Ergonomics and Computational Human Operations (ECHO) Lab
The goal of ECHO lab is to improve the lives of professionals by leveraging novel technologies to enhance their performance; therefore, their interactions with others and society. Within the human factors and ergonomics discipline, we aim to measure data from humans to develop models to assess skills and implement interventions to improve teams’ performance, particularly in healthcare environments.
- Surgical human-robot interactions
- Individual and team skills performance assessment
- Applications of robotics in healthcare
- Behavior and physiological modeling for training and interventions
If you are interested in joining the ECHO lab, please contact:
Jackie Cha, PhD, CPE
Patricia Flatley Brennan Assistant Professor
Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering
3011 Mechanical Engineering Bldg.
1513 University Ave., Madison, WI
Email: jackie.cha@wisc.edu
News
Paper Published in Surgical Endoscopy
Gonzales, A., Dhar, S., Ball, M., Carbonell, A. M., & Cha, J. S. (2026). Physical demands of hernia repair segments and the effect of exoskeleton support. Surgical Endoscopy, 1-17.
Cha gives invited presentation at IISE 2026
Presented “Objective and Subjective Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills and Technical Leadership Skills During Simulated Critical Care Scenarios” during the IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics & Human Factors Invited Research Showcase at the…
Paper Published in Journal of Safety Research
Gonzales, A., Barbieri, D. F., Srinivasan, D., Carbonell, A. M., Joseph, A., & Cha, J. S. (2026). Exoskeletons as a potential intervention to support simulated perioperative staff tasks. Journal of Safety Research, 97, 581-597.
Cha Moderates Panel on Ethics in Robotic Surgery at ISMR 2026
Jackie Cha moderates a panel on “Ethics of Using Data from Semi-Automated Surgical Robots” at the International Symposium of Medical Robotics 2026. https://sites.google.com/view/ismr2026ethicsworkshop
Undergraduate Researchers Present at 2026 Undergraduate Symposium
Undergraduate researchers presented at the 28th annual Undergraduate Symposium on April 17, 2026. https://ugradsymposium.wisc.edu/ Bohan Jia and Seba Al Tawfiq – “Hacked on the Table: Cognitive and Communication Responses to Simulated Cyberattacks…