The proposed I/UCRC for Robots and Sensors for the Human Well-being (RoSeHuB) will focus on complementing a broad variety of off-the-self sensors with intelligent processing software that enables them to extract useful information about the operating environments in medicine and agriculture. RoSeHuB research will make heavy use of commercial cameras that can work in different parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum (i.e., visible, IR, Thermal, etc.), laser or radar sensors, etc. Sensors or sensor systems may exhibit different degrees of mobility. They may be embedded in robots or flying drones or they may be fixed with limited degrees of motion (PTZ cameras). In the areas of algorithms and learning methods the focus and the challenge is on creating methodologies that can balance real-time operation and computational power while providing high level semantic information either for planning, interaction or situational awareness for human operators. With respect to robots, efforts will focus on building systems with advanced mobility, manipulation, human-machine interaction, and coordination skills.
Robots and sensors can lead to more effective precision agriculture techniques that provide more food than current levels while they save water and prevent soil erosion. Similarly, robots play a critical and growing role in modern medicine, from training the next generation of doctors, dentists, and nurses, to comforting and protecting elderly patients in the early stages of dementia. The proposed Center will attract large companies to the pertinent domains and energize innovative startup companies, both through research and through the production of highly trained graduate students with advanced coursework in sensory-based robotic systems and hands-on exposure to multi-disciplinary, integrative systems. The Center will also fund a projects to pursue new pertinent high-risk initiatives, ensuring that technology continues to meet emerging societal needs. RoSeHuB faculty will aggressively recruit women and minority graduate and undergraduate students and host an annual summer camp for middle-schoolers from underrepresented groups.
