Ard Westerveld

Ard J. Westerveld received the MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands in 2009 after a final project on the development and evaluation of methodology for studying calf muscle length changes in human balance control. Closed loop system identification techniques using a custom-built perturbation device were applied together with ultrasound imaging for the measurement of muscle length changes during perturbed stance. In 2014, Ard received the PhD degree in Biomechatronics, also from the University of Twente. His Biomechatronics research focused on the development of control strategies for an automated hybrid rehabilitation system combining robotics for reach assistance and functional electrical stimulation of muscles for grasp and release of objects. The combination of these systems allowed for fully automated reach, grasp and release with the passive human arm and hand 'in the loop'. These passive movements were done to demonstrate the applicability of the control systems with 100% assistance of the functional movement. The amount of assistance could be reduced in order to allow stroke patients to maximize their own efforts and optimize their motor learning, aimed at regaining functional independence. Between 2014 and 2021, Ard was a Research Engineer SINGA Industrial Game Changers in Varsseveld, The Netherlands. His research there focused mainly on opto-mechatronical design and computer vision solutions for 3D vision applications in industrial settings. Examples of applications he worked on are quality inspection systems in production facilities, an automated cow milking system and a system to remove weed from pavements and streets. Since 2021, Ard has been a Researcher at the Smart Mechatronics and Robotics research group. His research focuses on application of robotics in the agricultural domain and the application of open source software (ROS 2) for robot control and manipulation in industry.