Research Overview
Explore my research work! These projects would not be possible without exceptional supervision and teamwork!
Design and development of a 6-DoF versatile catheter robot. More robots are coming soon!!
Enhancing the efficacy of upper-limb rehabilitation through robotics (SPINDLE - haptic parallel manipulator).
Motion Planning for Endovascular Interventions
Development of path optimization and real-time motion control algorithms for automating endovascular interventions.
Investigating subject biomechanics to enhance the efficacy of training activities of daily living.
North Carolina State University
2022 - Present
Doctor of Philosophy - Mechanical Engineering
Education
University at Buffalo
Master of Science - Robotics
2020 - 2022
Professional Experience
Research Assistant
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | North Carolina State University
2022 - Present
Current Advisor: Dr. Gregory Buckner
Dissertation: Design, Development, and Experimental Validation of a Catheter Robot with Motion Planning for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy.
Mechanical Engineering Senior Design:
Assisted Dr. Chau Tran as a Teaching Assistant/Instructor with Industry Sponsored Project - (Corning Inc.) 415: Mechanical Engineering Design I and 416: Mechanical Engineering Design II).
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | North Carolina State University
Teaching Assistant/Instructor
2024 - 2025
Bachelor of Technology - Mechanical Engineering
BML Munjal University
2016 - 2020
2020- 2022
Research Assistant/Associate
Supervisor: Dr. Jiyeon Kang
Master's Thesis: Emulation of activities of daily living tasks with a haptic Robotic device to promote rehabilitation of stroke survivors.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | University at Buffalo
Controls Lab:
Assisting Dr. Joe Manning as a Teaching Assistant/Instructor for MAE 405 Controls Lab.
2025 - Present
Fluid and Thermal Sciences Laboratory:
Assisted Dr. Srinath Ekkad as co-laboratory director in training new teaching assistants with mechatronics equipment and data acquisition devices, along with teaching undergraduate students.
2022 - 2023
Course Developer and Teaching Assistant - Experience Learning
2020- 2022
Department of Engineering Education | University at Buffalo
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Olewnik
Assisted in developing two courses (ENS 321 and ENS 322): different structured mechatronics experiments using microcontrollers to teach cross-domain theoretical concepts and industrial system validation procedures.
Assisted in teaching mechatronics design labs to undergraduate students using affordable microcontrollers and sensors.
2019
Robotics Research Trainee
CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organization | India
Supervisor: Dr. Ranjan Jha
Design and Development of a 3-DoF Parallel Manipulator for Ankle Rehabilitation.
Design and Development of a Cardiovascular Catheter Insertion Mechanism.
2022 - Present
Research Contributions
As a robotics researcher, my life's mission is to pursue my passion for designing and developing versatile medical technologies, rehabilitation robotics, human-robot interaction, and biomechanics, advancing these essential fields.
Solving medical problems with creative, innovative and translational robotic methods!
Graduate Research Assistant @ AI-based Wearable Robotics Lab
2020 - 2022
Developed a haptic-enabled SPINDLE with VR for upper limb rehabilitation using game theory.
SPINDLE is a 3-DOF parallel manipulator that enables patients to practice object manipulation tasks by adaptively assisting and resisting the user's upper limb movements.
Derived the manipulator's forward and inverse kinematics to establish task-space control. Implemented kinematics and servo position control for the manipulator in LabVIEW.
Incorporated an adaptive feedforward controller for smoother end-effector motion.
Graduate Research Assistant @ North Carolina State University
2022 - Present
Led and developed a 6 DoF versatile and portable catheter robot for image-guided endovascular interventions.
Led and contributed to writing literature review, merits, and aims in academic grants.
Adaptation to distinct endovascular procedures: versatile mechanisms were developed to accommodate an array of instruments with varying diameters and lengths.
Affordable robot architecture was designed to accommodate off-the-shelf Y-connectors and a medical torquer for angiography and precise instrument rotation.
Developed a framework to stream the vascular centeline waypoints from 3D Slicer to coding platforms, facilitating the development of path-planning algorithms and optimal path identification.
Development of a real-time motion controller with feedforward information for precise motion control.
Research Gallery!
Let's connect!!
nkantu@ncsu.edu
Robotics Researcher
Nikhil Tej Kantu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
North Carolina State University