{"id":133872,"date":"2021-01-13T13:54:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T23:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=133872"},"modified":"2021-01-13T13:54:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T23:54:53","slug":"grant-advance-mobile-robot-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/13\/grant-advance-mobile-robot-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"$185K<\/abbr> grant to advance mobile robot technology, create new course"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Robotic, unmanned ocean glider (Photo courtesy: NOAA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Autonomous mobile robot research at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Engineering<\/a> recently received a major boost from a National Science Foundation<\/a> grant.<\/p>\n

The $185,306 grant will allow project lead and Assistant Professor Zhuoyuan Song<\/strong>, and a UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa student, to receive intensive training at the University of Washington\u2019s eScience<\/abbr> Institute<\/a> on data-driven and machine learning methods to elevate the college\u2019s research, and to establish and deepen collaborative relationships with experts in the field. The training is also expected to improve the overall competitiveness of Song\u2019s research group, his students and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in robotics and data sciences.<\/p>\n

Song said, “We will work with the institute to discover how to identify energy-optimal paths for small mobile sensors, such as robots, to traverse strong ocean currents; and develop data-driven approaches that allow us to discover the fundamental principles that lead to emergent behaviors exhibited in nature, such as schooling fish, flocking birds and congregating ants, and control swarms of robots in a similar fashion.”<\/p>\n

This work is expected to provide measurement data for weather forecasting and global ocean sensing. Eventually, Song hopes to establish a formal collaboration between the eScience Institute and UH<\/abbr>\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Data Science Institute<\/a> to further benefit UH<\/abbr> students and faculty.<\/p>\n

Data science for engineers<\/h2>\n

Data science is a fast-emerging interdisciplinary field that focuses on the extraction of knowledge or models from data to make predictions about phenomena that were not readily amenable. Recent years have witnessed the shift in landscape of several classical research fields such as fluid mechanics, biology and economics, toward data-driven approaches in addressing their most challenging unanswered questions.<\/p>\n

Robotics as an important application of artificial intelligence is at the forefront of the development of data sciences. There is currently a growing job market for data science experts in almost all fields. The grant will also allow Song to establish a “Data science for engineers” course at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa.<\/p>\n

“This proposed course is part of my plan to sustain the impact of this new grant to benefit UH<\/abbr> and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” Song said. “The course will be targeted at senior undergraduate students and early-stage graduate students from all disciplines. The objective is to make students aware of the common tools used in data sciences and how they can supplement the students’ prior learning in solving classic engineering problems such as dynamic modeling, signal processing, control and optimization.”<\/p>\n

This work is an example of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s goal of Excellence in Research<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), updated in December 2020.<\/p>\n

Related UH<\/abbr> News<\/em> story:<\/p>\n