Date: October 7, 2026
Speaker: Elizabeth Peiros, UC San Diego
Title: Modeling Humans when Providing Physical Assistance Using Robots: Simulation, Phantoms and Physical Twins
Host: Tapomayukh Bhattacharjee
Abstract: When performing field medicine casualty extractions, patient transfers in hospitals, or helping with ADLs (activities of daily living), good human models are needed to assess robotic capability and ensure safety. These tasks require lifting and maneuvering different body parts and often manipulating the whole body. How does one evaluate realistic robotic capabilities of performing these tasks? What makes a good model? In this talk, I will discuss how simulation models, phantoms (manikins), and physical twins can help us understand and overcome the challenges of physically interacting with and maneuvering the human body in the real world. My hope is that this talk will inspire thoughtful questions on the toughest parts of designing robots and algorithms for these meaningful tasks.
Bio: Lizzie Peiros is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Advanced Robotics and Controls Lab at the University of California San Diego and is currently working with Prof. Michael Yip on her research. Prior to joining UCSD, she worked at numerous start-up companies that developed new 3D printing technologies and "Powered Clothing," a term used to refer to clothing with actuators embedded into the fabric or soft materials. Her Master's and Bachelor's degrees are both from Stanford University, where she did research in soft robotics with Sean Folmer and tunaform swimming with Barbara Block through Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. She was a teaching assistant for the graduate Dynamics, Simulation and Controls courses taught with Paul Mitiguy. Outside of her academic pursuits, she has worked with a social impact firm to teach design thinking applied to assistive technologies and performs outreach with institutions that provide engineering mentorship to kids who would not otherwise have access. Her research interests lie in the intersection of robotics, physical human-robot interaction, biomechanics, soft robotics, and surgical robotics. Her previous work has been published in RA-L, IROS, and ICRA, with pending publications as she wraps up her thesis this fall.
