; his research also supports assistive devices that can help maintain or correct the gait of people recovering from strokes, for...