VUSE RASL – Robotics Lab

Welcome to the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory (RASL) at Vanderbilt University. We are located at rooms 518 and 010 of Olin Hall. 

We are interested in the analysis, design, and development of intelligent and autonomous systems that can work with people in a versatile and natural way. The applications of this research range from helping individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities in learning skills, aiding stroke patients to regain some of their movement abilities through robot-assisted rehabilitation, and providing more autonomy in robots  for a variety of tasks. We are developing new generations of robots and computer-based intelligent systems such as virtual reality systems that can sense human emotion from various implicit signals and cues such as one’s physiology, gestures, facial expressions and so on, to be able to interact with people in a smooth and natural way.  Our current research involves both theoretical analysis and experimental investigation of electromechanical systems, sensor fusion and machine learning, modeling of human-robot and human-computer interaction, kinematics, dynamics and control theory leading to the development of these smart systems.

Our past projects were focused on embedded systems, controls, dynamics and modeling. Faculty, students, and research staff from various backgrounds such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science, psychology and human development participate in the research projects of RASL. Although this is primarily a graduate research lab, we encourage and provide research experience to both undergraduate and high school students. 

Our research work has been featured in several print and electronic media.  A few of them can be found in: Here you can find clips and articles featuring our work.

Please take a look at our website and send any comments and questions to:

Nilanjan Sarkar at nilanjan.sarkar@vanderbilt.edu