SCIENCE AT THE SHINE DOME canberra 6 - 8 may 2009

New Fellows Seminar

Thursday, 7 May 2009

Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte FAA
Professor of Mechatronic Engineering, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney

Hugh Durrant-Whyte received the BSc in nuclear engineering from the University of London in the UK, in 1983, and the MSE and PhD degrees, both in systems engineering, from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, in 1985 and 1986, respectively. From 1987 to 1995, he was a university lecturer in engineering science, the University of Oxford, UK. Since 1995 he has been professor of mechatronic engineering at the University of Sydney where he leads the Australian Centre for Field Robotics. He is also research director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, the Rio Tinto Centre for Mine Automation and the BAE Systems Strategic Partnership in Autonomous Systems; all at the University of Sydney. He has been awarded two ARC Federation Fellowships; in 2002 and 2007. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (FIEEE), and an IEEE Robotics Society Distinguished Lecturer. He was named the 2008 Professional Engineer of the Year by the Institute of Engineers Australia Sydney Division.

The robots are coming!

Robots represent the next great step in the fusion of machines, computing, sensing, and software to create intelligent systems capable of interacting with the complexities of the real world. Robotics challenges researchers to create intelligence and apply it in a useful form in machines that make our lives easier, more productive and safer. Hugh’s talk will describe the leading position Australian researchers have achieved in developing robotics for applications in mining, agriculture, marine and air application domains. He will also look into the future and to see what the next 10 years will hold for robotics in Australia.