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RASL Director Nilanjan Sarkar receives nearly $2.7 million in NSF and NIH funding to explore how augmented reality can ease loneliness in older adults
Sep. 13, 2022—“The lack of social connections in older adults can lead to serious health consequences, including cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, depression, and suicide,” said Sarkar, an expert in human-machine interaction. “Three-dimensional interactive technologies offer real promise when it comes to enhancing a person’s perception that their friends and loved ones are physically present.” The new research...
RASL’s Socially Assistive Robotics Project which Compares the Benefits of Animatronics Compared with Humanoids was Highlighted in Fortune
Aug. 24, 2022—“Isolation during the pandemic highlighted how harmful loneliness can be. This sped up development of tech solutions, says Nilanjan Sarkar, an engineering professor at Vanderbilt University. One area of rapid advancement has been artificial intelligence for companion robots. Today’s A.I.-enhanced robots have improved stereo vision to sense the shape and location of objects, and they...
NSF Funding Received to Study Precursors of Problem Behaviors in Children with Autism
Aug. 24, 2022—The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a Smart and Connected Health Grant* to VKC researchers Nilanjan Sarkar, Ph.D., (Principal Investigator), Amy Weitlauf, Ph.D., (Co-PI, TRIAD associate director of Research) and John Staubitz, M.Ed., BCBA (TRIAD associate director of Behavior Analysis) to develop and study the use of wearable technology to identify precursors of challenging behaviors in individuals with disabilities,...
RASL PhD students Akshith Ullal and Alexandra Watkins have won the “Best student paper award” at the 2021 IEEE Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (AIVR) conference
Nov. 23, 2021—RASL PhD students Akshith Ullal and Alexandra Watkins have won the “Best student paper award” for their paper titled “A Dynamically Weighted Multi-Objective Optimization Approach to Positional Interactions in Remote-Local Augmented/Mixed Reality” at the 2021 IEEE Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (AIVR) conference held at Taichung, Taiwan. Their paper was also selected as one of the...
Vanderbilt’s research towards neurodiversity in the workplace-including work at RASL- featured in 60 Minutes on CBS
Oct. 12, 2020—Vanderbilt’s efforts towards the development of systems to facilitate the recruitment of talent on the Autism Spectrum was featured in the 60 Minutes episode that aired on 4th October on CBS News. Anderson Cooper led the reporting on the story. Check out the full episode on CBS’s website or see the neurodiversity segment on YouTube. Among the research...
Vanderbilt leads $5 million project to revolutionize neurodiverse employment through AI
Sep. 10, 2020—The National Science Foundation has awarded a highly competitive $5 million grant to Vanderbilt University that greatly expands a School of Engineering-led project for creating novel AI technology and tools and platforms that train and support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the workplace. The significant federal investment follows a successful $1 million, nine-month pilot...
Vanderbilt, Ohio State receive $3.1M NIH grant to develop social robots to encourage activity among older adults
Sep. 4, 2020—Researchers from Vanderbilt University and The Ohio State University are teaming up to develop next-generation robotic technology that can help older adults living with forms of dementia through a grant from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. The five-year grant, totaling $3.13 million, will support research and development of robotic...
RASL Director Nilanjan Sarkar named David K. Wilson Chair of Engineering
Feb. 28, 2020—Two engineering faculty members named to endowed chairs were honored for their academic achievements during a celebration Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Student Life Center. They were among nine Vanderbilt faculty members who are recipients of chairs. The engineering professors are: Craig Duvall, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Engineering Nilanjan Sarkar, David K. Wilson Chair in...
Sarkar will Lead New $1M Convergence Accelerator Project Funded by the National Science Foundation!
Sep. 11, 2019—RASL Director Dr. Nilanjan Sarkar will serve as Principal Investigator of a new project entitled “Convergence Accelerator Phase I: Empowering Neurodiverse Populations for Employment through Inclusion AI and Innovation Science.” The project is part of a brand new funding mechanism from the National Science Foundation called the NSF Convergence Accelerator (C-Accel). This mechanism is designed to rapidly...
Robot-guided video game for older adults is a featured story by Vanderbilt Research News
Mar. 19, 2019—Vanderbilt Research News published a new story this week on the work of RASL members Jing Fan, Nilanjan Sarkar, and Lorraine Mion. See the full story here and watch the video below.