Congratulations to Michael Paskett for transitioning to an exciting new job at Facebook Reality Labs! He will be working on the development of a wrist-based neural interface to intuitively control augmented and virtual realities. Michael will be defending his dissertation in PhD student in Biomedical Engineering this semester. As a member of Center for Neural Interfaces, Michael played in integral role in developing various technologies currently being utilized in our NeuroRobotics Lab. Three notable contributions we now use regularly are: 1) a bypass socket that allows healthy individuals to control and test myoelectric prostheses, 2) a method for quantifying cognitive load associated with prosthetic control & feedback strategies, and 3) an integrated device for vibrotactile feedback of robotic devices. Michaels new role at Facebook Reality Labs is timely; the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab recently received a $150,000 grant from Facebook Reality Labs to ensure neural interfaces for controlling virtual and augmented reality are inclusive to all users.
