Abstract:
For decades, researchers have sought technologies that understand and support human movement with the same sensitivity and adaptability that humans exhibit to maintain mobility in the real world. Achieving this requires systems that are perceptive, adaptive, and scalable. In this talk, I will present my research toward this vision, beginning with fundamental principles of human gait and advancing toward balance assistance. I will show how wearable systems with high-fidelity sensing and efficient on-body intelligence enable continuous gait monitoring and rehabilitation beyond the laboratory. I will then discuss my recent work on quantitative balance assessment using controlled perturbations. These efforts establish a scientific and technological foundation for the next stage of my research, which integrates multi-modal sensing, digital twins, and edge intelligence to realize adaptive and anticipatory balance support. Together, these developments chart a path toward accessible, intelligent technologies that enhance human mobility and safety in daily life.
Biography with Photo:
Jiaen Wu is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. degree from ETH Zürich in 2022, where she conducted research in the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab on small-scale robotics and wearable systems. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Control Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2017. Her research pioneers intelligent systems that restore and enhance human mobility through integrating wearable robotics, biomechanics, and human-centered AI. She develops next-generation assistive technologies, ranging from gait rehabilitation systems to balance-augmenting exoskeletons that perceive user intent, respond to dynamic environments, and actively improve human mobility. Her contribution has been translated into a certified medical device and recognized with multiple awards, including the Swiss AI Awards (2nd place, 2022) and the finalist for the Swiss Excellence Product Award (2022). Her work was featured among the “Top 10 Parkinson’s stories of 2024” by Parkinson’s News Today. She is also an MIT Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering (2025) and a Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University.