Cyborg futures - the challenge of implanting and integrating artificial muscle

Jonathan Rossiter is Professor of Robotics at the University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory, and Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. He is innovator of smart materials and soft robotics and leads the emPOWER EPSRC Programme Grant on Implantable Artificial Muscles and the VIVO Hub for Enhanced Independent Living.

Yves Perriard obtained his Master in Microengineering from EPFL in 1989 and his PhD from the Electrical Department in 1992. He became cofounder of the company Micro-Beam SA and had the lead of the company until 1998 doing special electrical drives. In 1999 he joined EPFL as Senior Lecturer and in 2003 was appointed Titular Professor and leader of the Integrated Actuators Laboratory. In 2009 he was also appointed Vice-Director of the Microengineering Institute EPFL Neuchâtel. Senior member IEEE and Members EPE, he was also vice-president of the EPE (European Power Electronics) society board in Brussels.

Yves Perriard is interested in innovating, analysing and creating new actuators associated with their electronic devices. The multi-disciplinary work of his research makes him strongly in contact with industries in Switzerland and abroad. Yves Perriard has published over 450 papers, 9 patents and is co-author of two books. He is associate editor of several journals. Teacher at the Bachelor and Master level, he has twice received the best teacher award of the Engineering Faculty in 2005 and 2007. More information can be found on the Integrated Actuators Laboratory website (http://lai.epfl.ch). In 2018, he launched a brand new centre at EPFL on artificial muscles thanks to a donation of the Werner Siemens Foundation.

Shoji Takeuchi received BE, ME, and DEng degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan in 1995, 1997, and 2000, respectively. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo. He has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and filed over 140 patents. He has been recognised with numerous honours, including Young Scientists' Prize, the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2008, the JSPS prize from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in 2010, ACS Analytical Chemistry Young Innovator Awards in 2015, and UNESCO Netexplo Award Winner 2019. JSME Micro-Nano Science & Technology Achievement Award in 2022. His current research interests include cultivated meat, 3D tissue fabrication, bioMEMS, implantable devices, artificial lipid bilayer systems, and biohybrid machines. 

Stéphanie P Lacour is full professor at the School of Engineer at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the INSA de Lyon, France, and completed postdoctoral research at Princeton University (USA) and the University of Cambridge (UK). She joined EPFL in 2011. She is founding director of EPFL Neuro X institute - an interschool department focused on interdisciplinary and translational neuro-research located at EPFL-associated campus - Campus Biotech in Geneva. Since January 2025, she is EPFL Vice-President for support for strategic initiatives.

Tamar Makin is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University and the leader of the Plasticity Lab (www.plasticity-lab.com). Her main interest is understanding how our body representation changes in the brain (brain plasticity). Her primary model for this work is studying hand function and dysfunction, with a focus on how we could use technology to increase hand functionality in able and disabled individuals at all ages.

Dr Vivian K Mushahwar is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Functional Restoration. She is also the Director of the Institute for Smart Augmentative and Restorative Technologies and Health Innovations (iSMART) and its business arm, Smart Technology (ST) Innovations. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Her work focuses on developing intelligent wearable and implantable neuromodulation devices that restore mobility and prevent secondary complications. She also focuses on developing activity-based therapy rehabilitation interventions that are both efficacious and cost-saving. She initiated the development of micro-implants for stimulating the spinal cord to restore standing and walking after complete spinal cord injury, and demonstrated the benefits of simultaneous arm and leg cycling for improving walking capacity after incomplete spinal cord injury. She and her group invented the wearable garments, Smart-e-Pants and the SOCC, for preventing pressure injuries and deep vein thrombosis, respectively. She holds funding from numerous agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Frontiers in Research Fund, Brain Canada Foundation, and the US Department of Defense.

Dr Etienne Burdet (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/human-robotics/) is Professor and Chair of Human Robotics at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in the UK. He is also a visiting Professor at University College London. He holds an MSc in Mathematics (1990), an MSc in Physics (1991), and PhD in Robotics (1996), all from ETH-Zurich. He was a postdoctoral fellow with TE Milner from McGill University, Canada, JE Colgate from Northwester University, USA and Mitsuo Kawato of ATR in Japan. Professor Burdet's group uses an integrative approach of neuroscience and robotics to: i) investigate human sensorimotor control, and ii) design efficient interfaces for daily living technology and neurorehabilitation, which are tested in human experiments and commercialised.