Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi, PhD

Areas of interest and expertise include robotics, neurobiology of the sensory-motor system and computational neuroscience. Among Dr. Mussa-Ivaldi’s achievements are the first measurement of human arm multi-joint impedance, the development of a technique for investigating the mechanisms of motor learning through the application of deterministic force fields, the discovery of a family of integral generalized inverses for redundant kinematic chains, the discovery of functional modules within the spinal cord that generate a discrete family of force-fields, the development of a theoretical framework for the representation, generation and learning of limb movements and the development of the first neuro-robotic system in which a neural preparation in-vitro - the brainstem of a lamprey - controls the behavior of a mobile-robot through a closed-loop interaction. In recent years Dr. Mussa-Ivaldi’s team has been developing and testing a “body-machine interface” for people with tetraplegia following cervical spinal cord injury. The interface captures residual motion abilities and muscle activities to facilitate the use of devices such as powered wheelchairs and personal computer systems with the dual purpose of providing assistance and engaging the users in targeted therapeutic exercises.