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  • Group Photo Fall 2026
  • Utah powered neck exoskeleton for people with dropped head syndrome
  • A chaired-mounted cable-driven 6-DOF neck exoskeleton for head-neck rehabilitation
  • Cable-driven exosuit for head-neck movement assistance

News

  • September 1st, 2026 - UWRL welcomes new postdoc researcher James Fang. James will be supported by a 5-year NIH project.
  • August 29th, 2026 - Rober's paper on designing and characterizing behavior of a novel 6-DoF spring is accepted to publish in the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (JMR). Congrats to Robert!
  • August 23rd, 2026 - Professor Zhang receives the Assistant Professor of the Year Award from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah for his outstanding research, teaching, and service to the department.
  • August 1st, 2026 - UWRL presents at the BioRob 2026. Please find highlights here!
  • July 6th, 2026 - UWRL welcomes three new MS Thesis students Eli Yale, Wesley Edwards, and Annie O'Bryan!
  • June 1st, 2026 - UWRL receives a new NIH R01 research grant. This five-year, $3 million grant will investigate use of the Utah Neck Exoskeleton for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
  • May 4th, 2026 - Dr. Zhang to give a research talk at a workshop on assistive robotics during the BioRob 2026.
  • April 17, 2026 - UWR Lab presented work at the 2026 Rocky Mountain ASB! Ana, Claudia, and Joey delivered podium talks and Colin and Robert presented their posters. All presentations were well-received. Congratulations to all!
  • January 30, 2026 - Two papers from UWR Lab are accepted to present at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) this June. Congratulations to all authors. Preprints are available here and here.
  • December 22, 2025 - UWR Lab published a paper in IEEE TNSRE on evaluating the range of motion with neck support devices using daily activities. Congratulations to authors Kimia Khoshnami, Dr. Edoardo Battaglia, Dr. Mark Bromberg, and Dr. Haohan Zhang.

About

We specialize in wearable robotic solutions by leveraging mechanism design and modern computational methods. We strive to understand the sensorimotor system through experiments using wearable robotic platforms. Our laboratory aspires to make a positive impact on daily living of individuals with motor impairments through increased independence and social inclusion.

As part of the University of Utah Robotics Center, our laboratory is affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. We are committed to creating a productive and collaborative research environment. We welcome all new ideas, and we promote fair education and training in robotics.

Funding