Keynote Talks – IEEE-CYBER 2020

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Keynote talk 1:   11:00---11:40(Oct 11)

Professor George Zhang
Shenzhen Academy of Robotics
Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, P.R.China
https://www.szarobots.com

Title: Industrial Robot Control_Evolutional Advancement and Proposed Trend

Abstract: Industrial robotics with various applications has become a group of critical components for manufacturing automation and intelligent operation. As a typical mechatronics device, a robotic system composes of one or more mechanical arm(s) and an electronic controller. While the mechanical arms are relatively long-lasting in their structural form and life span, robot controller has evolved rather rapidly for several generations since the beginning of the dawn of the robotics being. This talk reviews the evolutional advancement of industrial control hardware and software development, focusing on computational hardware, the micro-processing chip, and structural software, the real-time operating system. The interface element between the mechanical robotic arm and programable robotic controller, mainly drives/motors and I/O units, will be mentioned; From manufacturing application point of view, typical robotic arm structures, motor/drive configuration, and motion control schemes are presented and analysed. Advanced robotic control technologies such as force control and vision-based control are introduced and discussed; Newly developed industrial manipulator types and corresponding motion control requirement and practice are dealt with and foreseen. Finally, some trends for industrial robotic control and hardware/software integration as well as their applications are going to be proposed and evaluated.

Brief CV: George Zhang is Senior Researcher and Director of Science and Technology Committee in Shenzhen Academy of Robotics. He has served as Senior Principal Scientist with Robotics and Intelligent Machines group, ABB US Corporate Research Center, and R&D Director in Powertrain Assembly Department, ABB Robotics (Shanghai). George received his Ph. D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas University and has been working in the area of Industrial Robotics and Manufacturing Automation for more than 20 years. He is an inventor of more than 15 patents and published about 60 journal and conference papers. His research focused on Engineering Mechanics and Industrial Automation, including robotic kinematics, dynamics and control, robotics and manufacturing automation, manufacturing process optimization, and advanced manufacturing technologies.

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Keynote talk 2:   11:40---12:20(Oct 11)

Professor Ye-Hwa Chen
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA

Title: Fuzzy Dynamical Systems (FDS): Origin and Development

Abstract:Rudolf E. Kalman (1930-2016) made groundbreaking contributions to modern systems and control theory in the 50’s and 60’s. His Kalman filtering, LQG, based on probability theory, and state space representations have set the foundations for researchers and practitioners in this area for the past 70 years. Lotfi A. Zadeh (1921-2017) proposed the unique idea of fuzzy theory in 1965. Since then, numerous development in the theory and applications in this area have emerged. In 1972, they met in a conference in France. After Zadeh delivered a presentation regarding fuzzy decision making, Kalman fiercely criticized the very idea of fuzzy theory. The criticism not only represented Kalman’s own lack of confidence in this new area, but also set the tone for all major skepticism toward fuzzy theory in the years to come. In 1994, Kalman publicly disavowed the probability theory, claiming “probabilities do not exist.” Yet he still refused to endorse the fuzzy theory. We will review the history of the contentions among the two pioneers in system and control theory, which provides the origin for the Fuzzy Dynamical System (FDS) theory. We will then outline the major development of this new subject. The topics include practical stability, fuzzy uncertainty bound, control scheme, optimization, game-theoretic design.

Brief CV: Ye-Hwa Chen received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1979. He then received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1983 and 1985, respectively. He served as a faculty in Syracuse University during 1986-1988. Since 1988, he has been with the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering of Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, USA) where he is currently a professor. He has been serving as regional editor and associate editor for six journals. He has published over 230 refereed journal papers. He has received the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems Outstanding Paper Award, Sigma Xi Best Research Paper Award, and Sigma Xi Junior Faculty Award. A paper of his received the second highest citation in the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. He received the Passport Award, the Monopoly Award, and the “As Good As It Gets” Award from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the recipient of the Campanile Award from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the highest honor of the institute. His research interests include dynamical systems and mechatronic systems modeling and analysis, fuzzy systems, and control.

