WVU robotics doctoral research earns recognition at prestigious international conference

Doctoral researcher Clarus Goldsmith attended the 2024 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Yokohama, where they earned recognition and won a demo competition for their work with the fruit-fly robotic model Drosophibot II (Photo supplied).

Researchers at West Virginia University are making strides once again in robotics, one of the fastest-growing disciplines in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Story by Kaley LaQuea 
Photos supplied

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Doctoral candidate Clarus Goldsmith’s work was recognized at the 2024 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Yokohama, Japan — one of the most prestigious robotics conferences in the world, with more than 7,000 participants from top institutions like École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

“Knowing that we're not really on the same radar as MIT and CMU in a lot of areas, it's fun to be the dark horse coming in and just nobody expects me to be there and nobody expects this level of work from WVU,” Goldsmith said. “So then having that aspect of ‘no, I can absolutely compete with you guys in terms of research quality and rigor,’ it's very fun subverting those expectations in that way.”

Goldsmith earned multiple accolades at two different workshops during ICRA, including a $500 award for a demo competition and a recommendation in the upcoming special issue of the publication Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. Goldsmith presented research on Drosophibot II, a cat-sized robot with movements modeled after the humble fruit fly.

Goldsmith came to WVU to work in the Neuro-Mechanical Intelligence Laboratory with assistant professor Nicholas Szczecinski, whose model and research predicting neuron and muscle patterns for movement was published in PNAS Nexus in October. Using Szczecinski’s models, Goldsmith programmed the larger-than-life robot version to mimic the insect’s biological movements. They’re closely studying the natural movements of different species to enable them to design robots with animal-like mechanics. Goldsmith has studied videos of animals performing incredibly seamless physical feats to better inform the work.

“One of my favorites is videos of cattle dogs running across the backs of sheep. It's such a perfect example of a crazy dynamic and uncertain terrain where it's constantly shifting,” Goldsmith said. “They just jump up and start running. So we'd love to endow robots with at least even a fraction of that capability by looking at how the animals accomplish this — both in their nervous systems and how their brain is controlling their body — as well as how their body is just naturally built to adapt to different forces.”

“Goldsmith’s experience is an example of the mutual benefits of Statler College’s research and educational missions. Research directly enables better educational experiences for students, by providing the motivation and funding to travel to these conferences. In my experience, students are eager to take advantage of every opportunity,” Szczecinski said. “Applying what our students learn in the classroom to their work in the lab, then networking with top researchers, doctoral candidates and industry contributors while presenting their work is an invaluable opportunity for their growth.”

WVU’s recently launched undergraduate robotics engineering program is one of less than two dozen in the United States, offering an interdisciplinary course of study between the Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Department and the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. The program’s first cohort will commence in the fall.

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