Title: Soft and Adaptive CoRobots in Home Environments: Technology and Applications

Abstract: Having been established more than half a century ago, the fields of robotics is continuously evolving by expanding into new domains of science and engineering, making use of new sensor capabilities and advanced materials. Soft Robotics is a relatively new research endeavor which makes use of compliant materials in or on the robot, thus replacing the typical unfriendly, rigid industrial robot. Safety enabled by distributed microfabricated sensors and adaptive human-robot interaction are essential technologies for cooperative robots (coRobots) of the future. In this talk, we use examples from our recent research to highlight surprising findings from applying neuroadaptive control and MEMS techniques to coRobots designed for applications in home environments. CoRobots designed in our lab use distributed touch sensors in polymer “skins”, and exhibit a higher degree of interactivity, usability and personalization. Examples include physical human-robot interaction for nursing applications, robot imitation for treatment of autism, and advanced communication methods whose purpose is to solidify social relationships between robot companions and humans.

Bio: Dan Popa is the Vogt Endowed Chair on Advanced Manufacturing in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Louisville, and head of the Next Generation Systems (NGS) research group. He received a BA in Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science and a MS in Engineering, both from Dartmouth College where he was a Montgomery Scholar from 1990 to 1994. He received a PhD in Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1998, focusing on control and motion planning for nonholonomic systems and robots. He then joined the Center for Automation Technologies at RPI, where was Research Scientist until 2004, working on over 20 industry-sponsored robotic manufacturing projects. After moving to Texas in 2004, Dr. Popa became a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington. He also served as an affiliated faculty member of UT Arlington’s Research Institute (UTARI), and was a founding member of the Texas Microfactory initiative dedicated to robotic manufacturing of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Dr. Popa has a broad experience base, including the simulation, control, and packaging of microsystems, the design of precision robotic assembly systems, and in control and adaptation aspects of human-robot interaction. Dr. Popa is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Univ. of Texas Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, and is a member of IEEE and ASME and the author of over 100 refereed publications. He also serves as associate editor for the IEEE Transaction on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE), Springer Journal of Micro and Bio Robotics, and is an active member in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS).