PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Blake Hannaford

Blake Hannaford is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington whose work brings AI into surgical robotics. He completed his doctorate at Berkeley in 1985, worked on remotely controlled robots at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and joined Washington in 1989. He co-founded Applied Dexterity in 2013 and worked at Google Life Sciences from 2014 to 2015. His team used behavior trees to model medical procedures for the Raven robot in 2016, and he coauthored research on neural-network calibration of RAVEN-II in 2024. As of October 2026, he directs Washington's BioRobotics Lab, where work includes TPT-Finder, a surgical instrument designed to identify parathyroid tissue.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1985

    A doctorate at Berkeley

    He completes his doctorate in UC Berkeley's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in 1985, with Lawrence W. Stark as his advisor. His dissertation is titled Control of Fast Movement: Human Head Rotation.

  2. 1986–1989

    From JPL to Washington

    From 1986 to 1989, he works on remotely controlled robot arms in the Man-Machine Systems Group within the Automated Systems Section at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech. He supervises the group from 1988 to 1989 and joins the University of Washington in September 1989.

  3. 1996

    Models of artificial muscles

    In 1996, he coauthors Measurement and modeling of McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles. The work develops and tests a theory of artificial muscles that informs rehabilitation robotics and soft robotics.

  4. 2006

    An IEEE Fellow

    He becomes an IEEE Fellow in 2006 for contributions to haptic interfaces and telerobotic systems.

  5. 2013–2015

    Applied Dexterity and Google

    In 2013, he helps establish Applied Dexterity as a spinout company. From 2014 to 2015, he works at Google Life Sciences.

  6. 2016

    Behavior trees for Raven

    In 2016, he and his team develop the semi-autonomous Raven surgical robot using behavior trees. These AI algorithms, also used for video-game opponents, provide a way to model automated medical procedures.

  7. 2017

    An intelligent robotic assistant

    He receives an Amazon Catalyst Fellowship in 2017 for work with the UW BioRobotics Lab on an Intelligent Robotic Assistant. The project aims to adapt to each surgeon's preferences and use speech recognition and machine learning to assist in the operating room.

  8. 2024

    Neural-network calibration for RAVEN-II

    In 2024, he coauthors Efficient Data-driven Joint-level Calibration of Cable-driven Surgical Robots. The study trains a deep neural network to correct joint-position errors in RAVEN-II and reports a 76% reduction in error compared with fixed-offset compensation.

  9. As of October 2026

    Professor and BioRobotics Lab director

    As of October 2026, he is a professor in the University of Washington's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and directs its BioRobotics Lab. In August 2026, his lab seeks a research assistant to develop TPT-Finder, a pen-shaped surgical instrument designed to distinguish the parathyroid gland from nearby tissues through several physical measurements.

Career

  1. Since 1989University of WashingtonProfessor
  2. 2014–2015Google
  3. From 2013Applied DexterityCo-founder
  4. 1988–1989NASASupervisor
  5. 1986–1989NASA

Education

  1. 1985University of California, BerkeleyDoctorate

From the biography.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Control of Fast Movement: Human Head Rotation www2.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Blake Hannaford | UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering people.ece.uw.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. UW ECE Faculty Highlights | UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering ece.uw.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. Two more faculty honored as IEEE Fellows | UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering ece.uw.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. Prof. Hannaford Develops Device to Improve Surgeries, Save Lives | UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering ee.washington.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. Professors Blake Hannaford and Eric Klavins Named Amazon Catalyst Fellows | UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering ece.uw.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. Efficient Data-driven Joint-level Calibration of Cable-driven Surgical Robots arxiv.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. Faculty Finder | UW College of Engineering engr.washington.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  9. Research Assistant (MS Student) – Biorobotics Lab w/ Prof. Blake Hannaford | ECE Advising Blog advisingblog.ece.uw.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.