Bio

Benjamin Stephens is a Ph.D. student in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He is originally from Oklahoma, but received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University. His current research focuses on the control of humanoid robot balance and push recovery. He is interested in the application of the models and controllers developed for his research to design of assistive devices and treatment of injuries and disabilities.

Research Interests

  • Humanoid Robotics
  • Balance
  • Force Control
  • Optimal Control
  • Adaptive Control
  • Variational Mechanics
  • Non-smooth Dynamics

NEW! Check out my Humanoid Balance Research Blog

Presentations

"The Linear Biped Model and Application to Humanoid Estimation and Control", Speaking Qualifier, Carnegie Mellon University, June 29, 2009. (pptx)

"Energy-Based Control of Coronal Biped Balance and Stepping," Dynamic Walking 2009, Simon Fraser University, June 8-11, 2009. (poster)

Publications

Benjamin Stephens, Christopher Atkeson, "Modeling and Control of Periodic Humanoid Balance using the Linear Biped Model," accepted to 2009 International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Paris, France.(pre-print)

Christopher Atkeson, Benjamin Stephens, "Random Sampling of States in Dynamic Programming," in IEEE Transactions on Ssytems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part B: Cybernetics, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 924-929, August, 2008. (pdf)

Christopher Atkeson, Benjamin Stephens, "Random Sampling of States in Dynamic Programming," NIPS 2007 (pdf)

Christopher Atkeson, Benjamin Stephens, "Multiple Balance Strategies from One Optimization Criterion," The IEEE-RAS 2007 International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2007 (pdf)

Benjamin Stephens, "Humanoid Push Recovery," The IEEE-RAS 2007 International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2007 (pdf)

Benjamin Stephens, "Integral Control of Humanoid Balance," The IEEE/RSJ 2007 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS'07), San Diego, CA, October 2007 (pdf)

Other Activities

Allegheny Cycling Association - I currenty serve on the board of directors of this non-profit organization that promotes bike races around Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

Carnegie Mellon Cycling Club - I have served as President of the cycling club for several years.

Steel City Showdown - I promoted a collegiate/USCF road racing weekend in Pittsburgh on March 22-23, 2008.

Useful Software

Dropbox - Automatically sync/backup files

Mendeley - Online bibliography management with built in social network