Associate Professor on Robotics and Biomechanics

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Biography

My name is Tassos Natsakis and I am an associate professor at the ROCON lab of Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. My background is in Mechanical engineering and I have done extensive research on the biomechanics of human locomotion. More specifically I studied the behaviour of the human foot in-vitro, with the goal to understand and improve surgical procedures and medical implants. I am currently researching in the intersection of the rehabilitation and robotic fields, leading a research project for the development of a robotic rehabilitator.

Besides research, I am very interested in teaching methods, knowledge management and productivity, in an attempt to make my research more efficient, pleasant and easier to explain to others.

Interests

  • Biomechanics
  • Robotics
  • Teaching methods
  • Knowledge management
  • Productivity

Education

  • PhD in Biomedical Engineering, 2015

    KU Leuven, Belgium

  • MEng in Mechanical Engineering, 2010

    Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Publications

The role of medial ligaments and tibialis posterior in stabilising the medial longitudinal foot arch: a cadaveric gait simulator study

Background: Debate exists whether adult acquired flatfoot deformity develops secondary to tibialis posterior (TibPost) tendon …
J Robberecht, D Shah, O Taylan, T Natsakis, G Vandeputte, J Vander Sloten, I Jonkers
PDF Project DOI

ROS-based Toolbox for Motor Parameter Identification of Robotic Manipulators

For many applications, a precise knowledge of the model of the robot is necessary for accurate and stable control. However, it is not …
I Ulici, A Codrean, T Natsakis
PDF Dataset Project DOI

Predicting Intention of Motion During Rehabilitation Tasks of the Upper-Extremity

Rehabilitation promoting “assistance-as-needed” is considered a promising scheme of active rehabilitation, since it can …
T Natsakis, L Busoniu
PDF Project Project Slides Video DOI
See all publications

Recent Posts

Upgrading the robotics laboratory

Update: added some nice pictures from the lab and the robots There is a small paradox at our department: we are teaching robotics to students, but we used to not have any robots around for them to play with. We actually did have one, that is very very dangerous to use close to people, so I slowly slowly phased it out of use. But I had to find an alternative: a small, versatile, cheap, robot arm, that we could buy multiples of it and have one for each table of the laboratory.
Last updated on Dec 8, 2021 2 min read
Upgrading the robotics laboratory

Wooden Robot Model

For quite some time now, I wanted to create a robot model to use it in the classroom. I started imagining it as a 3D printed model, then thought of making it out of styrofoam, converted the idea to carton, but was always stopped by the lack of materials around. Also, the fact that we’ve been teaching online for the past year and a half was not helping. Last week, I thought of wood.
Last updated on Jan 26, 2022 2 min read
Wooden Robot Model

Less Wrong Gems 2021

I don’t remember when did it exactly happen, but at some point I landed on a elegant looking community blog that is called Less Wrong. They advertise themselves as “[…] a community dedicated to improving our reasoning and decision-making” and the name is derived by the realisation that in order to learn, we must constantly err, but each time less and less. It is basically a blog where anyone can post essays or ideas on the topic of rationality and real-world applications of it.
Last updated on Sep 9, 2021 2 min read
See all posts

Projects

TRUE REHAB

A two year long research project funded by UEFISCDI exploring ideas on robotic rehabilitation

BETER REHAB

A two year long research project funded by UEFISCDI.

Research in Cluj

A meetup group for researchers from any field that are active in Cluj-Napoca.

Gait simulator

The gait simulator was the main experimental equipment that I developed during my PhD.

Alumni Business Camp

Alumni Business Camp is a yearly event that gathers Alumni of BEST to talk about… Business!

BEST

I was a volunteer at BEST (Board of European Students of Technology), for 5 years, being active in all levels of involvement

Hero Paides

Involved in the publishers team of an award winning high school newspaper

Teaching

I am responsible for the following courses at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca:

Courses (Bachelor level)

Starting from the second semester of 2020-2021, I am also teaching at the Babeș-Bolyai University, as the department of Physics as an external collaborator

Courses (Masters level)

If you are interested in a project, please read the thesis manifesto and check the list of student project ideas

Contact

  • t4ssos@natsakis.com
  • Calea Dorobanților 71-73, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj 400400
  • Enter Building with red bricks, climb on second floor, go at the end of corridor. Office number 112
  • Wednesday 10:00 to 14:00email for appointment
  • Book an appointment
  • Chat on xmpp