Event Location: NSH 1305
Bio: Jonathan Clark received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and his MS and PhD. from Stanford University where he worked on the design of dynamic multi-legged running systems, including the Sprawl family of robots. From 2004-2007 he worked as an IC Postdoctoral Fellow on climbing robots at the GRASP lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2007 Dr. Clark has been employed at the FAMU/FSU College of engineering as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and currently serves as the associate director of the Center of Intelligent Systems, Control, and Robotics (CISCOR).

Abstract: Please note: The speaker has requested that this talk not be webcast or captured, it will not be available on videotape.

Despite substantial progress in robotic systems over the past couple of decades, animals continue to set the standard for locomotion prowess in unknown and cluttered environments, whether they are natural or man-made. Finely tuned legged systems that explicitly exploit their body’s natural dynamics have begun to rival specific performance criteria, such as speed over smooth terrain, of the most accomplished biological systems. Our ability, however to mimic their ability to operate in a multi-modal fashion (running, climbing, leaping, flying, and/or crawling, etc.) severely limits our locomotive ability in complex environments. In this talk I will address some of the issues associated with the design of these systems, including identifying and anchoring appropriate low-dimensional dynamic models and efficient exploitation of available onboard power for fast and stable locomotion.