On Thursday, March 31, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s ReNeu Robotics Laboratory on his tour of The University of Texas at Austin. Secretary Carter saw firsthand the innovative technologies and devices being developed in the lab and learned about the researchers’ work at the intersection of robotics and rehabilitation.
Assistant professor Ashish Deshpande, the lab’s director, led a presentation on its major projects, including a two-armed robotic rehabilitation exoskeleton called HARMONY for stroke and spinal injury patients, as well as a hand-wrist rehabilitation exoskeleton and an advanced anthropomorphic robotic hand. In his comments, the Secretary emphasized how this area of research could benefit soldiers and veterans.
Secretary Carter also met with University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven, participated at a roundtable at the School of Social Work, held a Q&A session with civilian and ROTC students, and toured the Texas Advanced Computing Center.
