This page is a compendium of past meetings.  Media (videos of meetings, slides, etc) will be available for 3 months after the meeting.

June 27, 2024 – Drone Applications for Transmission Line Monitoring

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is developing under contract to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) an installation system for high voltage power transmission monitors using uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). The system mounted on a UAS can install an EPRI RF monitor onto power transmission lines without requiring linemen or bucket trucks. The system increases safety of the installation and significantly reduces the amount of time required to install the monitors. The challenges of design, testing, safety, and UAS regulations as they apply to this application will be discussed.

Biography:

Mr. Wagner is a Research Engineer in the Robotic Platforms Section at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). His background includes robotics, mechatronics, and computer-aided design and manufacture. He is an FAA Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) pilot, and he has experience with Robot Operating System (ROS), SolidWorks, Python, MATLAB, Linux, and 3D printing.
At SwRI Mr. Wagner has worked on hardware integration activities including complete automated vehicle (AV) vehicle platform design, sensor mounting, enclosure design, uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) payload design, and ground vehicle improvements. Mr. Wagner has also worked on software development in the

ROS framework for both ground and aerial robots. He led an internal research project to modify existing exploration algorithms to operate on a Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP)-constrained UAS platform.
At Virginia Tech, Mr. Wagner worked as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Lab. His thesis, titled “Online Unmanned Ground Vehicle Mission Planning using Active Aerial Vehicle Exploration,” focused on an exploration technique in which a UAS was mapping an environment with a stereo camera for an uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV). He developed an algorithm utilizing rapidly exploring random trees (RRTs) to find exploration frontiers for the UAS to visit.

A recording will be available for 90 days after the meeting.

May 23, 2024 – Legal Issues for Start-Up Companies and Entrepreneurs

Have you ever thought of starting your own robotics company?    Or perhaps you would like to know if a company is following good practices?   If so, you should join us for an introduction to legal issues for start-up companies.

Drawing upon his thirty years in university research management, where he built and managed collaborations with entrepreneurs, start-ups, small to large companies, and global partners, James Casey shared those legal issues that start-up companies and entrepreneurs need to be aware of for success. This overview also included mention of connected non-legal leading practices so that attendees will get the larger context for success. Ample time was allowed at the end for Q&A and discussion.

A recording will be available for 90 days after the meeting.

Mar 25, 2024 – Air Drone Systems

Join us for a presentation by Aire Drone Systems as we unveil our groundbreaking solution for tackling maintenance challenges in inaccessible environments. Discover our proof-of-concept system, designed to automate tasks like replacing satellite dishes or light bulbs atop cell towers. We’ll delve into our roadmap for future development, addressing potential technical and financial hurdles, and explore how our adaptable design can be tailored to solve a myriad of real-world problems. Don’t miss this opportunity to glimpse the future of aerial maintenance technology

Alfonso Kamel

Alfonso studied Electrical Engineering at Trinity University where he and Gabe competed as finalists at the Trinity University Stumberg Competition. He has been interested in small electronics since he first began modifying gaming consoles in middle school. He engaged in a summer research experience with Dr. Kevin Nickels where he worked on a robotics localization system that used images of ceiling tiles to approximate position. He also held an internship in electronics engineering at Lancer Worldwide where he developed automated testing systems for complex printed circuit boards. He currently lives in San Antonio, Texas where he works as an Electrical Design engineer at ENTRUST Solutions Group.

Gabe Ogden

Gabe studied Mechanical Engineering at Trinity University and won the Texas Business Hall of Fame Future Business Legend Award his Senior Year. He also worked with Dr. Kevin Nickels in a summer research experience where he contributed to a cycloidal gearbox and chassis for an autonomous rover system. Since graduation, he has worked in the energy infrastructure industry and recently began a new role as a transmission line engineer at M&S Engineering in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Recording: video recording (avilable for 90 days)

Feb 22, 2024 – RAS Chapter Engineers Week Social

This was an opportunity to celebrate Engineers Week, relax and visit with others in the robotics and automation community in San Antonio.   After all the hard work that IEEE volunteers put into recent meetings this will be a welcome change of pace.   The Elsewhere Garden offers games, drinks, food and entertainment in an informal atmosphere.   Anyone interested in meeting and networking with others in the San Antonio Robotics community is welcome.  Unfortunately this event was not included in the RAS chapter budget so everyone will be responsible for their own tab.

Jan 24, 2024 – What is the Next Industrial Revolution?

