Government Forum
 
 
Thursday Oct. 13, 09:35 am ~15:00 pm, Room #301
 
 
 
Sungchul Kang (KIST, Korea)
Christian Ott (DLR, Germany)
Kensuke Harada (Osaka Univ./AIST, Japan)
Barbara Mazzolai (IIT, Italy)  
 
 
 
In this government forum, major robotics R &D and education program supported by the government of each county (or region) will be introduced. Policy makers, national project leaders and researchers in robotics R&D program around the world will come together and discuss how to make the robotics R&D program have an impact on the existing and emerging industries in robotics. As well as dealing with the major robotics R&D program of US, EU, Asia, Oceania and so on, this forum will try to find key issues in the government program and to discover real success stories saying that the government support program has been greatly contributive in robotics R&D and education.
 
 
 
No. Name Country Time Title of Talk
      09:35-09:40 Opening Remark 
1 Prof. Henrik Christensen (Georgia Tech)  USA 09:40-10:00 TBD
2 Dr. David Hahn (DoD)  USA 10:00-10:20 TBD
3 Prof. Stefano Stramigioli(SPARC/Vice-President Research)  EU 10:20-10:40 euRobotics, the European Robotic ecosystem 
4 Prof. Eugenio Guglielmelli
(U Rome) 		 EU 10:40-11:00 FLAG-ERA: The Network of European funding agencies to support the Flagship Projects on Future Emerging Technologies (FET). 
      11:00-11:10 Break
5 Dr. Kyung-Hoon Kim
(KEIT(MoTIE)/Robot PD) 		 Korea 11:10-11:30 Robot R&D Strategy of Korea 
6 Prof. Tomomasa Sato (NEDO)  Japan 11:30-11:50 Declaration of Robot Revolution and Successive Robot R&D Projects in NEDO 
7 Prof. I-Ming Chen
(Nanyang Technological U) 		 Singapore 11:50-12:10 National Robotics R&D in Singapore 
8 Prof. Le Hoai Quoc
(Saigon High Tech Park) 		 Vietnam 12:10-12:30 Robotics & Mechatronics R&D in Vietnam 
      12:30-12:40 Discussion & Closing
      12:40-13:30 Lunch
 
 
 
Speaker: Prof. Henrik Christensen 
 
Title: TBD 
 
Dr. Henrik I. Christensen is a Professor of Computer Science at Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering UC San Diego . He is also the director of the Institute for Contextual Robotics. Prior to UC San Diego he was the founding director of Institute for Robotics and Intelligent machines (IRIM) at Georgia Institute of Technology (2006-2016). Dr. Christensen does research on systems integration, human-robot interaction, mapping and robot vision. The research is performed within the Cognitive Robotics Laboratory.
 
He has published more than 350 contributions across AI, robotics and vision. His research has a strong emphasis on "real problems with real solutions". A problem needs a theoretical model, implementation, evaluation, and translation to the real world. He is actively engaged in the setup and coordination of robotics research in the US (and worldwide). Dr. Christensen received the Engelberger Award 2011, the highest honor awarded by the robotics industry. He was also awarded the "Boeing Supplier of the Year 2011" with 3 other colleagues at Georgia Tech. Dr. Christensen is a fellow of American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He recieved an honorary doctorate in engineering from Aalborg University 2014. He collaborates with institutions and industries across three continents. His research has been featured in major media such as CNN, NY Times, BBC, ... . 
 
 
 
Speaker: Dr. David Han
 
Title: TBD 
 
David Han is the Associate Director for Basic Research in Machine Intelligence and Robotics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering (ASD (R&E)). The Basic Research Office (BRO) of the ASD (R&E) oversees the entire basic research portfolio of the US DoD. He is an ASME fellow and an IEEE senior member, and had been certified as a Professional Engineer (PE) in mechanical branch in the State of Hawaii in 1985. Dr. Han received a BS from Carnegie-Mellon University, and a MSE and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University. Early part of his career includes naval nuclear engineering at Pearl Harbor Naval shipyard and design engineering at the R.M. Towill Corporation in Honolulu.
 
