Babak Hejrati

About

Babak Hejrati’s research lies at the intersection of biomechanics, rehabilitation robotics, and soft sensing, with a central focus on restoring natural human gait. His most impactful work addresses the often-overlooked role of upper-limb movement in walking. In his highly cited 2017 paper (18 citations), Hejrati developed a data-driven model to generate real-time arm-swing trajectories for gait rehabilitation, challenging the leg-centric approach of conventional therapy. He further explored this theme in a 2021 study on the effects of forearm movements on gait at various speeds. Hejrati also made significant contributions to locomotion interface design, evaluating the Treadport—an advanced robotic treadmill—to bridge the gap between treadmill and overground walking (12 citations). Demonstrating versatility, he investigated the multimodal sensing capabilities of ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) for measuring complex deformations in soft robotics (7 citations). His work on a unilateral ankle-assisting soft robotic exosuit for post-stroke gait (2 citations) rounds out a career dedicated to creating more holistic, effective rehabilitation technologies. With a growing citation record, Hejrati is establishing himself as a key voice in understanding and engineering the full-body dynamics of human movement.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Generating Arm-Swing Trajectories in Real-Time Using a Data-Driven Model for Gait Rehabilitation With Self-Selected Speed

   18 citations · 2017
2. 2
   The Treadport: Natural Gait on a Treadmill

   12 citations · 2019
3. 3
   The effects of forearm movements on human gait during walking with various self-selected speeds

   9 citations · 2021
4. 4
   An investigation of multimodal sensing capabilities of ionic polymer-metal composites

   7 citations · 2020
5. 5
   Unilateral ankle assisting soft robotic exosuit can improve post-stroke gait during overground walking

   2 citations · 2017

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links