Abstract

Research in humanoid robotics strives to create versatile machines endowed with functional intelligence. These machines should be able to reason and act in the physical world and perform any task that a human might reasonably be expected to carry out. The era of humanoid robots acting in the real world as general-purpose machines with functional intelligence is dawning. Substantial advances have been made, positioning humanoid robotics as a cornerstone in both robotics research and understanding intelligence. In this talk, I will discuss progress towards 24/7 humanoid robots that will empower and assist humans in daily life. I will specifically focus on engineering holistic systems with architectures that integrate semantic representations and sensorimotor control to allow learning from human and natural interaction, and performing complex manipulation tasks. I will conclude with a discussion of the major challenges and the transformative impact humanoid robotics will have in the future.

Biography

Tamim Asfour is full Professor of Humanoid Robotics and the Director of the High Performance Humanoid Technologies Lab (H2T) of the Institute of Anthropomatics and Robotics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. His research focuses on the engineering 24/7 humanoid robotics. In particular, he studies the mechano-informatics of humanoids as the synergetic integration of informatics, artificial intelligence, and mechatronics into complete humanoid robot systems, which learn from humans, experience and interaction with the environment to perform versatile tasks in the real world. Tamim is the developer of the ARMAR humanoid robot family. He has been a visiting professor at Georgia Tech, at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and at the National University of Singapore. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE-RAS Humanoids Conference Editorial Board, the president of the Executive Board of the German Robotics Society (DGR), and the scientific spokesperson of the KIT Center "Information bull; Systems • Technologies"(KCIST).

Abstract

Researchers create ever more life-like robots by drawing inspiration from natural designs, structures, and functionality. However, sustainability aspects have been widely neglected in this process. Establishing eco-friendly materials, efficient use of energy, and non-toxic fabrication methods for robotics and electronics is crucial to reducing growing amounts of tech-waste. Combining high performance, such as durability and good mechanical and electrical properties, with environmentally friendly design or biodegradability presents the key challenge of this endeavour. This talk focuses on sustainable material choices for soft robotics and electronics and addresses questions such as "how can materials and design significantly boost performance" to enable devices with longer lifetimes but that still degrade after use. Performance and sustainability can both be achieved in new technologies if we make the effort to design materials and devices accordingly.

Biography

Dr. Florian Hartmann is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, leading the Biomimetic Materials and Machines Group. Dr. Hartmann focuses on the development of soft robotics and electronics, additive manufacturing of functional materials, and sustainable technology. He is a trained physicist and received a doctoral degree in Technical Sciences in 2021 from the Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria, working with Prof. Martin Kaltenbrunner. After his doctoral studies, Florian Hartmann worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Herbert Shea at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. There, he developed small-scale swimming robots and soft actuation technologies for environmental monitoring in agriculture.

Abstract

After decades of research, augmented reality (AR) devices are finally appearing on the market. This development ushers in a new form of mobile computing, which replaces the "miniature desktop" on our smartphones with contextual and spatial computing. This talk will cover important emerging directions in AR, in particular its use for providing guidance and assistance in real-world tasks and its role in new ways of human-centered artificial intelligence off the beaten path.

Biography

Dieter Schmalstieg is Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Visual Computing at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. His current research interests are augmented reality, virtual reality, computer graphics, visualization and human-computer interaction. He received Dipl.-Ing. (1993), Dr. techn. (1997) and Habilitation (2001) from Vienna University of Technology. He is author and co-author of over 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications with over 20,000 citations and over twenty best paper awards and nominations. His organizational roles include associate editor in chief of IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, associate editor of Frontiers in Robotics and AI, member of the steering committee of the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, chair of the EUROGRAPHICS working group on Virtual Environments (1999-2010), key researcher of the K-Plus Competence Center for Virtual Reality and Visualization in Vienna and key researcher of the Know-Center in Graz. In 2002, he received the START career award presented by the Austrian Science Fund. In 2008, he founded the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Handheld Augmented Reality. In 2012, he received the IEEE Virtual Reality technical achievement award, and, in 2020, the IEEE ISMAR Career Impact Award. He was elected as Fellow of IEEE, as a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europaea, and the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Academy.

Abstract

With our scientific work, we aim to made contributions to a better understanding of early human development and translate our findings into applications for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Our research has a strong focus on extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and how ECM developmentally guides cell fate decisions and impacts human cell physiology and pathophysiology. We have previously identified the basement membrane glycoprotein Nidogen-1 (NID1) as a crucial pancreatic niche molecule and an important ECM protein that drives early human cardiovascular development, promotes cell / tissue survival and regeneration under hypoxic / ischemic conditions, making it an ideal biomaterial for different applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In my presentation, I will provide insight into how NID1-functionalization can rescue the insulin production of human β-cell-composed pseudo-islets cultured in a pancreas-on-a-chip in vitro model that mimics the ischemic environment post β-cell transplantation. To non-invasively analyze and quantify the cell response and monitor artifact-free phenotypic and functional changes within the in vitro model, marker-independent Raman microspectroscopy, Raman imaging, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)-based metabolic mapping were employed. The data presented suggest that NID1 is a powerful therapeutic candidate that may have multiple clinical applications in the future.

Biography

Katja Schenke-Layland is the Professor of Medical Technologies and Regenerative Medicine at the Medical Faculty of the University Tübingen. She is the Director of the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen, the CEO of the NMI-TT GmbH, and the Dean of Studies for Medical Technologies at the University of Tübingen. She holds several leasdership roles as editor of scientific journals, and member of advisory boards of organizations and research institutes. Her research focuses on the translation of human development into clinically relevant biomaterials and regenerative therapies, and the development of diagnostic tools to assess (stem) cell states and fates, discover therapeutic candidates and diagnose diseases. She leverages her appointments to bridge the gaps between science and industry to drive viable health care solutions, particularly at the NMI, where they focus on supporting local Star-Ups and SMEs.