RAS ICRA Conference Videos

Louis Phee, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

EndoMaster: A Surgical Robot’s Journey from the Research Lab to the Operating Theatre?

I will share my experiences in developing a novel flexible robotic system that removes gastric and colon tumours using natural orifices as points of access. I will discuss the technical and medical challenges faced to push the research to successfully test the robot on human subjects. Thereafter, a company (EndoMaster) was incorporated to commercialise the product. The challenges faced in the translation of the robotic technology to be used in a clinical setting were entirely different from the research phase. By sharing my experiences, I hope to inspire more researchers to translate their research and inventions to actual useful products.

Lourdes Agapito, University College London, UK

Capturing Vivid 3D Models of the World from Video

As humans we take the ability to perceive the dynamic world around us in three dimensions for granted. From an early age we can grasp an object by adapting our fingers to its 3D shape; we can understand our mother’s feelings by interpreting her facial expressions; or we can effortlessly navigate through a busy street. All of these tasks require some internal 3D representation of shape, deformations and motion.

Nobel Turing Challenge: Grand Challenge of AI, Robotics, and Systems Biology

Nobel Turing Challenge is one of the ultimate challenges the scientific community can tackle. It aims at (1) developing AI system including substantial robotics components that can make major scientific discoveries some of which worth Nobel Prize (called as “Scientific Discovery Challenge”), and (2) actually win the prize without the selection committee noticed that it is actually an AI system, not a human researcher (Cybernetic Personality Challenge). Primary focus on this challenge will be biomedical science area for Physiology and Medicine Award (Kitano, H., AI Magazine, 37(1) 2016).

IEEE RAS ICRA Video

Kerstin Vignard, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

Framing the International Discussion on the Weaponization of Increasingly Autonomous Technologies

There are a multitude of positive military applications for increasingly autonomous technologies. However, their potential weaponization raises a host of legal, technical, operational and ethical questions. Since 2013, member states of the United Nations have been discussing the weaponization of increasingly autonomous technologies (Lethal Autonomous Robots, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, or so-called “killer robots”) in both human rights and arms control fora. Four years in, there is still great division on definitions, how to ensure human control over these future weapon systems, and the appropriate policy responses.

Bill Huang, Cloud Minds, China

An Operational Platform of Cloud Robotics

Cloud Robotics is a kind of robot whose “brains” are on cloud, with a global high-speed backbone network as the “nerve”. In the near future, all the intelligent robots will be Cloud Robotics. At this session, we will introduce the architecture of Cloud Robotics, and how to build an operational platform for millions of robots with human assistant robot intelligence, mobile intranet cloud services, and robot control units.

Katja Mombaur, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Model-based Optimization for Humanoid and Wearable Robots?

In this talk, I give an overview of our research on motion optimization for humanoid and wearable robots. On the one hand, we are interested to improve the walking capabilities of humanoid robots in different terrains. Optimization based on realistic mechanical models of the robots is a very helpful tool since it can generate motions for such redundant, underactuated systems with multiple degrees of freedom and changing contacts that are feasible, stable and optimal. Optimization can also be applied to compliant robots.

Antonio Bicchi (University of Pisa & Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)

The Quest for Natural Machine Motion

We do not know how robots of the future will look like, but both the layman and the expert agree that they will not be like the heavy, rigid machines we have seen moving clumsily and somewhat menacingly in the past.  Many researchers are indeed focusing on how to build softer robots which can move naturally around in an environment shared with humans.

RAS ICRA Conference Video

Zexiang Li (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong)
Essential Ingredients of Building a Successful Robotic Startup??

Though the robotics market is estimated to grow at double digits till 2022, and over USD100 million was raised by robotic startups in January 2017, our study reveals that less than 5% of robotic startups last longer than 4 years, and the number is much lower for startups whose primary founders came directly from academia. The major cause leading to the closure of robotic startups is that startups failed to deliver their products to the market in a progressive and constructive manner before using up the resources, especially the monetary investment.

Chris Gerdes, Stanford University, USA

Modeling the possibilities: From the Chalkboard to the Race Track to the World Beyond

Simple mathematical models of physical systems give us tremendous insight into the nature of their underlying dynamics and the control challenges they present. Stripping away unnecessary details can illuminate fundamental dependencies and focus engineering efforts on the most critical problems. The challenge comes when models become so familiar that they are no longer taken as simplifications but mistaken for reality itself. Opportunities and possibilities that lie outside the bounds of those simple models are subsequently missed.