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SYS://LEVERN.CURRIE — DASHBOARD ONLINEALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL
Operator Profile
Levern Currie headshot
ID — 001
Levern Currie
DoD SMART FellowCognitive EngineerFounder & CEO

Industrial & systems engineer specializing in cognitive engineering, human-robot interaction, and accessible intelligent systems. I build research-backed products at the intersection of defense, robotics, and real-world commerce.

LOC Wright-Patterson AFB, OHEDU Ph.D. — Virginia Tech, completed July 2026STATUS SMART Fellow · Active
12+
Research labs
10 yrs
In the lab
$1M+
Grants & awards
Ph.D.
Virginia Tech · July 2026
Active Missions

Current roles

Where I'm operating right now — defense research at AFRL and the companies I'm building.

TWH
Founder & CEO
TWHYNE
Verifiable AI that runs locally. TWHYNE is an AI company developing private, verifiable intelligence for local and on-premises use.
ACTIVE2025 — NOW
DRV
Founder & CEO
Drivingo Inc
Building multimodal ordering and POS infrastructure for restaurants and physical commerce — accessibility-first interfaces for drive-thru, kiosk, and counter service across voice, touch, gesture, and sign-language-aware input.
ACTIVE2021 — NOW
AFRL
Researcher
711th Human Performance Wing · AFRL
Cognitive-engineering research on analyst performance, and visual display systems for the F-22 and drone deployment / navigation programs.
ACTIVE2022 — NOW
Project Blueprints

Selected work

From fighter-jet cockpits to drive-thru accessibility. Each card renders a live wireframe schematic — hover to orbit the model.

PRJ-0002025 →
FIG.000◈ WORDMARKSTARTUP
STARTUP · VERIFIABLE AI · PRIVACY

TWHYNE

twhyne.com ↗

Verifiable AI that runs locally.

TWHYNE is an AI company developing private, verifiable intelligence for local and on-premises use. Its architecture combines knowledge retrieval, specialized reasoning, deterministic tools, and evidence verification, giving users greater control over their data and how answers and actions are produced.

Its ongoing research explores how AI can retain, validate, reuse, and compose knowledge and capabilities—building on previous work while reducing repeated computation.

Focus areas
  • Local and on-premises AI
  • Evidence verification and traceable reasoning
  • Knowledge retention and capability reuse
  • Coordination of specialized reasoning and tools
  • Efficient intelligence under constrained compute
ROLEFounder & CEO
FOCUSVerifiable, local AI
DEPLOYLocal · on-premises
STATUSActive development & research
Verifiable AILocal intelligenceKnowledge reuseAI orchestrationPrivacy
PRJ-0012021 →
FIG.001↻ AUTO-ORBITSTARTUP
STARTUP · ACCESSIBILITY · COMMERCE

Drivingo

Drivingo Inc

Multimodal ordering and POS infrastructure for restaurants and physical commerce, built around voice, touch, gesture, and accessibility-first service experiences.

ROLEFounder & CEO
FOCUSMultimodal ordering + POS
MODESVoice · touch · gesture
STATUSActive · real-world deployment
POS infrastructuremultimodal orderingaccessibilityrestaurantsreal-world deployment
PRJ-0022022 — 26
FIG.002↻ AUTO-ORBITCOGNITIVE ENGINEERING
COGNITIVE ENGINEERING · PH.D. RESEARCH

Multimodal Auditory Situation Awareness

Human IMPAC-T Lab · Virginia Tech

Research on air- and bone-conducted auditory displays for supporting auditory situational awareness in complex operational environments.

ROLEPh.D. research
FOCUSAC / BC auditory displays
METHODExperimental design
STATUSCompleted July 2026
auditory displaysAC/BC audiohuman factorssituational awarenessexperimental design
PRJ-0032022 →
FIG.003↻ AUTO-ORBITDEFENSE
DEFENSE · HMI

Project Fox

711th HPW · AFRL

Visual display and human-machine interface research focused on operator performance, cockpit information presentation, and cognitive load in high-demand environments.

ROLEResearcher
FOCUSCockpit visual displays
MEASUREOperator cognitive load
STATUSHuman Performance Wing program
HMIoperator performancevisual displayscognitive loaddefense systems
PRJ-0042022 →
FIG.004↻ AUTO-ORBITAUTONOMY
AUTONOMY · COALITION SYSTEMS

BAT Savvy

711th HPW · AFRL · UK RAF

Autonomy and navigation research involving multi-agent coordination, operator trust, and deployment logic for drone and coalition environments.

