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
Honors & Awards
- Best paper award finalist, International Conference on Robotics and Automation
Research Overview
Human-safe robots, medical robotics, soft robotics and soft material manufacturing, MEMS, microrobotics, bio-inspired design, flapping aerodynamics and insect flight
Selected Research Projects
- NRI: FND: Controllable Compliance: A New Robotic Arm for Contact-Rich Manipulation
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Remote-Direct-Drive Haptic Manipulators for Learning Augmented Explosive Ordinance Disposal In Unstable and Visually-Denied Environments
- – Principal Investigator, Office of Naval Research
- CHS: Small: Collaborative: Teleoperation with Passive, Transparent Force Feedback for MR-Guided Interventions
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Research Centers and Institutes
Selected Publications
- E. Schwarm, K. Gravesmill, J.P. Whitney, A Floating-Piston Hydrostatic Linear Actuator and Remote-Direct-Drive 2-DOF Gripper, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2019
- E. Mendoza, J.P. Whitney, A Testbed for Haptic and Magnetic Resonance Imaging- Guided Percutaneous Needle Biopsy, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 4(4), 2019, 3177-3183
- 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 on 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
Jun 10, 2021
Northeastern Team Selected as a Finalist in the 2021 RASC-AL Competition
The Northeastern University team has been selected as a finalist in NASA’s 2021 RASC-AL Competition, which stands for Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage. They will showcase their aerospace concepts via a virtual platform during the 2021 RASC-AL Forum, scheduled June 15 – 17, 2021. Specifically, the Northeastern team will present to NASA and aerospace industry […]
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.