June 7th – 11th 2022
Venue: RIT Inn and Conference Center
Rochester, NY, USA
Conference Theme: A.I and Machine learning in Systems of Systems
How Did I Get Involved with System of Systems Engineering: A History?
Robots in Control – from Tele-operation to Autonomous Convoying
Inviting Chaos: Countering and Exploiting Emergence at the Intersection of Systems of Systems and AI.
Abstract:
This talk will highlight how a group of robots can work together to solve a series of complex tasks autonomously in a highly unstructured environment. Recognition of human intentions, planning, and actions from multimodal signals in robotics and autonomous systems are explored. The progression of developed technologies from bilateral control of a group of robots initially, with human in-the-loop to more advanced cases of on-the-loop to finally a case of fully autonomous collection of robots performing a convoying operation independently. Several case studies are presented and major challenges are discussed.
About:
Saeid Nahavandi received a Ph.D. from Durham University, U.K. in 1991. He is an Alfred Deakin Professor, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Chair of Engineering, and the Founding and current Director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation at Deakin University. His research interests include modeling of complex systems, robotics and haptics. He has published over 1000 scientific papers in various international journals and conferences. Saeid was the recipient of the Researcher of the Year for Australian Space Awards 2021, Australian Defence Industry Awards – Winner of Innovator of the year, The Essington Lewis Awards, and Australian Engineering Excellence Awards – Professional Engineer of the Year.
Saeid has carried out industry based research with several major international companies such as Airbus, Boeing, Bosch, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, General Dynamics, Holden, Lockheed Martin, Nissan, Thales and Vestas just to name a few.
Professor Nahavandi holds six patents, two of which have resulted in two very successful start-ups (Universal Motion Simulator Pty Ltd and FLAIM Systems Pty Ltd).
Professor Nahavandi is the Senior Associate Editor: IEEE Systems Journal, Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics and IEEE Press Editorial Board member.
Professor Nahavandi is a Fellow of IEEE (FIEEE), Engineers Australia (FIEAust), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET). Saeid is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). Saeid was the General Chair for IEEE SMC 2021.
Abstract:
The arrival of software in human systems is an ongoing epochal change with the equivalent impact as spoken language and the written word. Software (embodied as code executing on computer hardware, connected to other computers), is fertile ground for maximally spawning System of Systems (SoS). Furthermore, the potential for software is seemingly infinite and the current momentum is advancing along the artificial intelligence (especially machine learning) axis. The intersection of SoS and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) highlight the dawning of the era called The Entanglement. Coined by computer scientist Danny Hillis, The Entanglement describes an era where the complexity of machines exceeds the ability of humans to comprehend them. This era exhibits regular unanticipated (and occasionally catastrophic) emergent behavior in and across systems. This environment mandates new toolsets including mental models and frameworks. Anchored in new approaches like Emergent Engineering (EE), these tools focus on selective context modification, fault tolerance, outcome distributions, nonlinear dynamics controls, and adaptation. Countering and exploiting emergence, both negative and positive respectively, at the intersection of AI and SoS is fundamental to navigating through The Entanglement. This presentation will discuss the characteristics this intersection, effective strategies & tools, and predictions for the future.
About:
Darryl Nelson is an Engineering Fellow at Raytheon Intelligence & Space where he is the Technology Director of Data and Software Engineering. Previous roles include Chief Engineer, Chief Scientist, and Corporate Technology Director where he served multiple Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers. Prior to Raytheon, Darryl worked in the commercial industry in business intelligence and ecommerce, including startups. He specializes in scalable system architectures with a current focus on joint all domain operations, distributed computing, and operationalizing AI. Darryl is a US Army veteran and his many interests include the impact of software on the future of warfare.