Robotics in Medicine and Interaction Laboratory

Our research at the Robotics in Medicine and Interaction Laboratory (RoMI Lab) aims to improve safety and efficiency in human-robot interaction by innovative mechanical designs, advanced modelling, control strategies and sensing. We combine our electro-mechanical knowledge with human factors to build a new approach in intuitive control of robots for medical, industrial and daily applications.

Head of Laboratory

Current PhD students

Yanjun Yang (yanjun.yang@monash.edu) Co-supervised with Prof Dana Kulic Project: Development of novel human-robot interfaces		Radhik Rammohan (radhikrammohan@iitb.ac.in) Co-supervised with Prof Maryam Shojaei Baghini Project: Development of a surgical platform
Brandon Johns (brandon.johns@monash.edu)  Co-supervised with Dr Mehrdad Arashpour Project: Automated installation of curtain walls in high-rise buildings

Undergraduate students (FYP)

Every semester, multiple students complete their FYP at RoMI Lab in a variety of projects from mechanical design of human-robot interfaces and exoskeletons, to development of control strategies and virtual environments.

For an updated list of available FYP projects, please refer to M+AE Student Resources on Moodle. Interested students are invited to send their CV and a copy of their academic transcript to elahe.abdi@monash.edu.

Interns and assistants

• (Aug-Dec 2019) BITS Pilani, India; Sequential task decoding for controlling robotic platforms.
• (May-July 2019) IITB, India; Experimental validation of a novel human-robot interface.
• (January-May 2019) Southeastern University, China; Mathematical modelling of soft tissue with experimental validation.
• (December 2018-April 2019) Monash University; Experimental validation of a commercial accelerometer for concussion detection.
• (June-August 2018) CUHK, Hong Kong; Sensorising and development of the control strategy for a human-robot interface.
• (May-July 2018) IITB, India; Mechanical design of a human-robot interface.

Open positions

Strong students interested in joining RoMI Lab for their PhD, are encouraged to contact me via email in the following format. Competitive central funding is available for top students.

1. Email title: "RoMI PhD Applicant"
2. A brief overview of your academic background and interests
3. CV
4. Transcripts

Collaborators

• Dana Kulic, Human-Robot Interaction, Monash University
• Dewi Tojib, Business School, Monash University
• Mehrdad Arashpour, Civil Engineering, Monash University
• Institute of Railway Technology, Monash University
• Faezeh Marzbanrad, Biomedical Signal Processing, Monash University
• Biswadev Mitra, Emergency Medicine, National Trauma Research Institute
• Mohamed Bouri, Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics, EPFL
• Maryam Shojaei Baghini,Electrical Engineering, IITB
• Hannes Bleuler, Robotic Systems, EPFL
• Etienne Burdet, Human Robotics, Imperial College London

• H. Razmjooei, M. H. Shafiei, and E. Abdi, "A Novel Continuous Finite-Time Extended State Observer Design for a Class of Uncertain Nonlinear Systems," IEEE Access, pp. 1-1, 2020.
• H. Razmjooei, M. H. Shafiei, E. Abdi, and C. Yang, "A novel robust finite-time tracking control of uncertain robotic manipulators with disturbances," Journal of Vibration and Control, vol. 0, no. 0, p. 1077546320982449, 2020.
• E. Abdi, W. Griggs, R. Lambert, R. Ravitharan, P. Gamagedera, R. Bowater, A. Luhar, “Improving accessibility to rail network through consolidated research,” in AusRail 2020.
• Y. J. Yang, S. Udatha, D. Kulić, and E. Abdi, "A novel foot interface versus voice for controlling a robotic endoscope holder," in 2020 8th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2020, pp. 272-279.
• S. Z. Ye, P. Jain, A. Walley, Y. J. Yang, and E. Abdi, "A Novel Four-Degree-of-Freedom versus a Conventional Foot Interface for Controlling a Robotic Assistive Arm," in 2020 8th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2020, pp. 1080-1087.
• B. Johns, M. Arashpour and E. Abdi, "Curtain Wall Installation for High-Rise Buildings: Critical Review of Current Automation Solutions and Opportunities," presented at the Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), 2020/10/14, 2020.
• E. Abdi, D. Kulić, and E. Croft, "Haptics in teleoperated medical interventions: Force measurement, haptic interfaces and their influence on users performance," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, pp. 1-1, 2020.
• B. Johns and E. Abdi, "Low-Cost Wearable Robotic Arm for Human Augmentation in Overhead Reaching," in ACRA, Adelaid, Australia, 2019.
• E. Abdi, M. Bouri, E. Burdet, S. Himidan, and H. Bleuler, "Positioning the endoscope in laparoscopic surgery by foot: Influential factors on surgeons' performance in virtual trainer," in 2017 39th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2017, pp. 3944-3948.
• E. Abdi, E. Burdet, M. Bouri, S. Himidan, and H. Bleuler, "In a demanding task, three-handed manipulation is preferred to two-handed manipulation," Scientific Reports, Article vol. 6, p. 21758, 02/25/online 2016.
• E. B. Abdi, M.; Himidan, S.; Burdet, E.; Bleuler, H., "Third Arm Manipulation for Surgical Applications: An Experimental Study," in New Trends in Medical and Service Robots, vol. 38, H. Bleuler, Bouri, M., Mondada, F., Pisla, D., Rodić, A., Helmer, P., Ed.: Springer, 2016, pp. 153-164.
• E. Abdi, E. Burdet, M. Bouri, and H. Bleuler, "Control of a Supernumerary Robotic Hand by Foot: An Experimental Study in Virtual Reality," PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 7, p. e0134501, 2015

• December 2020 - Shangzhou Ye, former FYP student, presented his paper at BioRob 2020
• November 2020 - Yanjun Yang, PhD student, presented his paper as a poster at BioRob 2020
• October 2020 - Brandon Johns, PhD student, presented his paper at ISARC 2020
• December 2019 - Brandon Johns, FYP student, presented his paper at ACRA 2019
• November 2019 - RoMI Lab poster presentation at IROS 2019.
• October 2019 - Committee member IWoFR 2020.
• October 2019 - Committee member ROBIO 2019.
• September 2019 - Department representative EXPO | Engineering 101. 60 girls from year 9 and 10 visited the Faculty of Engineering.
• July 2019 - Department organiser for Year 8 Challenge, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. More than 240 year 8 students visited our Faculty in three days.
• May 2019 - Master of Ceremony at Alumni Thought Leadership Seminar: Robotics, Monash University.
• May 2019 - Panel member at Diversity in Engineering, Monash University.
• May 2019 - Guest Speaker at Robogals Industry Night, Monash University.
• February 2019 - Invited talk at NTRI NHMRC symposium Towards better detection and management of sports concussion, Melbourne, Australia.
• January 2019 - Invited talk at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
• October 2018 - Invited Talk at Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.
• July 2018 - Department organiser for Year 8 Challenge, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. More than 200 year eight students visited our Faculty in three days.
• March 2018 - Keynote speaker in the Body Consciousness in Natural and Artificial Environments workshop, IEEE VR 2018 conference, Germany.

Teaching

• TRC2201 - Mechanics
• TRC3200 - Dynamical Systems
• ENG1001 - Engineering design: Lighter, faster, stronger

Final Year Projects

For an updated list of available FYP projects, please refer to M+AE Student Resources on Moodle. Interested students are invited to send their CV and a copy of their academic transcript to elahe.abdi@monash.edu.

For enquiries, please contact Dr Elahe Abdi:

elahe.abdi@monash.edu

+61 3 9905 3516