HBL at the 2nd Podium Conference - Members win prizes of best presentations

On September 25–26, 2025, members of the Healthcare Biorobotics Lab (HBL) presented their latest research at the 2nd Podium Annual Conference on Sports Medicine & Technology.

Chenying Liu delivered an insightful talk on protective helmet design, demonstrating how structural and mechanical engineering can help reduce traumatic brain injuries. Ryman Hashem presented his work on inflatable robotics for personal protective equipment (PPE), with applications in equestrian sports, snow sports, and cycling. Yixing Lei showcased a robot-assisted system for training grip force in tennis. Lucy Buchanan discussed her recent experimental characterisation of wrist biomechanics in gymnastics. Erik Vanegas Müller shared his research on deep learning optimisation for sports cardiology. Lukas Cha presented advancements in multimaterial 3D printing for soft sensor arrays. Konstantin Dzavaryan introduced his modelling work on an activated head/neck system for bracing. The diverse range of presentations reflects the lab’s strong interdisciplinary approach, bridging engineering, robotics, biomechanics, and medicine to advance innovation in sports technology.

A detailed list of the titles and abstract can be found in the conference program:

• Ryman Hashem - Smart Wearable Inflatable Airbag Systems for Real-Time Fall Mitigation in High-Risk Sports
• Chenying Liu - A High-Fidelity Finite Element Framework for Head-Helmet Impact Simulation and Brain Injury Evaluation
• Yixing Lei - Comparing Sensory Feedback Designs for Motor Learning
• Lucy Buchanan - Experimental Characterisation of Wrist Biomechanics During Upper Limb Loading in Gymnastics
• Erik Vanegas Müller - Deep Learning Optimisation for Sports Cardiology: Neural Architecture SearchDriven Arrhythmia Classification
• Lukas Cha - Multimaterial 3D Printing of Garment-Integrated Strain-Sensor Arrays for Knee-Motion Monitoring
• Konstantin Dzavaryan - Modelling Head/Neck system-activated Bracing in Finite Element (FE) Simulation With A Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controller

🎉 Special congratulations to Konstantin Dzavaryan, who won the Best Student Presentation Award, and Chenying Liu, who received the Best Young Researcher Presentation Award.