Nathaniel Luttmer is a robotics PhD candidate and mechatronic systems engineer supporting PDTI's embedded systems prototyping, computer vision infrastructure, and virtual reality development.

His research at the University of Utah spans haptics, biomechanics, and human-robot interaction. His doctoral work — funded by a $500K NSF grant — focuses on large-workspace haptic manipulation in mixed-reality locomotion interfaces, including the design and control of 7-DOF robot arms in a full-body CAVE virtual environment. He also contributed to a $1.75M NSF-funded project developing robotic impact systems and smart helmet testing for traumatic brain injury reduction. His master's thesis produced an autonomous three-tether parallel robot synchronized with live gait tracking for human perturbation studies. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Robotics and Controls, a Mechatronics Engineering Certificate, and a minor in Physics.

Prior to his PhD, Nathaniel worked as a manufacturing engineer at Kinex Connect developing Continuous Passive Motion medical devices — running functional, safety, compliance, reliability, and quality testing — and as an environmental engineer at General Electric. At PDTI, he provides CapEx planning for embedded and computer-vision lab infrastructure and brings hands-on experience across motion capture systems, data acquisition (dSpace, NI DAQ), EMG instrumentation, 3D printing, and CNC machining.