Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group (B.O.R.G.)

Lab group logo

Animals have long served as an inspiration for robotics. However, many of the mechanical properties, physical capabilities, and the behavioral flexibility seen in animals have yet to be achieved in robotic platforms. Towards addressing this gap, research in the CMU B.O.R.G focuses on the use of organic materials as structures, actuators, sensors, and controllers towards the development of biohybrid and organic robots. The research group’s long-term goal is to develop completely organic, autonomous robots with programmable neural circuits. Such robotic systems will have future applications in medicine, search and rescue, and environmental monitoring.

Faculty

Victoria Webster-Wood

Victoria Webster-Wood

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Courtesy Appointment in Biomedical Engineering

Joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Fall 2018, Webster-Wood established the Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group (B.O.R.G.), bringing together bio-inspired robotics, tissue engineering, and computational neuroscience to create novel devices.

Publications

Vickie Webster-Wood’s most recent list of publications can be found on Google Scholar.

Office
Wean 5321
Phone
412.268.3017
Email
vwebster@andrew.cmu.edu
Google Scholar
Victoria Webster-Wood

Research Overview

Research in the CMU B.O.R.G. focuses on the study and application of organic tissues to create sustainable, biocompatible robotic systems. By studying existing tissues (such as skeletal muscle or neural circuits), we seek to identify design guidelines for bio-inspired and biohybrid robots. We can also use tissues, or cells isolated from these tissues, to grow novel organic systems in order to build biocompatible robots seeking to capture the compliance, behavioral flexibility, and force-to-weight ratios seen in living organisms.

Research video

Research Team

Michael Bennington

Michael Bennington

Doctorate

Research interests
biomechanics, neuromechanics, biorobotics, and computational modeling
Kevin Dai

Kevin Dai

Doctorate

Research interests
bio-robots and controls
Ashlee Liao

Ashlee Liao

Doctorate

Co-Advisor
Jessica Zhang
Research interests
biorobotics, biomechanics, neural controls
Kuanren Qian

Kuanren Qian

Doctorate

Co-Advisor
Jessica Zhang
Research interests
bioinspired robotics, neuron growth modeling
Saul Schaffer

Saul Schaffer

Doctorate

Research interests
biohybrid actuators, prosthetics, 3D printing, metamaterials
Ravesh Sukhnandan

Ravesh Sukhnandan

Doctorate

Research interests
soft robots, bioinspired robots, muscle mechanics
Hima Hrithik Pamu

Hima Hrithik Pamu

Masters

Research interests
Soft robotics
A generic human outline

Yu Wang

Masters

Research interests
bioinspired robotics, soft robotics, human-robot interaction
Avery Williamson

Avery Williamson

Masters

Alumni

Ph.D. Alumni

  • Wenhuan Sun (Ph.D., Fall 2022, first position after CMU - Paypal)

M.S. Alumni

  • Gordon Gao (MS, BME)
  • Kathleen Gladson (MS, MechE)
  • Jason Paulovich (MS, BME)

Past and present undergraduate researchers

  • Jacob Abrams
  • Nathan Ang
  • Charli Ann Hooper
  • Adam Assad
  • Befeker Assefa
  • Ryan Bao
  • Lameck Beni
  • Anaya Bhammar
  • Annie Chen
  • Theophilos Cockrell
  • Jenna Cui
  • Anais del Rosario
  • Abirami Elangovan
  • Lekha Kesavan
  • Riti Krishna
  • Leon Lai
  • Justin Lam
  • Janice Lee
  • Rose lee
  • Bajram Metjahic
  • Nickia Muraskin
  • Arpita Nag
  • Fernando Plata
  • Allison Rojas
  • Nicole Segale
  • Gian Seixas
  • Avani Shukla
  • Summer Sun
  • Ian Turner
  • Emily Wang
  • Vicki Wang
  • Karen Whirley
  • Xochitl Zazueta

Join us

If you are interested in joining the CMU B.O.R.G. please read the appropriate section below.

Undergraduates: Projects are advertised through the MechE newsletter as they are available. Please refer to this information for opportunities to join the lab or email Dr. Webster-Wood with the tag [Undergrad] in the subject if you are interested in whether new projects may be becoming available.

Graduate students: All graduate students (MS or Ph.D.) will only be considered through the official CMU application system. Please apply online. If you are an admitted MS student and would like to learn about available projects please refer to the MS Canvas page or email Dr. Webster-Wood with the tag [MS] in the subject.

We specifically have project opening for new graduate students in muscle tissue engineering for biohybrid actuators. 

Postdocs: We currently have a postdoc opening in tissue engineering for biohybrid actuators! 
Apply online
Please also send your CV directly to Dr. Webster-Wood
Include the tag [MURI Postdoc] in the subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Media mentions

CMU Engineering

Multi-university team building actuators for next gen bio-bots

Multi-university team, led by Mechanical Engineering’s Vickie Webster-Wood, is building actuators for next generation sustainable bio-bots.

CMU Engineering

Hydrogels pave way for future of soft robotics

Wenhuan Sun, Victoria Webster-Wood, and Adam Feinberg have created an open-source, commercially available fiber extruder to benefit future research with hydrogels and soft robotics.

ICRA 2022

CMU team wins big at robotics conference

MechE’s Victoria Webster-Wood and her team took home a prize for their paper at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

IEEE Spectrum

Bergbreiter, Majidi, and Webster-Wood featured in IEEE Spectrum

MechE’s Carmel Majidi, Sarah Bergbreiter, and Victoria Webster-Wood were featured on IEEE Spectrum, discussing softbotics.

CMU Engineering

Tuning synthetic collagen threads for biohybrid robots

Researchers in Victoria Webster-Wood’s Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group are using techniques from tissue engineering to refine tendon-like collagen threads for a new generation of robots.

Mechanical Engineering

Biomechanics for teens

National Biomechanics Day is a worldwide celebration that strives to bring the complex world of biomechanics to high school students through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and Q&A sessions with real-world professionals.

CMU Engineering

NSF CAREER grants awarded to engineering faculty

Four engineering faculty received NSF CAREER awards to support their education and research goals.

CMU Engineering

Sea slugs to provide clues in understanding the brain

As the co-principal investigator on an NSF NeuroNex project, Victoria Webster-Wood will investigate the impact of neuromodulators on muscle actuation and modeling biological motor control in engineering frameworks.

Mechanical Engineering

Reassess, recalibrate, and transform

Mechanical Engineering students and faculty adapted with innovation and agility to finish the spring 2020 semester during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mechanical Engineering

We have a Wimmer

As a 2020-2021 Wimmer Faculty Fellow, Victoria Webster-Wood plans to design interactive demonstrations and to build virtual labs for the course “Gadgetry: Sensors, Actuators, and Processors.”

Webster-Wood named Wimmer Faculty Fellow

MechE’s Vickie Webster-Wood has been named a 2020-2021 Wimmer Faculty Fellow. The fellowship is designed for junior faculty members interested in enhancing their teaching through concentrated work.

Future Tech Podcast

Webster-Wood on biohybrid and organic robotics research

MechE’s Victoria Webster-Wood was a guest on the Future Tech Podcast and discussed her research in developing biohybrid and organic robots. Webster-Wood describes how she and her lab are integrating muscle and neurologic tissue of animals into robots.