Ms. Lowell from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences joined an internship at Assistant Professor Yuichi Kurita’s laboratory from June to August 2016.

By replicating human body movement on the computer and making the human senses and physiological responses visible, Associate Professor Kurita conducts research on how to apply this to human modeling and use it in engineering. He develops an assist suit that allows people to conserve their energy and improve their sensorimotor performance.

Working with one of the graduate students in the lab, Ms. Lowell chose her research theme focusing on wearable technology. The pair developed a glove that assists hand movements with a series of stretch sensors around the wrist. The glove is capable to help support the bending, stretching, and rotating of hands by catching the changes in smallest wrist movements.

Harvard University has published an article about Ms. Lowell’s experience at Hiroshima University, and according to the article Ms. Lowell explains “I was able to touch upon a completely new world of engineering design approaches by interacting with students from places other than the U.S.”

Mr. Kurita who taught her says, “Cassie was a very social person, and she actively interacted with the other lab members. She had a strong interest in Japanese culture, and it was great to see her talking to other students with the new Japanese words she had just learned. Her skill levels were also very high, and left us such a great result in such a short amount of time working together with the other lab members; the results enabled us to have an acceptance from the international conference in just 2 months. I think it was a great experience for the both of us.”

(From left to right) Ms. Cassie Lowell and Associate Professor Yuichi Kurita

Ms. Lowell’s internship story can be found at the Harvard University website.

(Summary of the Article on the Harvard University Web Site)
*Cited from the Harvard University Website.

Ms. Lowell’s theme was to add an assisting movement to help support the bending, stretching, and rotating of hands by catching the smallest changes in wrist movements.

“There is a wide variety of applications for a glove like this,” Ms. Lowell said. “It would be very useful for individuals who suffer from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Like the U.S., Japan has a large aging population, many of whom suffer from those restrictive conditions. This is a pretty simple solution that could help these people gain strength and have more independence later in life.”

Ms. Lowell told us how surprised she was when she was told on the first day of her internship to take of her shoes in the seminar room. She told us there were “some difficulties” in the beginning, but as the internship continued, she realized there were many similarities between researchers in Harvard and researchers in professor Kurita’s seminar.

Besides the experience, Ms. Lowell explains, “It was a great experience being able to think about teamwork and communities in an international engineering environment. By researching with students from a background other than the United States, I was able to touch upon a completely “new engineering design approach”. In the future, I’d like to stay open minded about different stereotypes.”

[Contact for inquires]
Public Relations Group, Hiroshima University
E-mail: koho*office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp (Please change * into @)