UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1025 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 1025

Submission ID: 19721

Submission UUID: 3a25bddc-77b2-4e2b-b330-d4161a899660

Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal

Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=3gke8FGUG1NRFsjdQ8OTVlB1s0x8Y_L3hkrUq47oUCs

Created: Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:38 AM

Completed: Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:42 AM

Changed: Thu, 09/25/2025 - 12:44 PM

Remote IP address: 144.174.214.38

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal

Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal

Research Mentor Information

Primary Research Mentor Name Taylor Higgins

Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns She/her

When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Dr.

Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) th22u@fsu.edu

Position Title Faculty

FSU College (if applicable) FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Florida State University

Headshot (optional)

Additional Research Mentor(s)

Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above) {Empty}

Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns {Empty}

Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific? {Empty}

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Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable) {Empty}

Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns {Empty}

Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific? {Empty}

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Overall Project Details

Title of the Project Intent Inference for Lower-Limb Assistive Robotics

Project Keywords Robotics, prosthetics, exoskeletons, human robot interaction, motor learning, mechatronics

Are you currently looking for research assistants? No

Number of Research Assistants Needed 2

Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, (programming experience required)

Project Location: AME Building (2003 Levy Ave. Tallahasse, FL)

If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? Yes

Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): Partially Remote

Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5-10 (negotiable)

Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)

Overall Research Project Description Robotic lower-limb prostheses need to be able to determine what action the amputee is trying to accomplish in order to help them to achieve that goal. For instance, if the user is trying to sit down, the robotic knee joint must bend at just the right time to allow the sit action. This problem is called ‘intent recognition’. This project aims to leverage computer vision and human motion capture to improve intent recognition for these types of robots. In this case, we are collecting data as individuals go through normal activities of daily living so that we can then develop algorithms to recognize objects in the environment that the user is likely to interact with, and then reason about what these objects and their proximity tell us about the user’s intended actions.

Research Tasks Programming, data collection, data analysis.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Skills required: Matlab programming experience. Other languages of programming, such as Python and/or C++ are welcome, but not necessary. Human subject research.

Skills to learn: In order to be a researcher in the human subject experiment (data collection), you will need to complete CITI Human Subject training through the FSU Office for Human Subject Protection. You will learn how human subject research is done, how to interact with subjects, and will likely interact with equipment like the Intel Realsense depth camera, the XSens IMU motion capture suit, among other technologies.

Mentoring Philosophy As a mentor, I work best with students who are inquisitive, pro-active, and problem solvers. I do not like to micro-manage. I see my job as being a resource to my research students, helping to solve problems when stuck, providing overall vision, and occasionally giving nudges in the right direction. I see my students as the expert in their given project, and I expect students to go learn skills, find possible solutions, try many things that may or may not work, and ultimately to come to research meetings ready to teach me all the cool things they’ve learned, tried, and developed. I aim to creating a safe environment in which mentees feel that it is acceptable to fail and learn from their mistakes. I do expect mentees to take ownership of their work and have accountability for their effort in the project. Overall, I want to do fun engineering work that makes a difference in human lives, and I want my students to feel empowered to do difficult things and solve challenging problems.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): https://rthmlab.wixsite.com/taylorgambon

Please add any additional information here (if applicable): {Empty}

Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? No

Roundtable times and Zoom links {Empty}

UROP Program Elements

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes

UROP Performance Evaluation Yes

Materials Grant Yes

UROP Poster Presentation Yes

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Year 2025

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