Assistive Robotics
LaboratoryClemson University

Clemson University · Assistive Robotics Laboratory

Human-centered robotics for assistance and augmentation.

We investigate control, customization, design, and evaluation methodologies for robotic systems that assist humans across daily activities.

A panoramic view of the Assistive Robotics Laboratory at Clemson University
Assistive Robotics Laboratory · Clemson University

ARL · Research mission

Robotic assistance across daily activities.

The mission of the Assistive Robotics Laboratory is to develop agile, versatile robotic systems to assist humans across daily activities.

Our research connects task-agnostic control and customization, wearable device prototyping, and biomechanics studies. We investigate these directions through mathematical analysis, simulation, hardware development, and experimental evaluation.

ARL research program →

ARL research program

Control, prototyping, and biomechanical evaluation

01 / Control and Customization

Task-Agnostic Control and Customization

Development of task-agnostic control paradigms and human-in-the-loop customization frameworks for robotic assistance across users and daily activities.

Explore control and customization →
02 / Design

Wearable Device Development and Prototyping

Design, development, and prototyping of user-friendly wearable robotic devices for assistance of human motion.

Explore device development →
03 / Evaluations

Biomechanics Study

Experimental validation and biomechanical studies to characterize human movement, physical human–robot interaction, and the effects of robotic assistance.

Explore biomechanical evaluation →
Clemson World feature on the laboratory’s wearable robotics research

ARL in Clemson World

One step at a time.

Clemson World features our research on wearable robotic systems for assistance of human locomotion.

Read the story →

From the laboratory

Recent news

  1. Congratulations to Dr. Miao Yu on successfully defending his dissertation.

  2. Dr. Lv received the ASME Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Award at IMECE 2025.

  3. Dr. Lv delivered a talk at the ICRA 2025 lower-limb exoskeleton workshop.

  4. Our research was featured in Clemson World.

  5. Our exoskeleton research was featured by the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences and Clemson News. Watch the interview.

  6. Dr. Lv was awarded the Dean’s Professorship in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences.

  7. Our paper, “Safety Augmentation for Volitional Human Locomotion via Lower-Limb Exoskeletons: A Case Study,” was accepted to IEEE Control Systems Letters.

  8. Dr. Lv received the Mechanical Engineering Excellence Award (Junior Rank Faculty). Our Creative Inquiry team also presented at the 19th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum.

    Creative Inquiry team at the 2024 poster forum
More laboratory news · 2020–2024
  1. Our lab received an NSF CAREER Award. “The Claw: An Avian-Inspired, Large Scale, Hybrid Rigid-Continuum Gripper,” a collaboration with Prof. Ian Walker, was also accepted as a cover article in the Robotics special issue “Intelligent Bionic Robots.”

  2. Our paper, “A Two-Layer Human-in-the-Loop Optimization Framework for Customizing Lower-Limb Exoskeleton Assistance,” was published in the invited session “Recent Advancement of Human Autonomy Interaction & Integration” at the American Control Conference in San Diego.

  3. Congratulations to Dr. Therese Parr on successfully defending her dissertation.

  4. Tapp Rhoads received the Carl Donner Nelson, Jr. Memorial Award. Dr. Lv was also recognized as a Faculty Scholar in Clemson University’s School of Health Research.

    Tapp Rhoads receiving an award
  5. Our paper, “Task-Invariant Centroidal Momentum Shaping for Lower-Limb Exoskeletons,” was published at the 61st Conference on Decision and Control.

  6. Dr. Lv received the South Carolina Translational Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health (SC-TRIMH) targeted junior faculty award.

  7. Dr. Lv joined Clemson University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an Assistant Professor.

Education and outreach

Research training and engineering education

Our educational activities include faculty instruction, student design advising, and undergraduate research mentorship.

Dr. Lv has participated in Clemson’s Emerging Scholars and EUREKA! programs and serves as faculty advisor to the Clemson Baja Team. Undergraduate researchers also contribute to the laboratory through Creative Inquiry.

Outreach and educational activities →