Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering

Who: Kazuya Yoshida
When: venerdi 30 marzo 2012 ore 11.30
Where: Aula Magna, Dipartimento di Ingegneria informatica, automatica e gestionale Antonio Ruberti - Via Ariosto, 25 - Roma

Title: "Mobile Robots for Exploration of Extreme and Uncertain Environments in Terrestrial and Planetary Applications"

Abstract. In this talk, recent activities on the development of mobile robots for terrestrial and lunar/planetary exploration, conducted by Prof. Kazuya Yoshida and his colleagues at the Tohoku University, are introduced. As for the lunar/planetary exploration, a 10kg prototype of four-wheel robot named MoonRaker was recently developed and tested in volcanic terrains as a lunar/planetary analog site. As for the terrestrial application, a track-type robot model named Quince was developed and successfully deployed in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for remote investigation of the highly radioactive environment.
A robotics summer program for international students, Tohoku University Engineering Summer Program (TESP) on Robotics, and a newly established organization, Center of Robotics for Extreme and Uncertain Environments (CREATE) are also introduced.
Students from Sapienza can participate and enjoy again the 2012 TESP-Robotics program. Additional information for students will be provided in the complementary short talk at 14:00 (same room).

Bio. Kazuya Yoshida is professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering at the Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. He leads there the Space Robotics Laboratory (http://www.astro.mech.tohoku.ac.jp/e), dedicated to the research and development of robotic systems for space science and exploration missions. The lab has contributed to the Engineering Test Satellite-VII (launched in 1997 for orbital robotics experiments) and "Hayabusa" asteroid sample-return probe (launched in 2003 and returned to Earth in 2010). Today one of the research focuses is on the mechanics and control of lunar exploration rovers. Technologies for remote planetary exploration (such as mapping and localization in the unstructured environment, rough terrain mobility, and teleoperation with time delay) can also be applied to robots for search and rescue missions. Professor Yoshida is a JSME Fellow and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Field Robotics.

Contact: Prof. Alessandro de Luca (deluca@dis.uniroma1.it)