Courses & Seminars
151-0623-00L :: ETH Zurich Distinguished Seminar in Robotics, Systems, and Controls
This course consists of a series of seven lectures given by researchers who have distinguished themselves in the area of Robotics, Systems, and Controls. Msc students in Robotics, Systems, and Controls are required to attend every lecture. Attendance will be monitored. If for some reason a student cannot attend one of the lectures, the student must select another ETH or University of Zurich seminar related to the field and submit a one page description of the seminar topic.
Professors: B. Nelson, R. Siegwart, R. Riener, R. Gassert, F. Iida
Lecture: Autumn Semester (HS), Fridays, bi-weekly, an hour seminar starting 15.15 in HG F3, followed by an apero. Detailed program see below.
Language: English
ECTS credits: 1
Fall 2012 program:
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Date |
Speaker |
Title |
Description |
Download |
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21.09.2012 |
Prof. Mark Cutkosky, |
Applying principles from the locomotion of small animals to the design and operation of bio-inspired robots |
Collaboration between biologists and engineers has resulted in a new generation of bio-inspired robots. Drawing inspiration from the locomotion of small animals, these robots are faster, more versatile, more robust and easier to control than their predecessors. The design process begins with identifying exemplars from nature that excel at a particular task, such as running rapidly over rough terrain or climbing vertical surfaces. |
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05.10.2012 |
Prof. Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, |
Camera Networks for Real-World Applications |
Algorithmical and hardware advances create many opportunities for image- and vision-based intelligent systems that are human-centric. Computing is ubiquitous in every household. Computers are becoming smaller, more portable, and embedded in many common appliances and devices. In addition, digital cameras are becoming pervasive in society. They are appearing in many varieties, and are embedded in many devices from cars to telephones. |
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19.10.2012 |
Prof. Gerhard Hirzinger |
Robotics and Mechatronics - From Space to Surgery and the Virtual World |
After briefly emphasizing the importance of mechatronics for our future societies, the talk briefly comments the development and evolve-ment of industrial robots over the past 20 years. It emphasizes the im-portance of mechatronic concepts and sensory feedback for more precision and autonomy in the future. The progress and perspectives in space robotics are addressed next. Space technology is characterized as major driver for a new generation of power-saving ultralightweight arms and articulated hands – an important prerequisite for the emerging field of mobile production assistants and service robotics. |
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CANCELLED |
Prof. Allison Okamura |
Modeling, Planning, and Control for Robot-Assisted Medical Interventions |
Many medical interventions today are qualitatively and quantitatively limited by human physical and cognitive capabilities. This talk will discuss several robot-assisted intervention techniques that will extend humans’ ability to carry out interventions more accurately and less invasively. First, I will discuss the development of minimally invasive systems that deliver therapy by steering needles through deformable tissue and around internal obstacles to reach specified targets. |
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16.11.2012 |
Prof. Ron Fearing |
Biomimetic Millirobots |
Decimeter to centimeter-scale robots will create the opportunity to manipulate, sense, and explore a wide range of environments with greatly reduced cost and expanded capabilities. In many applications, the capability of millirobots depends on three factors: 1) intelligence, 2) mobility, and 3) multiplicity. Macroscale robots are explicitly made intelligent by adding planning, sensing, computation, and control capabilities. With miniature electronics, some of this intelligence can even be brought to palm or finger size robots. |
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23.11.2012 |
Prof. Antonio Bicchi |
Intelligence in the Hand: From Human to Artificial Haptics |
In this talk I will report on current research work considering the hand - in the broad meaning of the cognitive organ of active touch - in relation to its embodiment. The general idea is to study how the embodied characteristics of the human hand and its sensors, the sensorimotor transformations, and the very constraints they impose, affect and determine the learning and control strategies we use for such fundamental cognitive functions as exploring, grasping and manipulating. |
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NEW |
Dr. Richard P. Kornfeld |
An Overview of NASA's Curiosity Rover Mission |
On August 6, 2012, the Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface, setting off the most ambitious surface exploration of this planetary body. Curiosity‘s Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) sequence was the most challenging landing ever attempted at Mars, and entailed a number of new technologies, including the new and innovative „sky crane“ maneuver. Curiosity, which is about the size of a MINI Cooper, carries the most advanced payload of scientific gear ever used on Mars’ surface, a payload more than 10 times as massive as those of earlier Mars rovers. |
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14.12.2012 |
Prof. Aude Billard |
Learning adaptive control laws through human demonstration |
This talk will review some of our ongoing projects on teaching robots skilful manipulation tasks through human demonstration. We target controllers that can react immediately to perturbations. Illustrations of this work will be shown to control a robot that catches in-flight fast flying objects. The objects (half-filled bottle of water, hammer) fly in less than a second. The grasping point on the object is not located at the center of mass, yielding highly non-linear trajectories. |
