Field Robotics Center Seminar
Richard Volpe
Manager of the Mobility and Robotic Systems Section
NASA - Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

2012 Robotics Activities at JPL

Event Location: GHC 2109Bio: Richard Volpe is Manager of the Mobility and Robotic Systems Section of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. The section is a team of over 90 robotics engineers doing research and spaceflight implementation of robotic systems for Roving, Digging, Ballooning, Drilling, and other modes of in-situ planetary exploration. In [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
William "Red" Whittaker
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Landing the Lunar X Prize: Rovers and Rockets from CMU to the Moon

Event Location: GHC 4307Bio: William “Red” Whittaker is the Fredkin University Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. He has developed dozens of robots, breaking new ground in autonomous vehicles, field robotics, space exploration, mining and agriculture. Whittaker developed the robots that cleaned up the Three-Mile Island nuclear accident. His ground vehicles have driven [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
John Christian
Assistant Professor
West Virginia University

Spacecraft Attitude Estimation: From Fundamentals to New Filtering Techniques

Event Location: NSH 1507Bio: Dr. John Christian is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University (WVU). He is an expert in spacecraft navigation and space systems. Prior to joining WVU, Dr. Christian was an aerospace engineer in the GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch at the NASA Johnson [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
James Lee
MS Candidate
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Graphical Methods for Mapping Underground Environments

Event Location: NSH 1507Bio: James Lee is a Masters student at the Robotics Institute developing algorithms to map subterranean spaces. He received his Bachelors in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 2011.Abstract: Robots are the perfect matches for the dull, dangerous, and dirty job of mining. Recent advances in robotics have enabled [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Daniel Loret de Mola Lemus
Masters Student
Carnegie Mellon University

Slip Control on Extreme Slopes for a Rover with Plowing Capability

Event Location: GHC 2109Bio: Daniel is a Masters student at the Robotics Institute working on controlled rover descent of lunar craters. He has a Bachelors degree in Mechatronics Engineering.Abstract: Recent efforts in planetary robotic exploration aim toward craters, skylights, and other depressions with challenging terrain conditions. The access to such places requires traversing on extreme [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Florian-Michael Adolf
Dept. Unmanned Aircraft, German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Mission Planning and Execution for the Unmanned Rotorcraft ARTIS

Event Location: NSH 1507Bio: Florian Adolf is a research scientist at the DLR Institute of Flight Systems in Braunschweig, Germany, where he is the group lead for mission planning and execution systems at the department of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. He joined DLR in 2005 to research automated guidance and decision making systems for use on [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Chen “Ken” Friedman
PhD Candidate
University of Maryland, College Park

Obstacle Avoidance and Targeted Flight for Rotary Wing MAVs in GPS-Denied Environments

Event Location: GHC 2109Bio: Chen (pronounced “Ken”) is a PhD Candidate at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on SLAM for micro aerial vehicles. Previously, he worked as an engineer for the Israel CFD center and in Helicopter Simulations at the Aerospace Engineering Department at Technion, Israel. He received his BS and [...]