James Hermus

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James Hermus is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Robot Learning & Interaction Group at the Idiap Research Institute, working on manipulation reserach under the direction of Dr. Sylvain Calinon. Prior to this, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Learning Algorithms and Systems (LASA) Laboratory at EPFL, under the supervision of Professor Aude Billard. James earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT as part of the Newman Laboratory, where he conducted research under the guidance of Professor Neville Hogan. His dissertation research investigated human physical interaction during circularly constrained motion–turning a crank. The focus of his work was to understand fundamentals about how humans manage physical interaction to improve rehabilitation and robotics.

Originally from Wisconsin, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with an Honors in Research at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2016. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics lab of Professor Darryl Thelen where he helped in the design and testing of a novel sensor for measuring tendon stress. James is especially interested in research that will aid individuals with disabilities.

Outside of research James enjoys rock climbing, ski touring, and working on projects. As a graduate student he was heavily involved with the MIT Outing Club (MITOC) and MakerWorkShop.



Research Interests

  • Physical interaction -- tasks with substantial force and motion
  • Kinematic redundancy
  • System identification of mechanical impedance

news

Oct 15, 2024 Started a Postdoctoral Research position in Switzerland in the Robot Learning & Interaction Group at Idiap Research Insitute under the direction of Sylvain Calinon PhD
Apr 9, 2024 Paper published, “Brownian processes in human motor control support descending neural velocity commands” by Federico Tessari, James Hermus, Rika Sugimoto-Dimitrova, and Neville Hogan in Scientific Reports – Nature [Link].
Jan 1, 2024 Paper Published, “Dynamic primitives in constrained action: systematic changes in the zero-force trajectory” by James Hermus, Joseph Doeringer, Dagmar Sternad, and Neville Hogan in the Journal of Neurophysiology [Link]. The pdf of this paper is freely avalibe at [Link].
Apr 28, 2023 Our workshop “Multilimb Coordination in Human Neuroscience and Robotics: Classical and Learning Perspectives” has been accepted to IROS 2023. There is a great lineup of speakers. Please see the workshop webpage for further details. [Link].
Apr 15, 2023 My Phd. thesis is now publicly available on MIT DSpace [Link].
Mar 16, 2023 Invited speaker at the Industry 4.0 Workshop as part of the Swiss robotics Innovation Booster [Link].

selected publications

  1. Brownian Proceses in Human Motor Control Support Descending Neural Velocity Commands
    Federico Tessari, James Hermus, Rika Sugimoto-Dimitrova, and 1 more author
    Scientific Reports 2024
  2. Dynamic Primitives in Constrained Action: Systematic Changes in the Zero-Force Trajectory
    James Hermus, Joseph Doeringer, Dagmar Sternad, and 1 more author
    Journal of Neurophysiology 2024
  3. Exploiting Redundancy to Facilitate Physical Interaction
    James Hermus, Johannes Lachner, David Verdi, and 1 more author
    IEEE Transactions on Robotics 2022
  4. Separating Neural Influences from Peripheral Mechanics: the Speed-Curvature Relation in Mechanically Constrained Actions
    James Hermus, Joseph Doeringer, Dagmar Sternad, and 1 more author
    Journal of Neurophysiology 2020
  5. Gauging Force by Tapping Tendons
    Jack A. Martin, Scott C. E. Brandon, Emily M. Keuler, and 5 more authors
    Nature Communications 2018