- Robotics-seminar - Engineering Mailing Lists

Robotics Seminar 10/18: Melisa Orta Martinez (CMU)
by Fitter, Naomi 17 Oct '24

17 Oct '24

Roboticists, This week, we're having a visit from Dr. Melisa Orta Martinez (an expert in haptics, including neat work on novel interfaces and equitable education) for our Friday seminar. She is visiting us from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where she works as part of the Robotics Institute. As a reminder, everyone is expected to come to the seminar. We’ve got a strict no-device policy. We also have, as always, coffee and coffee cake. For the fall, we still have Covell Hall 221 as our seminar location, with the usual timing of 10am Fridays. Please plan to head there each Friday at 10am. Looking forward to the seminar! See you there. Cheers, Naomi P.S. Note that next week, we'll have an extra-bountiful seminar week, with a special Monday seminar from Huang Yi (the artist performing with a robot at PRAx next week - get free Oct 23 COE tickets here<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprax.univ…> or paid tickets for the Oct 24 performance via the usual PRAx website). Huang Yi will visit us 4-5pm Monday in ROG 226. We will also have a great seminar at the usual timing Friday, with V Nguyen from Hello Robot (usual time and place). ________________________________________________ From Haptic Devices to Interactive Machines: Unlocking the power of our touch sense Melisa Orta Martinez, Assistant Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Abstract: Our sense of touch plays a critical role in diverse areas of our daily lives such as high-precision motor tasks, understanding and interpreting textures, and conveying and appreciating social signals. In this talk we explore the untapped potential of our haptic sense and present four devices that use the sense of touch for novel applications ranging from feature perception to education. The first is a magnetic soft device for tactile haptic actuation of the fingertip. The second is a haptic mouse prototype for blind and visually impaired individuals. The third is an interactive haptic interface which ties mathematical ideas through body syntonicity. Lastly, we present a robotic loom which takes advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of weaving to ground abstract mathematical concepts in a concrete and embodied art, view this art through an engineering lens, and integrate hands-on interdisciplinary learning into mathematics curricula. Bio: Melisa Orta Martinez is an assistant professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where she leads the Social Haptics Robotics and Education (SHRED) Laboratory. Her research combines the areas of robotics, haptics, human-computer interaction, and education. Her main areas of focus and interest are developing low-cost, open-source robotic technology for educational applications and understanding the effects of this technology on learning, as well as studying the sense of touch and developing novel mechanisms for human-machine interaction.

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Robotics Seminar 10/11: Zach Beattie (OHSU)
by Fitter, Naomi 11 Oct '24

11 Oct '24

Roboticists, This week, we're having a visit from Zach Beattie (an expert in real-world health sensing systems, and part of the NSF-funded AI-CARING Institute with Dr. Tumer and me) for our Friday seminar. Dr. Beattie is visiting us from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where he works as part of the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology (ORCATECH). As a reminder, everyone is expected to come to the seminar. We’ve got a strict no-device policy. We also have, as always, coffee and coffee cake. For the fall, we still have Covell Hall 221 as our seminar location, with the usual timing of 10am Fridays. Please plan to head there each Friday at 10am. Looking forward to the seminar! See you there. Cheers, Naomi ________________________________________________ Technology in Real-World, Longitudinal Research Zach Beattie, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Abstract Dr. Beattie will discuss his background and experience in biotechnology developing a system for non-contact sleep apnea detection as a graduate student and working as project lead for the development of the sleep stages feature as a research scientist at Fitbit. He will also introduce the technology platform being developed at the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology (ORCATECH). The ORCATECH platform consists of digital sensors placed in the homes of individuals that are used to collect a variety of data (e.g., walking speed, activity levels) about the individuals with the goal of developing digital biomarkers that can be used to facilitate research studies and clinical trials. Dr. Beattie will complete the presentation by sharing examples of the research being done that utilizes the ORCATECH platform with an emphasis on longitudinal (years) datasets and research cohorts available for the larger research community. Bio Dr. Beattie is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) with a background in digital technologies and digital biomarkers. He has spent several years in academia and the health and biotech industry where he has worked to help people live happier and healthier lives through technology. Before returning to OHSU, he worked as a Research Scientist at Fitbit where he was part of the research and development team for the Fitbit Sleep Stages feature. He is currently lead data scientist at the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology and the Core Lead for the Digital Technology Core of the Oregon Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at OHSU.

