Dr Marcus Gardner
Marcus graduated with a MEng in Mechatronics and Robotics in 2011 from the University of Leeds. After working in industry on the development of myo-electric hand prosthesis, Marcus continued his studies as a PhD student at Imperial College London (ICL) as part of a joint degree program with the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2012. Under the supervision of Dr. Ravi Vaidyanathan and Prof. Etienne Burdet from ICL, and Khoo Boo Cheong from NUS, Marcus conducted his research on human machine interfaces in both London and Singapore, receiving his doctorate by the end of 2016.
During his PhD, Marcus investigated a novel design concept for a heterogeneous sensor suite, by fusing mechanomyogram (MMG) sensors for muscle activation, computer vision for object recognition, and inertial measurement sensors for predicting grasp intention. The sensor suite was applied to automate the control of a myoelectric hand prosthesis. Real-time task-based experiments evaluated the performance of the proposed system, comparing it against conventional control using MMG sensors, yielding an 8.5% average faster completion time, as well as a reduction in overall cognitive and physical burden. The results of his research provide excellent potential for the use of natural motion to replace discrete muscle input as a selection and intention prediction tool, where the emphasis is on reducing the cognitive load imposed by assistive technologies.