Speaker: MengChu Zhou (Distinguished Lecturer, Fellow of IEEE)

Dr. Zhou joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1990, and is now a Distinguished Professor. His interests are in intelligent automation, complex systems and networks, Petri nets, Internet of Things, edge/cloud computing, and big data analytics. He has over 900 publications including 12 books, over 600 journal papers including over 500 IEEE Transactions papers, 30 patents and 29 book-chapters. He is a recipient of Excellence in Research Prize and Medal from NJIT, Humboldt Research Award for US Senior Scientists from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and Franklin V. Taylor Memorial Award and the Norbert Wiener Award from IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society, Distinguished Service Award from IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and Edison Patent Award from the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. He is Fellow of International Federation of Automatic Control, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Chinese Association of Automation and National Academy of Inventors.

Talk: What is the Next Industrial Revolution?

Human beings have experienced two major industrial revolutions. The first one took place in the 19th century, which replaced muscle power from humans and animals with mechanical power. The second one started in the middle 20th century, which provided people and societies with Internet. It was built with the technologies from computing, communication, networking and information storage. Both offered unprecedented productivity increases. What will be the next one? This talk intends to answer this question by presenting some recent development of Internet of Things (IoT) and smart systems. IoT was selected by IEEE as a major initiative to develop and advance over the next few years. Several recent studies have predicted the huge growth of IoT and tremendous benefits to the world economy. It was expected that 26 billion IoT units would be installed by year 2020, generating $300 billion in revenue. The IoT will generate an additional $1.9 trillion in economic value. We plan to present a system engineering approach to Internet-of-Things-based smart systems and their applications to smart manufacturing, smart cities, smart gird, smart logistics, and smart healthcare services.

Aug 24, 2023 – Humanoid Robots

Leo Chen, director of US operations for Engineered Arts.

Description:
A focus on Humanoid robots and their actual use cases in our world. The presentation will feature Leo Chen, director of US operations for Engineered Arts. Leo will discuss humanoid robots, their use cases in our world, why Engineered Arts builds what they do, and how their popular robot Ameca slots into our modern world.
Speaker bio:
Leo Chen has wanted to build robots since the moment his grandfather handed him a Gundam model to put together when he was 8 years old. He graduated in 2007 from UC Berkeley with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, after which he worked at Linear Technology (LTC). At LTC he was an applications engineer where he had the opportunity to help many companies build awesome products. He assisted Apple in building the first generation iPad, Tesla in building their first generation Tesla roadster, and Segway in their second generation scooter among other products. After he spent 7 years at LTC, he spent the next 7 years at Google X (Google’s secret skunkworks division) where he built giant balloon launching robots for Project Loon. After Project Loon, Leo joined Verdant Robotics where he led the Electrical Team. Leo’s helped Verdant close a $36.5 million series A round and capture an exclusive contract for servicing around 40% of the United States carrot crop. Leo left Verdant to spearhead Engineered Arts’ charge into the US Market where he is leading all US operations for the UK based Humanoid Robotics Engineering firm.
Thank you from Amica

July 27, 2023 – Empowering robots to create natural and empathic interactions via voice through emotion AI

Dr. Florian Eyben, CTO of audEERING.

This joint meeting with the IEEE Computer Chapter of the Lone Star Section featured Dr. Florian Eyben, CTO of audEERING.
His presentation focussed on empowering robots to create natural and empathic interactions via voice through emotion AI. 

screenshot of presentation

May 1, 2023 – The DaVinci Surgical Robot: History of Robotic Surgery and where we are going

Dr. Naveen Kella – Founder, The Urology Place

Dr. Kella presented this joint meeting with the IEEE Engineering and Medical Biology Chapter of the Lone Star Section.  Dr. Kella is the most experienced robotic prostate surgeon in San Antonio as well as one of the most experienced in the nation. Dr. Kella discussed the history, controversies, and future of robotic surgeries.

Feb 24, 2023 – NEED FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION ON THE FUTURE BATTLEFIELD

Regular meeting of the IEEE EMB Chapter of the Lone Star Section, followed by a technical talk.  Also held jointly with the Robotics and Automation Chapter and the Life Member Affinity Group.

Feb 23, 2023 – Indy Autonomous Challenge Winners

Andrea Ticozzi – Polytechnic University of Milan

Andrea Ticozzi of the Polytechnic University of Milan and the technical lead of team PoliMOVE, winner of three out of four Indy Autonomous Challenge events (Setting a new autonomous speed world record for a racetrack!), presented on the team’s technologies and experiences as part of the Indy Autonomous Challenge racing series. Mr. Ticozzi presented live via zoom from Italy.

