John “Peter” Whitney
Assistant Professor,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Office
- 519 ISEC
- 617.373.3427
Lab
- 560B ISEC
Research Focus
Human-safe robots, medical robotics, soft robotics and soft material manufacturing, MEMS, microrobotics, bio-inspired design, flapping aerodynamics and insect flight
About
Joins the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department in January 2016.
Education
- PhD Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 2012
- SM Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, 2006
Research Overview
Human-safe robots, medical robotics, soft robotics and soft material manufacturing, MEMS, microrobotics, bio-inspired design, flapping aerodynamics and insect flight
Research Centers and Institutes
Selected Publications
- N. Burkhard, S. Frishman, A. Gruebele, J.P. Whitney, R. Goldman, B.L. Daniel, M.R. Cutkosky, A Rolling-Diaphragm Hydrostatic Transmission for Remote MR-Guided Needle Insertion, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2017
- J.P. Whitney, T. Chen, J. Mars, J.K. Hodgins, A Hybrid Hydrostatic Transmission and Human-Safe Haptic Telepresence Robot, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2016
- N.O. Perez-Arancibia, J.P. Whitney, R.J. Wood, Lift Force Control of Flapping-Wing Microrobots Using Adaptive Feedforward Cancellation Schemes, IEEE Transactions of Mechatronics, 18, 2013, 1-14
- P.S. Sreetharan, H. Tanaka, J.P. Whitney, et al., Progress on “Pico” Air Vehicles, International Journal of Robotics Research, 31(11), 2012, 1292-1302
- J.P. Whitney, R.J. Wood, Conceptual Design of Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicles, Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 7, 2012, 1-10
- P.S. Sreetharan, J.P. Whitney, M.D. Strauss, R.J. Wood, Monolithic Fabrication of Millimeter-Scale Machines, Journal of Micromechics and Microengineering, 22(5), 2012, 055027 *cover article
- H. Tanaka, J.P. Whitney, R.J. Wood, Effect of Flexural and Torsional Wing Flexibility on Lift Generation in Hoverfly Flight, Integrative and Comparative Biology51(1), 2011, 142-150
- J.P. Whitney, P.S. Sreetharan, K. Ma, R.J. Wood, Pop-Up Book MEMS, Journal of Micromechics and Microengineering, 21(11), 2011, 1-7 *cover article
- J.P. Whitney, R.J. Wood, Aeromechanics of Passive Rotation in Flapping Flight, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 660, 2010, 197-220
Jul 31, 2020
Remotely Operated Robot Takes Straight Razor to Face of Brave Roboticist
MIE Assistant Professor Peter Whitney had his face shaved with a straight razor by a remotely controlled robotic device.
Sep 25, 2018
Creating Robots for Safer Human Interactions
MIE Assistant Professor John Whitney and Khoury/MIE Affiliated Faculty Robert Platt were awarded $750K NSF grant for creating “A New Robotic Arm for Contact-Rich Manipulation”. Abstract Source: NSF People with disabilities, the infirm, and the elderly would benefit from capable service robots in the home that could assist with daily living tasks. Robots with arms […]
Apr 24, 2018
The Rise of Northeastern Robotics
MIE Assistant Professor Peter Whitney, ECE/MIE Professor Hanumant Singh, and MIE Affiliated Faculty Robert Platt were hand-selected to attend Amazon’s MARS conference which brings together leaders in AI, automation, robotics, and space exploration.
Feb 23, 2018
Working Alongside Robots
MIE Assistant Professor Peter Whitney is developing a mechanical system for robots which combines precision with the gentleness needed to work with humans. Source: News @ Northeastern It’s the Holy Grail in robotics: an android that can perform complex tasks beside humans in a real-world environment. The problem is that when robots are asked to […]
Sep 15, 2016
Creating Robots with Lifelike Movements
MIE Assistant Professor John Whitney led the Disney Research team that created Jimmy, a robot that moves with lifelike speed and grace.
May 16, 2016
Designing Lifelike Robotic Movements
MIE Assistant Professor John Whitney worked with Disney Corporation to create a robot with lifelike movements that could perform such tasks as threading a needle or closely interact with humans.
Jan 06, 2016
New Faculty Spotlight: John "Peter" Whitney
John "Peter" Whitney joins the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department in January 2016 as an Assistant Professor.