Keynote talk 3:   13:30---14:10(Oct 12)

Professor Aiguo Song
Robot Sensor and Control Laboratory, School of Instrument Science and Engineering
Southeast University, P. R. China

Title: Human-Robot Interaction Teleoperation Robot with Force Feedback

Abstract: Human-robot Interaction teleoperation robot is currently the frontier and hot-point of the robotics research. It combines the human intelligence with robot viability in unknown environments or hazard environments, so that it is able to perform the complex tasks in pre-unknown or hazard environments. Telepresence is always the pursued goal of the human-robot interaction teleoperation. In this report, we review the history of the force feedback teleoperation robot, and illustrate the architecture of the human-robot interaction teleoperation robot system with force feedback. Force feedback teleoperation system allows humans to perform complex tasks in a remote or pre-unknown environment, while providing realistic force feedback to the human operator. The incorporation of real-time force feedback as well as visual information in the teleoperation control loop can lead to significant improvements in task performance, and feeling of telepresence. Then we discuss its four key techniques, that is force/tactile sensor technique, force feedback technique, force control strategy, predictive virtual environment modeling. At last, we briefly introduce the development of human-robot interaction teleoperation robot and its applications in rehabilitation therapy and prosthetic limb areas at Southeast University.

Key words: human-robot interaction, teleoperation robot, force sensor, haptic display, force control, virtual environment, rehabilitation robot, prosthetic limb

Brief CV: Aiguo Song received the Ph.D degree in Measurement and Control from Southeast University, Nanjing, China in 1996. From 1996 to 1998, he was an Associate Researcher with the Intelligent Information Processing Laboratory, Southeast University, China. From 1998 to 2000, He was an associate Professor with the School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University, China. From 2000 to 2003, he was the Director of the Robot Sensor and Control Lab, Southeast University, China. From April, 2003 to April, 2004, he was a visiting scientist with the Lab for Intelligent Mechanical Systems (LIMS), Northwestern University, Evanston, USA. He is currently the Professor with the School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University, China, and also the Director of Robot Sensor and Control Laboratory, the President of Nanjing Advanced Robotics Research Institute. His current interests concentrate on human-robot interaction teleoperation robot, force/tactile sensors, haptic display, space robot, and rehabilitation robot. He has published more than 280 peer reviewed journal papers, and 180+ papers have been indexed by SCIE, and SCI cited time is 2000+. He received the best paper awards 12 times. He is a member of Chinese Instrument and Control Association, IEEE senior member, Chair of IEEE Nanjing Section Robotics and Automation Society Chapter. He serves as Associate Editor for 5 SCIE indexed Journals, and served as Chair or Co-Chair of 30+ International Conference/Symposium. He was recipient of the second prize of the National Scientific and Technological Progress in 2017, and recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Keynote talk 4:   15:40---16:20(Oct 12)

Professor Meng Joo Er

School of Marine Electrical Engineering, Dalian Maritime University

Title: Cognitive Robotics: Recent Developments and Research Challenges

Abstract: The quest for building human-like intelligence has gained enormous momentum in recent decades. Since the seminal works on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the desire of realizing the quest has become stronger. With the rapid developments in Science, Engineering and Technology, machines that mimic human intelligence have become a reality and sometimes indispensable parts in our daily life, such as Apple Siri and Google Voice. Cognition is a group of mental processes that include attention, memory, producing and understanding language, solving problems and making decisions and making decisions. Cognitive robotics is concerned with endowing robots with intelligent behavior by providing a processing architecture that will allow it to learn and reason about how to behave in response to complex goals in a complex world. In this talk, recent developments of cognitive robotics with applications in the healthcare industry, domestic services, marine vehicles etc will be reviewed. The futuristic trends and research challenges will also be discussed.

Brief CV:Professor Er Meng Joo is currently Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor and Director of Research Institute on Artificial Intelligence and Marine Vehicles at the School of Marine Electrical Engineering, Dalian Maritime University， China. He was Professor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore from 1992-2020. He served as the Founding Director of Renaissance Engineering Programme and an elected member of the NTU Advisory Board and from 2009 to 2012. He served as a member of the NTU Senate Steering Committee from 2010 to 2012. He has authored six books entitled “Dynamic Fuzzy Neural Networks: Architectures, Algorithms and Applications” and “Engineering Mathematics with Real-World Applications” published by McGraw Hill in 2003 and 2005 respectively, and “Theory and Novel Applications of Machine Learning” published by In-Tech in 2009, “New Trends in Technology: Control, Management, Computational Intelligence and Network Systems” and “New Trends in Technology: Devices, Computer, Communication and Industrial Systems”, both published by SCIYO, “Intelligent Control of Unmanned Marine and Aerial Vehicles”, published by Nova Science Publishers 2018, 21 book chapters and more than 500 refereed journal and conference papers in his research areas of interest.