University of South Florida Planning Grant: I/UCRC for iPERFORM Center for Assistive Technologies to Enhance Human Performance

南佛罗里达大学的辅助康复和机器人技术中心（CARRT）将成为现有的NSF IUCRC iPERFORM辅助技术增强人类表现中心的一个站点，从而提高辅助技术和人类表现领域的工程师、研究人员和从业人员的能力。iPerform中心目前包括德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校（UTA）和达拉斯分校（UTD）。CARRT将研究、教育和服务相结合，以提高人类的表现，包括残疾人或老年人的能力。将与工业合作伙伴一起探索用于职业培训的虚拟现实、智能轮椅和动力移动设备、自适应驾驶模拟器、中风后康复训练系统以及帮助决定假肢的移动应用程序等创新。南佛罗里达大学还将与坦帕退伍军人管理局、佛罗里达州职业康复部、科学与工业博物馆、女童子军设计思想营和佛罗里达州-佐治亚州路易斯斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟合作，向广大受众推广科学、工程和创业精神。与辅助技术和提高人类表现相关的现实世界问题将被整合到凯普斯通高级设计、人为因素、康复工程、触觉和生物航天等课程中，激励该领域的未来科学家和工程师。南佛罗里达大学的学生分会，如生物医学工程学会，也将帮助开发和实施与iPERFORM中心目标相关的研究项目。这项规划拨款的目的是建立南佛罗里达大学（USF）作为现有iPERFORM中心的一个站点。南加州大学CARRT在整合研究、教育和服务方面拥有专业知识，在跨学科和机构间的合作研究方面有着良好的记录，这导致了新型辅助、康复、可穿戴和机器人技术的发展。USF的团队在辅助技术的人体测试方面具有专业知识，这对于改进设计和使其具有商业可行性是必要的。USF有几个动作捕捉系统，其中两个实现在虚拟现实系统中，允许在现实环境中安全测试，同时提供可控和可重复的测试协议。这样就可以获得可以改进辅助技术的定量数据，并为吸引工业伙伴所需的市场做好准备。南佛罗里达大学的能力与现有的NSF IUCRC iPERFORM中心的重点和目标是协同的，包括吸引对辅助技术商业化的支持，促进由客户和工业需求驱动的学术界创新。通过USF CARRT的综合整体模式，工程师和科学家与临床医生、康复医生和艺术家合作，一个独特的研究和开发结构将加强iPERFORM中心。

The University of South Florida's, Center for Assistive, Rehabilitation & Robotics Technologies (CARRT) will increase the capacity of engineers, researchers and practitioners in the assistive technology and human performance field by becoming a Site in the existing NSF IUCRC iPERFORM Center for Assistive Technologies to Enhance Human Performance. The iPerform Center currently includes the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and at Dallas (UTD). CARRT combines research, education and service to improve human performance, including the capabilities of individuals with a disability or of advanced age. Innovations such as virtual reality for job training, intelligent wheelchairs and powered mobility devices, adaptive driving simulators, training systems for rehabilitation after a stroke, and a mobile app to help with decisions about a prosthesis will be explored with industrial partners. USF will also work with the Tampa VA, the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Museum of Science and Industry, Girls Scouts Minds for Design Camp and Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in order to promote science, engineering and entrepreneurship to a broad audience. Real world problems associated with assistive technologies and enhancing human performance will be integrated into courses such as Capstone Senior Design, Human Factors, Rehabilitation Engineering, Haptics and Bioastronautics motivating future scientists and engineers in the field. USF's student chapters such as the Biomedical Engineering Society will also help in the development and implementation of the research projects related to the goals of the iPERFORM Center.The objective of this planning grant is to establish the University of South Florida (USF) as a Site addition to the existing iPERFORM Center. USF's CARRT has expertise in integrating research, education and service with a strong record of interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborative research that has led to the development of novel assistive, rehabilitation, wearable and robotics technologies. USF's team has expertise in the human testing of assistive technologies that is necessary to improve designs and make them commercially viable. USF has several motion capture systems including two that are implemented into virtual reality systems that allow for testing in realistic environments safely while providing controlled and repeatable testing protocols. This allows for quantitative data that can improve assistive technologies and prepare them for market necessary to attract industry partners. USF's capabilities are synergistic to the focus and goals of the existing NSF IUCRC iPERFORM Center that include attracting support towards the commercialization of assistive technologies and promoting innovation in academia that is driven by customer and industrial needs. Through USF CARRT's integrated holistic model in which engineers and scientists work with clinicians, rehabilitation practitioners and artists, a unique structure for research and development will strengthen the iPERFORM Center.