VA researchers at HERL awarded $41.5M to develop cutting-edge robotic wheelchair

December 12, 2025

By Tristan Horrom
VA Research Communications

The Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) in Pittsburgh have received a grant of up to $41.5 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to create a next-generation wheelchair and assistive technology system called the Robotic Assisted Mobility and Manipulation Platform (RAMMP).

RAMMP will combine advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, a new operating system, and digital simulation technology to create a powered wheelchair with adaptations, such as a robotic arm to help its users better traverse and interact with their environment. It is intended to advance powered mobility and manipulation device function by incorporating obstacle detection sensors and seamless integration of multiple systems. RAMMP’s real-time, 360-degree environmental awareness and adaptive control features will allow users to navigate complex environments with confidence and safety.

HERL director Dr. Rory Cooper, who is leading the RAMMP project along with co-principal investigator Dr. Jorge Candiotti, explained why this project is important for wheelchair users such as himself:

“Most powered wheelchairs aren’t designed to overcome many of the common challenges in the real world, and changing the environment to accommodate them is nearly impossible,” said Cooper. “We need smarter technology that prevents tipping and falling, improves mobility, and adds more function – such as coordinated mobility and robotic arm manipulation of objects – so people with disabilities can fully participate in everyday life.”

The project will build on previous HERL creations such as the MEBot, a robotic wheelchair designed to help users navigate challenging terrain like curbs, slopes, and slippery surfaces, along with new technologies and design techniques. According to Cooper, who was recently presented the U.S. Forces in Business Lifetime Achievement Award, the team is redesigning everything from the ground up. They will develop a new seating system, base, robotic arm, control system, mechanical design, and operating system: all with the goal of giving users more freedom and the ability to interact with their environment independently.

“Imagine the common task of opening a refrigerator, removing an object, heating it in a microwave, and placing it on a table,” said Cooper. “This is ‘quick and easy’ for most people but extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Veterans with both upper and lower limb impairments. What happens for most people is they ask somebody else to do that, while they would rather do it themselves.”

To engineer a system that best meets these needs, Cooper and his team are using a system called the Robotic Assisted Mobility and Manipulation Simulation (RAMMS) environment. RAMMS is an AI-enabled software simulation that will provide modeling of RAMMP in various environments to go through rapid iterations of tasks. The fully virtual environment is based on real-world physics models and electromechanical constraints. It will have the ability to integrate real-world performance and sensor data to enhance models.

“RAMMS is at the cutting edge of physical AI and robotics,” said Cooper. “The research will be deeply informed by the needs of Veterans with disabilities, which will ensure that the technology (robotic wheelchair and robotic arm) is relevant to real-world clinical populations.

“Veterans and VA are at the core of everything that we do at HERL,” Cooper added.

HERL is a joint research institute between VA and the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers at the center have been instrumental in developing novel innovations in wheelchair design, with Cooper and other HERL staff holding nearly 30 patents related to wheelchair design and assistive technologies. The VA and Pitt partnership enables HERL to make important contributions to improve the lives and health of Veterans as well as all Americans with disabilities. VA involvement gives the team access to clinical infrastructure, rehabilitation expertise, and user communities by way of Veteran wheelchair users to design and test systems more effectively.

HERL underscores VA’s commitment to using advanced robotics and AI to enhance independence, safety, and quality of life for Veterans with disabilities – particularly those who rely on powered mobility devices. Having VA as an institutional partner also adds credibility and translational power: this is not just a lab prototype, it is a project with strong potential to move into real-world care settings. VA involvement means the project is grounded in the real needs of Veterans, benefits from VA’s research infrastructure, and is well-positioned to translate into clinical, meaningful impact.

HERL is being joined by other university and industry partners in a national research consortium to make RAMMP a reality. Partners include Kinova Robotics, LUCI Mobility, ATDev, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Northeastern University, and Purdue University.

ARPA-H, the funding awarder, was established in 2022 as part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services to fund and support transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs. Its mission is to “make pivotal investments in break-through technologies and broadly applicable platforms, capabilities, resources, and solutions that have the potential to transform important areas of medicine and health for the benefit of all patients and that cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.”

The project was announced at a ceremony on HERL’s campus on the University of Pittsburgh on November 4.

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