He had been a research engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) at White Oak in the underwater weapons program, and had worked as a senior professional staff at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL) in naval missile defense and satellite power programs. He had been with the University of Maryland at College Park as a visiting associate professor and the Deputy Director of the Center for Energetic Concepts Development (CECD), and also he was the Distinguished IWS Chair Professor of the Systems Engineering Department of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. He spent over eleven total years as a program officer at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) managing basic and applied research, and advanced technology programs. From 2012 to 2014 he served as the Deputy Director of Research of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) overseeing the Discovery and Invention (D&I) portfolio of over $900 million dollars annually of basic and applied research. Dr. Han has authored/coauthored over 60 peer-reviewed papers including 4 book chapters. He has taught at Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Korea University. His research interests include image/speech processing and recognition, machine learning, and human robot interaction.
 
 
 
Speaker: Prof. Stefano Stramigioli
 
Title: euRobotics, the European Robotic ecosystem
 
Abstract: In the presentation euRobotics and its relation to SPARC will be presented. euRobotics was born as the private side in the SPARC Public Private Partnership with the European commission, but it is growing behind this role in being the association representing the industry and research eco-system in Europe.
 
Stefano Stramigioli received the M.Sc. with honors (cum laude) in 1992 and the Ph.D with honors (cum laude) in 1998. Since 1998 he has been faculty member first as assistant, associate and currently full professor in Advanced Robotics. He is an IEEE Fellow and has been an IEEE RAS officer for many years. He is currently leading a growing group of about 50 people (https://www.ce.utwente.nl). He has been Editor in chief of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, which he brought from the seventh to the first place in the ranking of the Impact Factor among all journals on Robotics. He has furthermore been Editor in Chief of the IEEE ITSC Newsletter and guest editor for others. He is member of the Editorial Board of the Springer Journal of Intelligent Service Robotics. He has been an AdCom member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, he has been the founder and chair of the Electronic Products and Services of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and he has been serving as Vice President for Membership of the same society for two consecutive terms.
 
He is involved in different projects related to Control and Robotics for medical, inspection and home and care applications. Nationally, he has been a member of the Management team of the graduate school DISC, has been the founder and chair of RoboNED, the national platform coordinating all academic, industrial and governmental institutions on Robotics and responsible for producing a Strategic Research Agenda for Robotics for the Netherlands and he is one of the initiator of the LEO ( www.leo-robotics.eu) robotics center, the first robotic center in the Netherlands. Among others he has been the 2009 recipient of the IEEE-RAS distinguish service award, the 2016, European Forum Tech Transfer Award and the 2016 Best Design Award at the Hamlyn Symposium on Surgical Robotics. He is currently serving as the Vice President for Research of euRobotics, the private part of the PPP cooperation with the European Commission known as SPARC, the biggest robotic civil program worldwide.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BvmnBz4AAAAJ

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefano_Stramigioli
 
 
 
Speaker: Prof. Eugenio Guglielmelli
 
Title: FLAG-ERA: The Network of European funding agencies to support the Flagship
------ Projects on Future Emerging Technologies (FET).
 
Abstract: Since 2010, the European Commission launched the FET-Flagship programme to select and co-fund up to 1 billion euro a limited number of 10-year, disruptive flagship projects on future emerging technologies. Currently, two flagship programmes have been funded and have completed their 3-year ramp-up phase, the Graphene Project and the Human Brain Project. One additional flagship project on Quantum Computing will start this year. Other four pilot flagships plus about twenty other candidate flagships are currently competing for being supported in the next 2021-2030 time frame. Some of the current flagships and pilots include robotics & automation topics. A group of funding agencies from all the European Member States promoted a network to provide flagship projects with significant co-funding and promote synergy with other ongoing National and Regional Programmes in order to ultimately gather a critical mass of human capital and innovation resources so to generate a real disruptive impact on science, technology and industry. The talk will briefly present the FET-Flagship programme goals and current status. Then it will specifically report about the ERANET Flag-Era projects and activities, with a specific focus on robotics and automation-related topics currently being addressed by the ongoing flagships, as well as by the pilots and candidate proposals.
 