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Robotics Seminar 10/4: Mark Yim (University of Pennsylvania)
by Fitter, Naomi 03 Oct '24

03 Oct '24

Roboticists, In a very exciting start of the term, we're having a visit from Mark Yim (robotics faculty at University of Pennsylvania) for our second seminar of the fall. Dr. Yim is an expert in modular robotics and the Director of the University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab. As a reminder, everyone is expected to come to the seminar. We’ve got a strict no-device policy. We also have, as always, coffee and coffee cake. For the fall, we still have Covell Hall 221 as our seminar location, with the usual timing of 10am Fridays. Please plan to head there each Friday at 10am. Looking forward to this exciting first external presenter of the term! See you there. Cheers, Naomi

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Robotics Seminar 9/27: Cindy Grimm (Oregon State University)
by Fitter, Naomi 25 Sep '24

25 Sep '24

Roboticists, Welcome to the new school year and term! I'll be heading up the robotics seminar this academic year, trying to live up to the mythos of Bill. As is our tradition, the first seminar of the term will be a State of the Program presentation by our Robotics Program Director, Cindy Grimm. Dr. Grimm will talk about where the program is, and where it’s headed. She will also take any program-related questions you might have. And we will hear from RGSA! As a reminder, everyone is expected to come to the seminar. We’ve got a strict no-device policy. We also have, as always, coffee and coffee cake. For the fall term, we have Covell Hall 221 as our seminar location, with the usual timing of 10am Fridays. Please plan to head there each Friday at 10am for now. Cheers, Naomi State of the Robotics Program Cindy Grimm, Oregon State University Abstract: We’ll start by introducing our faculty and the areas they work in, along with major new funded projects. The Robotics Graduate Student Association will also introduce themselves. This last year has seen changes in Graf, admissions, and the qualifying exam; I’ll cover what’s new and the cultural expectations that make our group here so unique. Bio: Dr. Grimm started her research career in 3D graphics, creating novel methods for representing complex surfaces. She dabbled a bit in facial animation at Microsoft Research, then transitioned to Washington University in St. Louis where she pursued work in biomedical imaging, human-computer interaction, and art-based rendering. She moved to Oregon State University in 2012, and joined the "Cool Kids" club in robotics. She now works on agricultural robotics and dabbles in law and policy for robotics. She is also the current Graduate Director for the Robotics program.

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Student Q&A Session for Seminar 9/24 Victoria Edwards ( University of Pennsylvania)
by Agrawal, Akshaya 23 Sep '24

23 Sep '24

Hello all, Victoria Edwards will be presenting her work on Multi-Robot Data Collection tomorrow (Sep 24) at 11 AM in Rogers 226 and via Zoom. Afterward, a student Q&A session will be held in Graf 210 from 3:45 to 4:30 pm. Please come if you can! Sincerely, Akshaya Agrawal

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Seminar 9/10 Dr. Brian Van Stratum (Florida State University)
by Yang, Yanhao 06 Sep '24

