Category: News

Three student teams were recognized in the 2024 TechSAge PITCH Competition for their innovative uses of the Stretch Robot, developed by Hello Robot, to support people aging with disabilities.  Dr. Harshal Mahajan – Assistant Director of Research for the LIFE Home – coordinated the competition.

The winning project, was called HYGI+, submitted by by Shuoning (Stone) Shi and Yuheng (Leo) Wang (School of Art & Design).  They proposed a modular cleaning attachment featuring a vacuum, motorized brushes, and waste disposal—designed to clean elevated surfaces like stoves and counters. It aims to improve hygiene and independence for older adults.
Prize: $1,000 + LIFE Home resources

Two projects received honorable mentions:

• Multi-Modal Hazard Detection (John Pohovey, Maria Lusardi & Ananya Yammanuru, Grainger Engineering) – proposed a navigation system that helps Stretch detect and manage indoor hazards like cables and rugs.
  Prize: $500 + LIFE Home resources
• Pressure Ulcer Detection and Prevention (Chieh Wang & Melissa Kuo, Applied Health Sciences) – proposed a camera-based intervention using Stretch to monitor and help treat pressure ulcers.
  Prize: $500

Read the full TechSAge article:
 2024 Stretch Robot PITCH Competition Winners

On April 16th, 2025, the McKechnie Family LIFE Home welcomed guests to its Spring Open House, offering a hands-on look at innovative research with a spotlight on social and assistive robots. Visitors explored the facility at their own pace, engaged with researchers from across campus, and participate in interactive demonstrations.

A highlight of the afternoon was the opportunity to meet the stars of the show: Moxie, an AI-powered companion robot, Misty, a personal programmable robot, and Stretch, a mobile manipulator. Students demonstrated the robots’ newly developed skills from this semester’s projects, impressing guests with their real-world applications.

In addition to the spotlighted robots, faculty, students, and postdoctoral researchers showcased a wide range of projects, including innovations in bathroom robotics accessibility, virtual reality applications, fall detection technology, and more. Through informative posters and lively discussions, the event fostered curiosity and meaningful dialogue around assistive technology for people with a range of abilities.

Notably, the LIFE Home was honored to welcome distinguished guests including Dr. Dan Fisk, Dean Emerita of AHS Tanya Gallagher, AHS Assistant Dean of Advancement JeanDriscoll, retired Associate Dean Bill Goodman, and others whose support and interest continue to inspire our work.

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make the Spring Open House a meaningful and memorable event.

Check out this video highlighting the event!

On October 2nd, 2024, the McKechnie Family LIFE Home opened its doors for a fall open house, inviting visitors to experience firsthand the innovative research happening within the facility. Guests had the opportunity to interact with researchers, advanced technologies, and robotics demonstrations. Faculty, post-docs, graduate and undergraduate students showcased their work, sparking engaging conversations about future possibilities. Among the distinguished attendees included Jim and Karen McKechnie, Dan Fisk, Michael Vitoux, and Jean Driscoll, Assistant Dean for Advancement. The event fostered meaningful exchanges and new ideas, and we are deeply grateful to all who presented and participated.

The McKechnie Family LIFE Home had the honor of welcoming 20 Veterans from the Warrior-Scholar Project to our facility on July 25^th, 2024. These Veterans have been participating in “academic boot camp” where they explore college research in preparation for the beginning of their own university experience.  The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosted some activities for them, including a visit to the LIFE Home. During the tour, the Veterans were split into small groups to gain personal first-hand experience with the robots and technology. Two favorites from the tour were our telepresence robot, Ohmni, and our cargo-carrying robot, Gita. It was a privilege to share research highlights with them, and we appreciated their engagement with us. We wish them the best with their upcoming academic ventures!

The McKechnie Family LIFE Home was excited to host a group of middle school students from Oakland STEM camp for a tour on June 18^th, 2024. Outreach and Engagement Specialist of the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, J.D. Graham, brought the kids on a field trip to the University of Illinois as a way to explore cutting-edge research. We were honored to be chosen as one of their locations. The students interacted with various robots and got hands-on experience with different interfaces. They especially enjoyed getting to pet Paro, our therapeutic robot, and talking with Moxie, our social robot. Sharing our research and facility with the students was a joy and we hope it inspired them!

On Tuesday, June 18th, 2024, the McKechnie Family LIFE Home staff had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. John Coleman, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost of the University of Illinois Urabana-Champaign, as well as Dr. Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, Dean of Applied Health Sciences. This was Dr. Coleman’s first time at the facility. He was delighted to learn about ongoing research and to engage with the technologies. Dr. Coleman and Dr. Hanely-Maxwell shared examples from their lives about potential use cases and ideas for research. We had a wonderful time showing them the activities conducted at our facility!

On April 18th, 2024, the McKechnie Family LIFE Home had the pleasure of welcoming guests for an open house to explore the research conducted at the facility. The attendees interacted with the researchers, robots, and all the technologies. Research demonstrations were given by faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The guests included Jim and Karen McKechnie, Michael Vitoux, Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, Dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences, Susan Martinis, Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation,  and Jean Driscoll, Assistant Dean for Advancement in the College of Applied Health Sciences, were very impressed by the diverse projects being worked on as well as the technology we have at home. Our open house allowed for lots of ideas to be shared between guests and researchers and introduced people to possible ideas for the future. We are so grateful to everyone who presented as well as those who attended.

Check out this video highlighting the event!

Yvona Vlach joined the McKechnie Family LIFE Home team in April 2024 as our Operations Coordinator. She is responsible for all general office and LIFE Home operations; serves as the first point of contact for clients and visitors; coordinates client reservations and visits of the research center; provides support to the LIFE Home team; and engages with other departments.

The McKechnie Family LIFE Home was pleased to welcome Dr. Chris Wickens during his visit on Tuesday April 16th, 2024. Dr. Wickens is a renowned scientist who has made important and lasting contributions to psychological science. He taught engineering and experimental
psychology, human factors engineering, and aviation psychology for 30 years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his visit, he learned about different projects and technologies at the LIFE Home. He was really impressed by the advancement in the research and innovations to support people with a range of abilities. He shared lots of great research ideas with researchers who came by. We enjoyed showing the technologies at the LIFE Home as well as learning from Dr. Wickens!

The McKechnie Family LIFE Home in partnership with IHSI hosted three sessions of the spring seminar series. The sessions addressed a range of topics in health technology. Participants also had the opportunity to attend a virtual tour of the LIFE Home. To learn more about this event check out this article from IHSI. 

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