ROLEResearcher
FOCUSAutonomous navigation
TOPICMulti-agent + operator trust
PARTNERUK Royal Air Force
autonomymulti-agent coordinationnavigationoperator trustUAV systems
PRJ-0052017 — 19
FIG.005↻ AUTO-ORBITROBOTICS
ROBOTICS · HRI

Maki

DASL · George Mason

Autonomous in-home humanoid robot built for human-robot interaction research, including embodied interaction and domestic robotic behaviour.

ROLEBuilder / researcher
FOCUSIn-home HRI
FUNDING$20,000 commission
OUTCOMESeveral units built
humanoid roboticsin-home HRIembodied systemsautonomous behaviour
PRJ-0062018 — 20
FIG.006↻ AUTO-ORBITBCI
BCI · ROBOTICS · ASSISTIVE HRI

Euphros

Social Robotics Lab · George Mason

A built brain-computer-interface robot exploring embodied interaction, adaptive autonomy, and assistive control for human-centered robotic systems.

ROLEDesigner / builder / researcher
FOCUSAssistive BCI control
INTERFACEEEG / Emotiv BCI
OUTCOMEWorking BCI robot built
BCI roboticsassistive autonomyhuman-robot interactionembodied interfacescognitive accessibility
Bibliography

Publications & Intellectual Property

Verified records, newest first.

View Google Scholar ↗
  1. 2026Doctoral dissertation

    Human Auditory Perception and Performance Across Air- and Bone-Conduction Listening Pathways

    Currie, L. Q. (2026).

    Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech.

    Virginia Tech repository ↗
  2. 2025Editorial

    Editorial: The translation and implementation of robotics and embodied AI in healthcare

    Tulk Jesso, S., Kennedy, W. G., Russwinkel, N., & Currie, L. (2025).

    Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 12, Article 1659302.

    Publisher / DOI ↗
  3. 2025Conference paper

    Understanding Social Engagement in Voice-User Interfaces: An Exploratory Study of Embodiment and Gestures

    Mahapasuthanon, P., Zheng, H., Singh, N. M., Currie, L., Genaro Motti, V., & Wiese, E. (2025).

    Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 69(1), 1034–1039.

    Publisher / DOI ↗
  4. 2024Published patent application

    Method of transmission of sign language for customer use with a business

    Inventor: Levern Currie.

    Assignee: Drivingo Inc. Published December 5, 2024. Publication number: US20240404430A1.

    Patent record ↗
  5. 2019Conference paper

    Mind Perception in a Competitive Human-Robot Interaction Game

    Currie, L. Q., & Wiese, E. (2019).

    Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), 1957–1961.

    Publisher / DOI ↗
Research Topology

A decade in the lab

Twelve labs across Virginia Tech, George Mason & the Krasnow Institute — from tardigrade memory to non-invasive neuromodulation.

Human IMPAC-T Lab2022 — NOW
Virginia Tech
Multimodal auditory displays for achievable situational awareness.
Therapeutic Ultrasound & Non-Invasive Therapies2022
Virginia Tech
Neuromodulation via non-invasive ultrasound; ultrasonic treatment of neurological & psychological conditions.
Advanced Manufacturing & Biosensing Lab2021 — 22
Virginia Tech
Conformal sensing across rigid bodies; 3D-printed structural tissue models.
Mind Music Machine Lab2020 — 21
Virginia Tech
Robot musical theater (SEAD/ICAT), emotive gesture studies, Covid-19 respirator, $5M AV proposal.
Social Robotics Lab2018 — 20
George Mason
Brain-computer & robot interfaces via Emotiv; Cozmo mirror-neuron study; Furhat & NAO; companion-cap comfort system.
Helton Lab (PI W. “Deak” Helton)2019 — 20
George Mason
Humanoid virtual AI agent on the HTC VIVE for human-agent interaction studies.
MRES Lab2019
George Mason
Integrated PIR sensor network for a hygiene study.
PBNJ Lab2018
Krasnow Institute
Long-term memory & fear-conditioning retention in tardigrades after revival.
Drones & Autonomous Systems Lab (DASL)2017 — 19
George Mason
Built Maki, an autonomous in-home interaction robot ($20k commission).
Bioinformatics Lab2017 — 18
George Mason
How silent DNA mutations affect secondary & tertiary protein structure.
Krasnow Institute2017
George Mason
Behavioral testing — onset of Alzheimer’s in transgenic mice & rats.
Neural Engineering Lab2016
George Mason
Calibrated autonomous spoon-feeding arm for tremor; rat-neuron-controlled robot for BCI study.