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Welcome to the Cognitive Robotics Research Team

Intelligent Systems Research Centre

University of Ulster

 

The Cognitive Robotics team at the ISRC is engaged in a range of national and international research projects, in key areas of robotics. We focus primearily on mobile robotics, but also have interests in robot manipulation. Our work addreses robot learning, robot vision, collabrative robotics, networked robotics, robotics as a science, tactile sensing and cumuative skills acquisition. Current research projects include initiatives funded by the European Union, the Leverhulme Trust, the N. Ireland local development corporation, InvestNI, and projects funded directly by industry.

 

We strive to provide a robot with the ability to think and learn for itself resulting in intelligent behaviour without the need of human supervision. To this end, the team at the ISRC is engaged in a range of national and international research projects in key areas of robotics. Our work addresses robot learning, robot vision, collaborative robotics, networked robotics, robotics as a science, tactile sensing and cumulative skills acquisition and adaptation. We maintain strong links with both industry and academia with current research initiatives funded by the European Union, the Leverhulme Trust, the N. Ireland local development corporation and InvestNI.

Some of the challenges within the lab revolve around robot manipulation with particular focus on action learning and novelty detection. We use methods such as Image-based visual servoing for object tracking and haptic feedback to add a further dimension of knowledge to assist the robot to successfully identify objects. The basic foresight to this approach is to allow the robots to behave like children at play which acquire skills autonomously on the basis of “intrinsic motivations”. The ISRC is currently involved in an international project (IM-CleVeR) which incorporates these principles to develop a robotic system which can reuse the skills acquired for accomplishing multiple, complex, and externally-assigned tasks.

We are also interested in creating a self learning robot ecology (RUBICON project) which will enable robots to mutually support one another’s learning to identify commission and fulfil tasks more efficiently in an ambient assisted living setting. Affordable assistive robots in the home may be a somewhat delayed reality, however due to the work we do in the Centre; we believe we are a key player in progression of this global aim.

 

 

Academic Staff

 

Professor Martin McGinnity - Team Leadershadowpopup.jpg

Dr Laxmidhar Behera

Dr. Sonya Coleman

Dr. Joan Condell

Dr Mia Siddique

Dr. Zumao Weng

 

Research Staff Research Students

 

Dr Lorenzo Riano Alan Browne
Dr Dermot Kerr Audrey Hunter
Dr Yiannis Gatsoulis Emre Ozbilge
Dr Anjan Ray Pratheepan Yogarajah
Dr Bryan Gardiner
Gautham P Das
Mr Emmett Kerr Indrazno Sirajuddin
Dr. Hongmei He


 

Search our Publications


Cognitive Robotics Group Library

 

 

Research Facilities - Meet The Robots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last change 17.08.12