Amy Wu P.L.Eng, PhD

Assistant Professor

Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty, Ingenuity Labs Research Institute
Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 32760
McLaughlin Hall, 324

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Expertise: Human-Robot Interaction, Human Biomechanics, Locomotion, Mechatronics and Robotics
Amy Wu
Biography Research Teaching Publications Graduate Students

Amy R. Wu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen’s University and the Mitchell Professor in Bio-inspired Robotics. She is the head of the Biomechanics x Robotics Laboratory (BxRL) and a member of Queen’s Ingenuity Labs Research Institute. Her research interests are at the intersection of biomechanics and robotics with the aim of augmenting legged mobility. Prior to joining Queen’s, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Biorobotics Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and completed her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Research Interests 

  • Human biomechanics: control of balance and locomotion 
  • Legged robotics 
  • Wearable robotics 
  • Mechatronics
  • Human-robot interaction 

The Biomechanics x Robotics Laboratory (BxRL) is at the intersection of human biomechanics and robotics with the aim of building better assistive technologies. We are interested in utilizing a first-principles approach to understand the mechanics and energetics of human movement and to apply those principles to robots. Likewise, we will leverage robots to reveal the mechanisms behind human behavior. We are also passionate about using maker-style manufacturing techniques to build impactful, openly available robotic devices for both research and education. We are a member of Ingenuity Labs Research Institute. 

Fall: MECH 855 Bio-inspired Robot Locomotion

Winter: MECH 210 Electronic Circuits and Motors for Mechatronics, MREN 303 Mechatronics and Robotics Design III

Select Publications 

  • A. N. Best and A. R. Wu, "Modified stepping behaviour during outdoor winter walking increases resistance to forward losses of stability," Sci Rep 13, 8432, 2023.
  • P. M. Riek and A. R. Wu. "Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability," Sensors 23, 1547, 2023.
  • T. Huckell and A. R. Wu. "Improved Zero Step Push Recovery with a Unified Reduced Order Model of Standing Balance" in 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 8321–8327, 2022.
  • A. R. Wu, “Human biomechanics perspective on robotics for gait assistance: challenges and potential solutions,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 288, no. 1956, Aug. 2021. 
  • V. Ramachandran, F. Schilling, A. R. Wu, and D. Floreano, "Smart Textiles that Teach: Fabric-Based Haptic Device Improves the Rate of Motor Learning," Adv. Intell. Syst., p. 2100043, 2021. 
  • A. N. Best and A. R. Wu, "Upper body and ankle strategies compensate for reduced lateral stability at very slow walking speeds," Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 287, no. 1936, p. 20201685, Oct. 2020. 
  • A. N. Best, J.-P. Martin, Q. Li, and A. R. Wu, "Stepping behaviour contributes little to balance control against continuous mediolateral trunk perturbations, " J Exp Biol, vol. 222, no. 24, Dec. 2019. 
  • A. R. Wu, C. S. Simpson, E. H. F. van Asseldonk, H. van der Kooij, and A. J. Ijspeert, “Mechanics of very slow human walking,” Sci Rep, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–10, Dec. 2019. 
  • C. Rognon, V. Ramachandran, A. R. Wu, A. J. Ijspeert, and D. Floreano, "Haptic feedback perception and learning with cable-driven guidance in exosuit teleoperation of a simulated drone," IEEE Trans Haptics, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 375–385, Jul. 2019. 
  • S. Faraji, A. R. Wu, and A. J. Ijspeert, "A simple model of mechanical effects to estimate metabolic cost of human walking," Scientific Reports, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 10998, Jul. 2018. 
  • A. R. Wu et al., "An Adaptive Neuromuscular Controller for Assistive Lower-Limb Exoskeletons: A Preliminary Study on Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury," Front Neurorobot, vol. 11, Jun. 2017. 

 

Current Students 

  • Aaron Best (PhD) 
  • Timothy Byles-Ho (MASc) 
  • Eden Hauser-Krupat (Undergradate, USSRF)
  • Noah Brandes (Undergraduate, USSRF)

Former Students 

  • Paul Riek (MASc)
  • Sudipta Das (Undergraduate, MECH 461)
  • Sydney Garrah (Undergraduate, USRA, MECH 461) 
  • Jyotishka Duttagupta (Mitacs Globalink) 
  • Xinran Liu (Mitacs Globalink)
  • Thomas Huckell (MASc) 
  • Timothy Byles-Ho (Undergraduate, MECH 461, Summer) 
  • Ray Smyth (Undergraduate, USRA) 
  • Nathalie Vilchis (Mitacs Globalink Research Internship) 
  • Harriet Chorney (Undergraduate, USRA, MECH 461) 
  • Zachary Toupin (Undergraduate, MECH 461) 
  • Julian Alexander-Cook 
  • Matthew Green (Undergraduate, Thesis) 
  • Phoebe Tan Hui Ping (Undergraduate, SWEP) 
  • Lucas Melanson (Undergraduate, SWEP) 
  • Charley McCann (Undergraduate, Summer) 
  • Madeleine Liblong (Undergraduate, Summer) 
  • Frances Campbell (Undergraduate, MECH 461) 
  • Paul Riek (Undergraduate, MECH 461) 
  • Ted Ecclestone (Undergraduate, Thesis) 
  • Emily Bugeja (Undergraduate, Summer) 

 



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