06 Sep '24

Hello all, Dr. Brian Van Stratum will be presenting his work on Multi-Modal Continuum Model-Based Design for Soft Robotics next Tuesday (Sep 10) at 11 AM in Rogers 226 and via Zoom. Afterwards, from 3:00-3:30 there will be a student Q&A session in Rogers 237. See below for Dr. Brian Van Stratum's abstract and bio. Please come if you can! Yanhao Yang Oregon State University, College of Engineering Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CoRIS) Institute<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fengineeri…> Postdoctoral Scholar Candidate Seminar Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 Time: 11 am Pacific Time In person location: Rogers 226 Zoom link: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/96690363222?pwd=2BgZAWZ0DNljVZFU9t23aSkSOqX6K…<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foregonsta…> Seminar Title: MULTI-MODAL CONTINUUM MODEL-BASED DESIGN FOR SOFT ROBOTICS Speaker: Dr. Brian Van Stratum Seminar abstract: Optimization of robot structures and control schemes remains challenging despite advances in computing and rapid prototyping technology. Nature provides numerous examples of locomotion through multiple modes, such as crawling, swimming, and even jumping. However, the performance of state-of-the-art robots falls short of what is displayed by animal exemplars. A multi-modal computational paradigm would increase understanding of animal locomotion and allow improved robot designs. The Pacific Lamprey is an example of an animal with unique swimming-climbing multi-modal locomotion. This talk presents a reduced order hybrid dynamic model for a lamprey-inspired wall climbing gait and hardware results for the performance of the lamprey-inspired wall climbing robot Trident. The hybrid dynamic model reveals insights for steering a lamprey-inspired climber and optimizing climbing efficiency. Swimming robots pose a particular challenge for modeling due to the high computation cost of simulating fluid interaction. This talk presents a fluid interaction modeling paradigm that is computationally cheap, using theories by M.J. Lighthill and combining them with beam theory. This talk validates the model's predictive power by comparing it with hardware results. Further, the talk presents the model's utility by using it to co-optimize a control policy and tail morphology for the soft swimming-climbing robot SLIDER. This talk will also apply these insights to the challenge of designing soft salp-inspired swimmers and soft robotics for coordinated manipulation in the marine environment. About the speaker: Brian uses physics to understand what makes biological and animal systems so fast, agile, adaptable, and efficient. Learning from these insights, he seeks to design mechatronic systems that have a chance to match or exceed the performance of their biological exemplars. Previously, Brian used insights from fluid dynamics and beam theory to optimize the swimming speed of a long, slender, soft robot. Brian also developed the first lamprey-inspired wall-climbing robot. He has published his research in Physical Review E and Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. Brian worked as a Forensic Engineer for five years reconstructing vehicle accidents. After this, he spent six years at Tribhuvan University in Nepal as a research associate, developing sustainable energy systems for rural clinics and low-cost housing. Brian earned a BS, MS, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he lives with his wife and three kids. [https://st2.zoom.us/static/6.3.24876/image/new/ZoomLogo_110_25.png]<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2F…> Hi there, Maria Wright is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Join Zoom Meeting<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foregonsta…> Meeting URL: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/96690363222?pwd=2BgZAWZ0DNljVZFU9t23aSkSOqX6K…<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foregonsta…> Password: 558480 Join by Telephone Call: US: +1 971 247 1195 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 Meeting ID: 966 9036 3222 International numbers<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foregonsta…> Join by Polycom/Cisco/Other Room System Password: 558480 96690363222(a)zoomcrc.com<mailto:96690363222@zoomcrc.com> Password: 558480

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Robotics Seminar 6/12: Tesla Fitzgerald (Yale University)
by Smart, William 11 Jun '24

11 Jun '24

Roboticists, A reminder to join us for a bonus robotics seminar tomorrow from Tesca Fitzgerald from Yale University, who will be talking about Getting Robots to Ask Good Questions. There will be coffee and cake, as usual. Note that this will be in a different room (Rogers 226) on a different day (6/12, Wednesday) that our usual seminars. Tesca is an Oregon native, back in the state for some family stuff, and generously offered to stop by and give talk while she’s in the area. It’s a big week for defenses, but please try to make it to one more talk. Rogers 226, Wednesday 6/12 cheers -- Bill Getting Robots to Ask Good Questions Tesca Fitzgerald, Yale University Abstract: We interact with AI everyday through voice assistants, spam filters, content recommenders, and more. While AI becomes increasingly commonplace, development in robotics has followed a different trend, finding traction in highly-specialized settings such as manufacturing and surgery. What is keeping us from developing robots that can help us in our everyday lives, such as around the home or the workplace? A key challenge is that, unlike disembodied AI, robots must accommodate the physical and sensory complexity of the real world. This is further complicated by the peculiarities of every home, task, object, or routine that a robot may need to accommodate. My research takes a collaborative lens toward this problem: by enabling a robot to ask for help, it can leverage a human’s experience and domain knowledge. In this talk, I will describe how robots can reason about their uncertainty and learn from various forms of interaction. In doing so, my work contributes toward the ultimate goal of enabling robots to ask and learn from useful questions, leading toward a future of collaborative robots. Bio: Dr. Tesca Fitzgerald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Yale University. Her research is centered around interactive robot learning, with the aim of developing robots that are adaptive, robust, and collaborative when faced with novel situations. Before joining Yale, Dr. Fitzgerald was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, received her PhD in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, and completed her B.Sc at Portland State University. She is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2014), Microsoft Graduate Women Scholar (2014), and IBM Ph.D. Fellow (2017).

