June Event Recap

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our June event!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our June meetup! Jonathan Shulgach from CMU’s NeuroMechatronics Lab gave a fascinating presentation on how wearable sensing, machine learning, and robotics are coming together to restore hand function for individuals with spinal cord injury.

Check out the presentation slides for the event.

Jonathan walked us through the complete engineering pipeline, from designing high-density wearable EMG sensors that capture muscle activity, to building Python-based real-time data pipelines and machine learning models capable of decoding a user’s intended hand movements. He then demonstrated how those decoded signals can control an open-source, 3D-printable robotic hand exoskeleton that assists users with grasping and other everyday movements.

By combining wearable electronics, real-time signal processing, intelligent decoding, and robotic control, researchers are building assistive technologies that translate human intent directly into physical action. Jonathan also shared several open-source Python tools developed by the lab, illustrating the important role the Python ecosystem continues to play in advancing biomedical engineering and rehabilitation research.