MIT.nano's video: Praneeth Namburi Dance-inspired investigation of human movement

Praneeth Namburi, a postdoctoral associate in the research laboratory of electronics (RLE) in electrical engineering & computer science, gave the Nano Explorations talk on Thursday, April 9, 2020. In this talk, Namburi focuses on his group's efforts to formalize a dancer’s approach to movement. Their overarching hypothesis is that dancers stabilize their joints through stretches – which is observed during common activities such as walking and running. However, most untrained individuals are only able to apply this form of stabilization during activities such as walking, that seemingly ‘just happen’, much like how we ‘see’. In contrast, the best dancers and athletes are able to generalize this stretch-based joint stabilization beyond walking to their art form. To understand how dancers organize movement through stretches, they use motion tracking and electromyography. This talk focuses on their hypotheses, preliminary findings, and how their work can potentially benefit several fields, including soft robotics, neuroscience, and AI. This talk was originally scheduled as part of Talk SENSE, a monthly series powered by SENSE.nano that focuses on topics related to sensors, sensing systems, and sensing techniques. --------------------------------------------------------- Nano Explorations is a virtual seminar series powered by MIT.nano that features presentations by MIT students on their work in nanoscience, nanotechnology, and other advanced research fields. The series was launched as a way to keep our nano community connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presentations take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am EST and are open to any interested viewers. Read more about past and upcoming Nano Explorations at mitnano.mit.edu/nano-explorations.