Research
Funding
Makes Reimagining Assistive Technology Possible
People with difficulties moving or using their arms and hands can be at risk of losing their autonomy, which can be just as profound. Just ask Rory A. Cooper, Distinguished Professor of Rehabilitation Engineering and founder and director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) - a collaboration between the 桃花视频, as an institute under Health Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a center within the Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
For more than three decades, Cooper and his team have transformed the landscape of assistive technology鈥 pioneering innovations that empower people with disabilities to work, travel, connect, and live without barriers. From revolutionizing wheelchair design to advancing robotic mobility and manipulation, his work has led to countless restored possibilities.
A National Medal of Technology and Innovation laureate and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee, Cooper has been praised for 鈥渆mpowering the lives of millions of Americans.鈥
Living with a spinal cord injury since 1980, Cooper knows firsthand the power of transformative assistive technology. Through breakthroughs in AI, sensor fusion, kirigami inspired design, and cloud computing, his team continues to redefine what鈥檚 possible - turning obstacles into opportunities and engineering a future where freedom is for everyone.