Nov 4, 2022 – Joint meeting of the UTSA Student Branch, the RAS Chapter and the SMC/AES/SYSC Chapter

Dr. Premachandra of Shibaura Institute of Technology

Topic: Voice-based victim searching in disaster-stricken areas using drone

Drone searches for victims in disaster-stricken areas have been mainly conducted by analyzing images from cameras mounted on drones. But in disaster-stricken areas, victims may not be able to recognize victims from images, due to situations such as being covered in sediment and debris. Therefore, as a method of searching for victims who are not captured by the camera, a method of determining the location of the victim by mounting a microphone device on a drone and detecting human voices from the collected sound is being studied. This talk will discuss the approaches of searching disaster victims by voice processing and related automatic flight control technologies for the searching activities.

Biography:

Chinthaka Premachandra (Senior Member, IEEE) was born in Sri Lanka. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Mie University, Tsu, Japan, in 2006 and 2008, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, in 2011.

He is a Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology, where he is currently the Manager of the Image Processing and Robotic Laboratory. His research interests include AI, UAV, Image processing, Audio processing, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Mobile Robotics.

In addition to IEEE, Dr. Premachandra is also a member of IEICE, Japan; SICE, Japan; RSJ, Japan; and SOFT, Japan. He received the IEEE Sensors Letters Best Paper Award from the IEEE Sensors Council in 2022, and IEEE Japan medal from the IEEE Tokyo section in 2022. He also received the FIT Best Paper Award and the FIT Young Researchers Award from IEICE and IPSJ, Japan, in 2009 and 2010, respectively. He has served many international conferences and journals as a Steering Committee Member and an Editor, respectively. He is currently serving as an associate editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters(R-AL) and IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems. He is the Founding Chair of the International Conference on Image Processing and Robotics (ICIPRoB) which is technically co-sponsored by the IEEE.

Sept 28, 2022 – Fluid Exoskeletons for Self-Assistive and Resistive Exercise

Dr. Emma Treadway spoke on “Fluid Exoskeletons for Self-Assistive and -Resistive Exercise” to the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society – Lone Star Chapter and interested students.

Program Description: Exoskeletons are promising for applications ranging from motor rehabilitation to active assist and zero-gravity exercise. In typical motorized exoskeletons, high torque requirements require the use of heavy motors. Fluid actuators on the other hand have relatively high power density (high power relative to their weight) and open the door to new rehabilitation and exercise paradigms inspired by the use of fluid transmissions. This talk explores the development and control of exoskeletons exploiting fluid transmissions to inspire two paradigms for exercise and rehabilitation: self-assist and self-resist. In self-assist, power is transmitted across the wearer’s body from a stronger joint to a weaker one via a fluid transmission in order to provide assistive forces during movement; this paradigm is attractive for applications such as stroke rehabilitation, in which patients often have stronger and weaker limbs. Self-resist on the other hand employs a fluid link to allow muscles to work against each other during exercise. Because this resistance exercise can be achieved without external grounding, it has potential application for zero-gravity exercise.

Bio: Dr. Emma Treadway is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Science at Trinity University. She received her M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and the B.S. degree in Engineering Science from Trinity University in 2011. Her research explores haptics and physical interactions between humans and
robots.

ROS2: Ready for Prime Time?

August 25, 2022 

Our hybrid meeting featured a video from the Santa Clara Valley RAS Chapter (Available on ieee.tv) followed by a panel discussion featuring several local ROS users discussing differences and considerations in upgrading.

July 28, 2022 – Robot Manipulators in Space

This meeting featured a presentation on Robot Manipulators in Space from Tom O’ Brien, an active IEEE member since 1961 with a background in spacecraft computer systems and space robotics. His talk told the interesting history of these fascinating robots including different designs that have evolved over the last four decades.

June 23, 2022 – Cybersecurity Concerns of Industrial Systems

Dr. Victor Murray

Our meeting featured a presentation on Industrial Cybersecurity from Victor Murray, manager of the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Section at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) whose background includes performing risk assessments, penetration tests, and developing secure systems. His presentation will take a closer look at vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for iROS and other computer controlled automation systems.

Program:

Robotics and industrial automation systems can be exposed to cybersecurity attacks but the threats are different than for personal or business systems.   This presentation considers vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for iROS and other computer controlled automation systems.