Eugenio Guglielmelli, IEEE Senior Member, is Professor of Bioengineering at Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome (Italy) where he serves as Prorector for Research and as the Head of the Research Unit of Biomedical Robotics and Biomicrosystems, which he founded in 2004. From 1991 to 2004, he has been with the Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems Laboratory (ARTS Lab, now The BioRobotics Institute) of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa (Italy), which he also co-ordinated (2002-2004). His main current research interests are in the fields of human-centred robotics, biomechatronic design and biomorphic control of robotic systems, and in their application to robot-mediated motor therapy, assistive robotics, neuroengineering and neurorobotics.
 
He is author/co-author of more than 200 papers appeared on peer-reviewed international journals, conference proceedings and books. He currently serves as Vice-President for Publication Activities of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society (RAS), as Member of the Board of Funders of the FET-Flagship European Programme and as the Delegate of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) in the Executive Board of the ERANET FLAG-ERA Programme.
 
 
 
Speaker: Dr. Kyung-Hoon Kim
 
Title: Robot R&D Strategy of Korea
 
Abstract: Korea has legislated the Intelligent Robots Development and Distribution Promotion Act in 2008 and a master plan for intelligent robotics, which summarizes analysis and strategies, is established every 5 years. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy(MOTIE) is in charge of establishment and execution of the master plan. Korea is the 4th biggest industrial robot market and shows the highest robot density record (per 10,000 employees) in the world. Korean robot industry has grown 21% in average for last 6 years. However, it has not been globalized and is relatively small-sized, compared to other Korean industries, such as semiconductor, automobile, smart phone, TV and batteries. This presentation will summarize the R&D and promotion strategies that MOTIE is pursuing to strengthen the robot (and overall) industry in Korea.
 
Program Director of Intelligent Robot
Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT)
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea
 
2016.06 – Present MOTIE PD of Intelligent Robot
2015.07 – 2015.12 VP of Hanwha Techwin
1987.01 – 2015.06 VP of Samsung Techwin
Chief of Platform SW Development and SW Engineering
SMT Equipment Off-Line SW R&D
Service Robots (Surveillance)
Industrial Robots
2004.08 KAIST Ph.D (Mobile Robot Environment Recognition & Obstacle Avoidance)
1989.02 KAIST Master (Control)
1987.02 Seoul Nation University Bachelor (Mechanical Design and Production Eng)
 
 
 
Speaker: Tomomasa SATO
Speaker: Professor emeritus of Univ. of Tokyo / NEDO advirsory (robot and AI Deoverview
Speaker: of ropartment)
 
Title: Declaration of Robot Revolution and Successive Robot R&D Projects in NEDO
 
Abstract: The presentation explains the overview of robot R&D project in NEDO(New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). The presentation starts by explaining the "Declaration of Robot Revolution" that was announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014 and describes the successive activities by the Japanese Government which lead to several robot projects which deal with such targets as 1) Robot R&D for infrastructure maintenance and disaster, 2) Promotion of Market Implementation by Applying Robotics, 3) Future Robot Technology Development, and 4) the world robot summit (RMS)that will be hosted by Japan in 2020. Detailed explanation wil be presented about the WRS. The WRS consists of robot competitions called the "World Robot Challenge" and exhibition of the latest robot technologies called the "World Robot Expo." The WRS aims to establish a long-lasting initiative that will be continued after 2020 as the legacy which accelerates the social implementation of robots around the world.
 
Tomomasa Sato is currently a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.degrees from the University of Tokyo, in 1971, 1973, and 1976, respectively. Since 1976, he has been with the Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL) of the Ministry of Industrial Science and Technology. From 1983 to 1984.He moved to the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo. From 1998, he was a Professor of the Department of Mechano-Informatics. In 2013, he moved to the Future Conter Initiatives of the university as a Project Professor. His current research interests include human symbiosis robot systems as well as community co-creation robotics. Ph.D. Sato is an active member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, the Robotics Society of Japan.
 
 
 
Speaker: Professor I-Ming Chen
Speaker: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Speaker: Nanyang Technological University
Speaker: Singapore
 
Title: National Robotics R&D in Singapore
 
Abstract: This presentation will focus on three topics: 1) the overarching new national technology plan – Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 (RIE2020) of Singapore; 2) the upcoming National Robotics Program for Singapore; and 3) Future of Manufacturing Initiative of Singapore.

