April 5 seminar: Rafael Fierro

April 5, 2024

Need Help Moving a Table at Home or Repairing a Satellite in Space? Robots Can Help You!

Rafael Fierro, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UNM

3:00 pm, ECE Building, Room 118
Online Guests: Contact Prof. Osiński <osinski@chtm.unm.edu> for a Zoom link

Abstract: There is a technique called Decentralized Adaptive Control. In this seminar, I will demonstrate how it can assist you in rearranging your furniture, opening doors, moving boxes, and performing other complex tasks. Additionally, I will showcase several recent and ongoing projects at the AgMan and MARHES Labs, including catching a lost drone, monitoring CO2 levels in volcanoes in collaboration with my colleagues from Computer Science, stabilizing and repairing a satellite in orbit, and piloting an omnicopter.

Bio: Rafael Fierro is a Professor in ECE at UNM since 2007. He earned his MSc. in control engineering from the University of Bradford UK in 1990 and completed his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997. Before UNM, he conducted postdoctoral research at the GRASP Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania and later held a faculty position at Oklahoma State University. His research focuses on robotic networks, multi-agent systems, UAVs, and collaborative robot manipulation. Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), AFRL, DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, Northrop Grumman, NATO, and the Breakthrough Foundation, he directs the AFRLUNM Agile Manufacturing Center (AgMan) and the Multi-Agent, Robotics, and Heterogeneous Systems (MARHES) Laboratory. He received a Fulbright Scholarship, an NSF CAREER Award, and the 2008 ISA Transactions Best Paper Award.