HERO labUniversity of Calgary

Research

We study shared autonomy and human–prosthetic interaction: how assistive devices and AI systems can act capably while the person stays in charge. The work runs from biosignal decoding and human performance models to devices, testbeds and clinical studies.

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Shared autonomy for bionic limbs

A myoelectric hand that does everything for the user is easy to operate and hard to own. We design shared-autonomy controllers that take on part of a grasp while the user keeps authority over the movement, and we tune that balance with workload, agency and embodiment measures.

Hands, hooks and bypass sockets are designed and 3D-printed in the lab, then tested with the clinical outcome measures rehabilitation teams use.

Selected work

Funding

NSERC Discovery Grant, sole PI (2026–2031); NSERC Discovery Grant Bridge Fund

Design and fabrication

Lab equipment

The lab builds the devices it studies. Terminal devices, hands, grippers and bypass sockets are designed and printed in-house, so hardware can change as quickly as the control software and be tested with people right away.

Bambu Lab H2D printing a hook, with printed bypass sockets in front
Printing a terminal device on the Bambu Lab H2D
Printed hooks and grippers and a Fillauer hook on bypass sockets
Printed hooks and grippers next to a commercial Fillauer hook

  1. Design

    Devices are modeled and screened with human performance models before anything is printed.

  2. Print

    Hands, hooks, grippers and sockets come off a multi-material Bambu Lab H2D and a Sovol printer.

  3. Fit

    Bypass sockets let participants without limb loss wear and operate the device. Commercial hooks give a reference point.

  4. Test

    Devices are evaluated with EMG, eye tracking and standard tests such as Box and Block and SHAP.

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Trustworthy biosignal AI

Muscle, brain and eye signals tell a machine what a person intends and how hard they are working. We build EMG, EEG and eye-tracking decoders and audit them so their claims hold for new users, new sessions and new clinical conditions. That audit is what makes a decoder safe to put in charge of a device.

Selected work

Funding

NSERC Discovery Grant; Hotchkiss Brain Institute Robertson Award

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Human–AI teams in emergency care

The question of who decides does not go away when the AI is a teammate instead of a hand. We design and test AI and XR support for NG911 dispatch, rural emergency department triage and multi-agent emergent care, adapt it to the operator’s workload, and ask who is responsible for each decision.

Selected work

Funding

Space-Defence Technologies Alberta (BlueTrace); Transdisciplinary Connector Grants; Creative Sentencing, Government of Alberta

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Assistive technology for children

Children grow and change quickly, so their devices have to adapt. With clinical partners in Calgary we study pediatric ankle-foot orthoses for cerebral palsy, the accuracy of wearable mobility sensors, and what caregivers need from real-time inhaler feedback.

Selected work

Funding

One Child Every Child (PATCH); Hotchkiss Brain Institute Robertson Award; VPR Catalyst Grant

Next

Testbeds

Biosignal sensing, eye and motion tracking, XR, simulation, clinical outcome measures and compute are listed on the equipment page. The lab has a dedicated 300 m² space and access to the Human Performance Lab and the W21C Wizard-of-Oz suite.

Current funding

Partners