Cleveland State University (CSU) opened the doors in July to its new Parker Hannifin Motion and Control Lab, where the research focus is assistive technology.
Lab scientists are working on computerized “smart” prosthetic limbs that react like natural limbs and robotic exoskeletons that can be used to assist walking in patients with paralysis, rehabilitating from stroke, or at high risk for falls.
Dutch biomechanist Antonie “Ton” van den Bogert, PhD, heads the lab. Bogert began his career as a physicist and then discovered an interest in biomechanics, a field in which he has diverse accomplishments that include a term as head of the International Society of Biomechanics and an Academy Award for innovation in motion-capture technology.
Parker Hannifin Corp, a global engineering group specializing in motion and control technologies headquartered in Cleveland, has earmarked $2 million to staff and equip the lab.