Kaveh Akbari Hamed

Research Interests

My primary academic interests span control theory, robotics, cyber-physical systems, optimization, and hybrid dynamical systems. My long-term goal is to establish a firm foundation that will transform state-of-the-art methods for the design of resilient control algorithms for a wide range of hybrid dynamical systems. These systems include, but are not limited to, (1) autonomous robots for disaster response and industrial applications, (2) wearable robots like prostheses and orthoses to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities, (3) multiagent systems with decentralized control policies, (4) walking and running robots with human/animal morphology, and (5) complex systems.

My research has a clear path from theory to experiments to advance two specific objectives: (1) Creating algorithms to systematically design robust and nonlinear controllers for high-dimensional hybrid dynamical systems; and (2) Transferring the control framework into practice with experimental and highly dynamic robotic systems in my research laboratory. These algorithms advance knowledge in the design of feedback controllers for dynamical models arising from robotic systems. The theoretical innovations also offer a unique opportunity to advance robot locomotion, robot-assisted walking, human-robot interaction, bio-inspired robotic technologies, high tech tools for disaster response, and rehabilitation robotics through a series of experiments with humanoid and legged robots, powered prosthetic legs, exoskeletons (bioengineering applications), and sophisticated robotic networks.