The Robotics R&D Task Force convened by National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF) in 2014 has made recommendation of a deliberate strategy to build up a robotics ecosystem in Singapore to achieve the aspirations of build-up of a robotics capability in Singapore with an opportunity to go beyond being a smart consumer to become a smart developer of robotics technologies, systems and solutions to not only serve but shape the worldwide robotics wave as well. The recommendation includes:
  • An ecosystem approach to accelerate the development and deployment of robotics solutions to transform the society and economy
  • Establishment of a 5-year National Robotics Programme (NRP)
The main objectives of National Robotics Programme are to identify opportunities for early adoption of robotics solutions in the public sectors as well as to develop long-term R&D programme for the build-up of a strong scientific foundation in robotics enabling technologies. The vision of NRP will be to create a vibrant and innovative robotics ecosystem capable of providing solutions to fuel the Smart Nation initiative and to establish Singapore as a global centre of excellence for the study, research, development, making and application of robotics solutions.

Lastly I will briefly talk about the Future of Manufacturing Initiative from Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), which aims to strengthen Singapore manufacturing for developing and adopt disruptive technology in manufacturing setting for the future competitiveness of Singapore economy.
 
Professor I-Ming Chen received the B.S. degree from National Taiwan University in 1986, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA in 1989 and 1994 respectively. He has been with the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore since 1995. He is currently Director of Robotics Research Centre in NTU. Professor Chen also acts as the Deputy Program Manager of A*STAR SERC Industrial Robotics Program to coordinate project and activities under this multi-institutional program involving NTU, NUS, SIMTech, A*STAR I2R and SUTD. He is a member of the Robotics Task Force 2014 under the National Research Foundation which is responsible for Singapore's strategic R&D plan in future robotics. His research interests are in wearable sensors, human-robot interaction, reconfigurable automation, logistics automation and infrastructure robotics.
 
Currently he is senior editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Professor Chen is Fellow of IEEE and Fellow of ASME, General Chairman of 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2017) in Singapore.
 
 
 
Speaker: Dr. Le Hoai Quoc
 
Title: "Robotics and Automation" R&D and Education in Vietnam
 
Abstract: From one of the world's poorest country, Vietnam has spurred rapid economic growth and transformed to a developing country. With more than 40% GDP contribution to the economy, the industrial sector has played an important role in this reform. And to serve the cause of the country's industrialization and modernization, major R&D and education program has been supported by the government since year 1990s. Many achievements not only contributed to the increasing of the productivity in manufacturing, construction and industry but also improved the technical development of other economic sectors such as agricultural, healthcare. Nowadays, the trend of globalization is both an opportunity and a challenge for the economy in general and industry in particular of Vietnam. In the eyes of foreign investors, the country will be very attractive with government policies encouraging FDI to high technology sectors, where the field of robotics and automation has a significant role. With the development in line with the world and in the country, R&D and education programs in robotics and automation especially in supporting to industry may contribute significantly to the development of the Vietnam.
 
Le Hoai Quoc was born in Vietnam, in 1958. He received the B.E. degree in Machine Design Engineering from the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology, in 1982, and the Ph.D. degrees in Institute of Mathematics and Electronics, Moscow, in 1994.

In 1982, after graduation, he joined the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Ho Chi Minh University of Technology as a Lecturer, and then became an Assoc. Prof., Vice Dean of the Faculty. Since November 2006, he has been with the Department of Science and Technology, People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as a deputy director, where he was Head of National Key Lab. Of Robotics – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and Invited Prof. of Ho Chi Minh University of Technology.
 
In 2009, he joined the Saigon High Technology Park (SHTP) as vice president, and then became the president from 2011 until now. He now is also the vice president Vietnam Association of Robotics.

His research interests include robotics kinematics and dynamics, mechanical design, and automation control. With achievements in R&D and education, he received grants from the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (2004, 2005, 2012) and Prime Minister in 2005. In 2011, he was awarded the 3rd Labor Medal from the President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.