Avinash S Pramod

About Me

Welcome! I am Avinash S Pramod, and I did my MS and PhD in Robotics from the Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and my B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Vimal Jyothi Engineering College. My research focuses on wearable robotics, biomechanical mechanisms, human–robot interaction, rehabilitation robotics, exosuit and exoskeleton design, mobile robotic systems, soft robotics, and serial manipulators. I specialize in the design, modeling, prototyping, and experimental validation of intelligent robotic systems, with key contributions to human-centric robotics.

Education

Professional Experience

Projects

Human-Centric Wearable Upper Limb Exoskeleton

A human-centered shoulder exoskeleton designed and developed to reduce interaction forces due to misalignment between human and robot joint axis.

Upper Limb Exoskeleton Test Bench

A shoulder phantom for testing upper-limb exoskeletons for their maximum range of motion and self aligning capability in a controlled experimental setup.

Static Shoulder Therapy Monitoring Device

An isometric training monitoring device equipped with a three-axis force sensor to provide real-time feedback for rehabilitation exercises.

Passive Ankle-Foot Exoskeleton

A wearable passive ankle foot exoskeleton with a curved spring setup developed for variable resistance training during plantarflexion and dorsiflexion motion.

Self-Evolving Fuzzy-Based Control of Soft Actuators

A fuzzy-based closed-loop control for Soft Bidirectional Bending Actuator (SBBA) using visual feedback to regulate the actuator input pressure.

Active Ankle-Foot Exoskeleton

A wearable active ankle foot exoskeleton having single actuator developed for resistance training (plantarflexion/ dorsiflexion and inversion/ eversion).

Multifunctional Poultry Robot

A robot designed to automate poultry farm tasks including sawdust racking, heating the sawdust bed, laying sawdust and cleaning.

Multifunctional Agricultural Robot (Seedbot)

A semi-autonomous agricultural robot designed for sowing seeds and watering based on the soil moisture content, for efficient farming operations.

Publications

Journal Publications

• Pramod, A. S., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Human-Centric Shoulder Exoskeleton: A Novel Assistive Device with A Self-aligning Mechanism to Reduce Interaction Forces. IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, doi: 10.1109/TMRB.2025.3646719.
• Pramod, A. S., Palani, P., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Stability of Glenohumeral Joint Due to Humeral Head Translation and Its Impact on Exoskeleton Design: A Review. Sādhanā, 50, 333.
• Pramod, A. S., R. N. A., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Design, development, and evaluation of a novel shoulder phantom testbed for analyzing interaction forces and reachability of wearable exoskeletons. Wearable Technologies, 6, e24.
• Pramod, A. S., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). A modified human shoulder model considering the migration of the humeral head from the scapular glenoid fossa for the design of shoulder exoskeletons. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 239(5), 1441-1456.

Conference Publications

• Pramod, A. S., Ravichandran, Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Computational assessment of impact forces on the humerus during boxing punches: cross, hook, and uppercut. In 2025 8th International Workshop on Computational Kinematics (CK2025) (Accepted). Springer.
• Adithya, R. N., Pramod, A. S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Design of single-actuator driven upper limb shoulder exoskeleton for assisted arm elevation. In 2025 8th International Workshop on Computational Kinematics (CK2025) (Accepted). Springer.
• Palani, P., Panigrahi, S., Pramod, A. S., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Prediction of muscle fatigue using force myography: A preliminary and feasibility study. In 2025 IEEE 6th India Council International Subsections Conference (INDISCON) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. (Best paper award)
• Usama, A., Pramod, A. S., Varala, N. V., & Thondiyath, A. (2025). Design and analysis of multi-chamber, multi-curvature soft pneumatic actuator for controlled directional bending actuation. In 2025 Advances in Robotics (AIR) (Accepted). ACM. (Best poster award)
• Nirmal, A. B., Pramod, A. S., & Thondiyath, A. (2024). Active 2-axis ankle-foot exoskeleton using single actuator for physiotherapy. In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) (pp. 2019–2024). IEEE.
• Kizhakkethil, A. M., Panigrahi, S., Singh, K. S., Pramod, A. S., Varala, N. V., Usama, A., & Thondiyath, A. (2024). Self-evolving fuzzy-based control of soft pneumatic rotary actuators. In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) (pp. 939–944). IEEE.
• Pramod, A. S., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2024, November). Design and Analysis of a Human-Centric Shoulder Exoskeleton to Improve the Range of Motion. In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Cyborg and Bionic Systems (CBS) (pp. 267-272). IEEE.
• Pramod, A. S., Adithya, R. N., Palani, P., Varala, N. V., Panigrahi, S., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2024, February). Development of a Novel Three-Axis Force Sensor-Based Monitoring Device for Static Shoulder Therapy. In 2024 Second International Conference on Emerging Trends in Information Technology and Engineering (ICETITE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE. (Best student paper award)
• Pramod, A. S., Palani, P., Mohan, S., & Thondiyath, A. (2023, May). Development of a Passive Ankle-Foot Exoskeleton for Variable Force Resistance Training. In International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots (pp. 144-151). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. (Special mention best student paper award)
• Pramod, A. S., & Jithinmon, T. V. (2019). Development of mobile dual PR arm agricultural robot. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1240, 012034.

Patents

• Pramod, A. S., Thondiyath, A., & Mohan, S. Biomimetic human shoulder phantom mechanism for testing wearable exoskeleton. Intellectual Property India, Patent Grant No. 557685, 2025.
• Pramod, A. S., Thondiyath, A., Mohan, S., Adithya, R. N., Palani, P., Varala, N. V., Panigrahi, S. Development of a novel three-axis force sensor-based monitoring device for static shoulder therapy. Intellectual Property India, Patent Grant No. 567998, 2025.
• Pramod, A. S., Thondiyath, A., & Mohan, S. Wearable shoulder exoskeleton. Intellectual Property India, Patent Application No. 202441041439, 2024.
• Pramod, A. S., Beckham, A., & Thondiyath, A. Active 2-Axis Ankle-Foot Exoskeleton Using Single Actuator for Physiotherapy. Intellectual Property India, Patent Application No. 202441050130, 2024.

Contact

Name: Dr. Avinash S Pramod (Ph.D.)

Email: avinashspramod@gmail.com