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Robotics Seminar 6/7: An Itchiness of ICRA Papers, and a Mass of AAMAS Papers
by Smart, William 06 Jun '24

06 Jun '24

Roboticists, A reminder to join us tomorrow for the last official seminar of the 2023/24 academic year. To celebrate the end of the year, we’re going to have six, yes six, short presentations of work recently published at either AAMAS or ICRA by members of the Robotics Program. Coffee and cake, of course. Come and support your colleagues and see some of the awesome work that’s going on around you. There will be one more bonus seminar this term, next Wednesday 6/12, likely in the afternoon, when Tesca Fitzgerald from Yale will be in town. If you know of a hard conflict on Wednesday, let me know and we’ll try to work around it. cheers -- Bill An Itchiness of ICRA Papers, and a Mass of AAMA Papers The last official seminar of the 2023/24 academic year will be a celebration of some of the work that the Robotics Program published at the AAMAS 2024 and ICRA 2024 conferences. * Learning Vision-Based Bipedal Locomotion for Challenging Terrain, Helei Duan, Bikram Pandit, Mohitvishnu S. Gadde, Bart van Marum, Jeremy Dao, Chanho Kim, Alan Fern. Presented by Mohit Gadda * WAVE: An open-source underWater Arm-Vehicle Emulator, Marcus Rosette, Hannah Kolano, Chris Holm, Geoffrey A. Hollinger, Aaron Marburg, Madison Pickett, Joseph R. Davidson. Presented by Marcus Rosette * Dynamic evaluation of a suction-based gripper for fruit picking using a physical twin, Alejandro Velasquez, Cindy Grimm, Joseph R. Davidson. Presented by Alejo Velasquez * Influence-Focused Asymmetric Island Model, Andrew Festa, Gaurav Dixit, Kagan Tumer. Presented by Gaurav Dixit * Sim-to-Real Learning for Humanoid Box Loco-Manipulation, Jeremy Dao, Helei Duan, Alan Fern. Presented by Jeremy Dao * Indirect Credit Assignment in a Multiagent System, Everardo Gonzalez, Siddarth Viswanathan, Kagan Tumer. Presented by Sidd Viswanathan

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Bonus seminar next week
by Smart, William 05 Jun '24

05 Jun '24

Roboticists, I made a mistake on the poster for the seminar next week. The seminar is on Wednesday at 2:30, rather than our usual Friday at 10am slot. There will also be a grad student session from 3:30 pm to 4:30pm. The corrected poster is attached. cheers -- Bill

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Bonus Robotics Seminar 6/12: Tesca Fitzgerald (Yale University)
by Smart, William 05 Jun '24

05 Jun '24

Roboticists, Join us for a bonus robotics seminar from Tesca Fitzgerald from Yale University, who will be talking about Getting Robots to Ask Good Questions. There will be coffee and cake, as usual. Note that this will be in a different room (Rogers 226) on a different day (6/12, Wednesday) that our usual seminars. Tesca is an Oregon native, back in the state for some family stuff, and generously offered to stop by and give talk while she’s in the area. It’s a big week for defenses, but please try to make it to one more talk. Rogers 226, Wednesday 6/12 cheers -- Bill Getting Robots to Ask Good Questions Tesca Fitzgerald, Yale University Abstract: We interact with AI everyday through voice assistants, spam filters, content recommenders, and more. While AI becomes increasingly commonplace, development in robotics has followed a different trend, finding traction in highly-specialized settings such as manufacturing and surgery. What is keeping us from developing robots that can help us in our everyday lives, such as around the home or the workplace? A key challenge is that, unlike disembodied AI, robots must accommodate the physical and sensory complexity of the real world. This is further complicated by the peculiarities of every home, task, object, or routine that a robot may need to accommodate. My research takes a collaborative lens toward this problem: by enabling a robot to ask for help, it can leverage a human’s experience and domain knowledge. In this talk, I will describe how robots can reason about their uncertainty and learn from various forms of interaction. In doing so, my work contributes toward the ultimate goal of enabling robots to ask and learn from useful questions, leading toward a future of collaborative robots. Bio: Dr. Tesca Fitzgerald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Yale University. Her research is centered around interactive robot learning, with the aim of developing robots that are adaptive, robust, and collaborative when faced with novel situations. Before joining Yale, Dr. Fitzgerald was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, received her PhD in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, and completed her B.Sc at Portland State University. She is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2014), Microsoft Graduate Women Scholar (2014), and IBM Ph.D. Fellow (2017).

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