Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin’s Post

Some of my students from the Oceans Systems lab at Heriot-Watt University are presenting three different articles at the IEEE Oceans conference in Singapore 🇸🇬! Let us know if you will be there and want to talk about robotics and marine systems! 🤖🌊 #IEEE #Oceans2024

MTRN4092 Thesis Project: Simulating Weaver Ant Behavior with Zumo Robots This video showcases my thesis project, where I used a Zumo robot equipped with a camera to simulate the behavior of weaver ants. The system demonstrates the robot's ability to navigate obstacles and locate targets. This is inspired by the natural foraging and obstacle-avoidance strategies of these remarkable insects.

I successfully defended my PhD thesis in applied geometry and Theortical robot kinematics espeically related to singularities in parallel robotics.

I am attending this week the International Symposium of Robotics Research (ISRR), which is taking place in Long Beach, CA and is celebrating 40 years since the first event. I had the opportunity to present a survey/position paper on "The State of Robot Motion Generation", which my students Joe Doerr, Patrick Meng, Sumanth Tangirala and I wrote with the objective of reviewing the broad spectrum of techniques that have been developed for robot motion generation across many sub-disciplines. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for how we can potentially benefit from integrating ideas from different methodologies. Paper link: https://lnkd.in/gaV6-uGX Joe Doerr: https://lnkd.in/gxEHXiPk Patrick Meng: https://lnkd.in/ggP_SQnQ Sumanth Tangirala: https://lnkd.in/gb3dy4p9 ISRR 2024: https://lnkd.in/gq9fdPwS

Had a fantastic time at the IEEE Humanoids conference in Nancy, France! 🇫🇷 It was an honor to present our work on humanoid multi-contact locomotion in constrained environments. I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with brilliant researchers and for the many insightful talks and conversations throughout the conference. Looking forward to building on this momentum and pushing the boundaries of humanoid robotics! Link to the paper below, for those interested. 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Guiding Collision-Free Humanoid Multi-Contact Locomotion using Convex Kinematic Relaxations and Dynamic Optimization 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: https://lnkd.in/gY6KJXer

Thanks again to Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer and SXSW Sydney for having us along to talk about '#IntelligentConnectivity' (IC). The panelists Anna Wright, Salah Sukkarieh and Dan Winson did an amazing job of keeping the conversation flowing, taking some curve ball questions and furthering all our knowledge on the #future (and present) of this #physical world-changing confluence of technologies (network interoperability, #IoT and #AI). Some key takeaways: * IC should help us become more inclusive - e.g. people challenged with sight and hearing can participate more fully in our businesses and society * People everywhere, in every nation can have rapid information at their fingertips to make informed decisions e.g. identifying and treating crop diseases * We actually as a nation don't pay that much for data, BUT data prices are becoming a big challenge for some. Is data now a #humanright like water and food security? Thanks again to all those who helped out, incl. Hugh's office - Kristen Mulligan Crista Bracamonte and thanks for posting Jerein Kailath (and good to see you again as well!). Keep up the great work and support in this area, esp. for #startups and #researchers Laura Earl from NSW Smart Sensing Network (contact her to learn how you can get up to $100k to support your idea!)

Recently, I spoke at an event to teach other tech councils from across the U.S. how to help companies in AI, Autonomy and Robotics related fields to navigate the defense innovation ecosystem I realized quickly that Pittsburgh has something incredibly special happening here.. and it won’t be easily replicated anytime soon. I would argue that Pittsburgh is now the nation’s center of Defense Robtics and Autonomy. Having just walked (using of our city’s beautiful trails) nearly 250 Air Force officials through Robot Row, it’s hard to understate the value of an organic cluster and the efficienies that can be gained from it. Donald Smith nailed it here: Lawrenceville didn’t emerge from some lofty economic development strategy (though RIDC’s leadership was key), it came from CMU’s investment (initially leveraging NASA Funding) in NREC and also from the great and welcoming aspects of the neighborhood. Also: let’s not forget, the Department of Defense playwd a key role in building this cluster and sustaining the cluster. The Defense Robotics Coaltion is heading to D.C. next week with nearly 20 of members to share some of our key priorities for our federal policy makers. The future is bright!

Today, October 1st, marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, celebrated as National Day. For those of us in the robotics field, I can only show a slide (courtesy of the IEEE Humanoid study group led by Aaron Prather from ASTM and which I am honoured to participate), which points out the number of companies doing humanoids there and in other countries The numbers speak for themselves. Now, we can say that it is because they have government funding and there is indeed wisdom in that claim, but the question remains: what prevents our governments from doing the same?

I am pleased to share that I have completed a comprehensive workshop on introduction to Robotics course from [ IEEE ] whose topics covered included the introduction to robots and their movement. During the workshop, I explored key concepts such as Inverse kinematics and Forward kinematics. This experience has deepened my understanding of concepts about robot movement and how to represent it using mathematical equations.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Robotics Department have created the first knee exoskeletons that support the quadriceps muscles to protect workers from back injuries. Typical supports focus on the back itself, while this approach provides less intrusive support when lifting. In this video, you'll find Michigan Robotics' Nikhil Divekar, postdoc research fellow, and Robert Gregg, associate professor, as they give a demonstration to just how the ExoLift works. “Rather than directly bracing the back and giving up on proper lifting form, we strengthen the legs to maintain it. This differs from what’s more commonly done in industry,” said Gregg. Want to learn more after watching this video? Check out the article here - https://lnkd.in/gVj2QvUh