News headlines occasionally tell of personal data leaks or financial breaches but actually multiple cyber-attacks are published on a daily basis. While the vast majority of cyber-attacks focus on traditional IT networks, there are many examples of attacks designed to exploit industrial systems.

This presentation will review some attacks that grabbed headlines including Colonial Pipeline, Stuxnet, and Triton Malware attacks. Unfortunately, bleeding edge industries, including robotics and industrial control, tend to be laser focused on functionality at the expense of cybersecurity. There are countless examples in other industries (blue tooth, Wi-Fi, CAN bus) where similar evolutions have occurred:

  1. No security, system just functions in the clear
  2. Technology takes off in popularity
  3. Technology gets hacked
  4. System gets re-designed to address security.

ROS-I for example commonly sends data over TCP/UDP connections in the clear. This can mean that if an attacker gets access to a ROS-I network then they have full control over your system. ROS 2 is moving towards addressing this with DDS-security, but this is not commonly used for ROS-I.

Mar 24, 2022 – Tour of XYREC Robot Facility

XYREC Background:
XYREC, which launched its North American headquarters at Port San Antonio one year ago, is transforming how aircraft worldwide will be maintained. By equipping the world’s largest movable industrial robot with powerful advanced laser technology, XYREC’s innovation is able to strip the paint from aircraft fuselage in record time and with minimal waste. What’s more, the revolutionary technology does a world of good for the environment by eliminating the need for harsh chemicals and thousands of gallons of water per aircraft that are required for traditional de-painting methods.
Speaker Information:
Myron Moodie is a senior R&D program manager at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and is the project manager for SwRI’s contributions to XYREC’s LCR project.

Feb 24, 2022 – Autonomous Robotics for Lunar Landing Pad Construction

This hybrid meeting took place on February 24th at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology (SAMSAT).
Program Information:

The presentation described civil engineering processes using autonomous robotics for excavation and site preparation for constructing a lunar landing pad.  A concept of operations for landing pad construction was presented, centered around a regolith melting and brick placement technology being developed by San Antonio based Astroport Space Technologies. Inc.  Additional technologies in development by Astroport for habitat and lunar infrastructure construction were also discussed.

Speaker Information:

Sam Ximenes is a Space Architect with over 30 years’ experience in the aerospace industry with NASA, DoD, and international space programs. He is currently CEO of Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc), a space architecture consulting firm he founded in 2007. The firm specializes in commercial spaceport development and design, and space systems development for space exploration initiatives for planetary surface systems for habitation and human settlement He is also Founder and Board Chair of WEX Foundation, a non-profit organization for advancing careers in space exploration through SpaceSTEM education. His latest venture is CEO of Astroport Space Technologies, Inc., founded in 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of XArc to develop lunar construction technologies for emplacement of critical elements of lunar surface infrastructure.

Jan 27, 2022 – Indy Autonomous Vehicle Challenge – Dr. Kris Kozak

Program Information:

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC)  was ambitiously conceived of as a wheel-to-wheel race of fully autonomous race cars on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) oval. Although a multi-car race didn’t materialize as envisioned, an exciting and boundary pushing competition was still held on schedule at IMS on October 23, 2021. The success of that IAC competition has since led to a follow-on competition at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 7: the Autonomous Challenge at CES. For this presentation, Dr. Kris Kozak will give a behind the scenes look at the process that led up to the original competition, provide insight into the technologies used in the cars, and touch on some of the unique challenges that were faced by competitors.

Speaker Information:

Kris is an experienced researcher, developer and problem solver with a demonstrated history working globally to provide customized solutions in the dynamic fields of self-driving & autonomous vehicles, robotics, systems and software. Skilled in vehicle localization, control and perception with high-level experience developing software in C++, Matlab and Python.  Kris earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on robotics from Georgia Institute of Technology and currently serves as vice-chair of the LSS Robotics and Automation Society Chapter.   This past year he was involved in the Indy Autonomous Challenge. He gave his presentation virtually.

Dec 9, 2021 – The application of drone imagery and structure-from-motion modeling to 3D volume analysis: a new era of scientific investigation – Dr. Ben Surpless

Joint Meeting of Trinity IEEE Student Branch and IEEE Robotics & Automation Chapter

Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become an increasingly integral part of industrial operations and scientific investigations.  As costs of operating and maintaining UAVs have come down over the past decade, scientists are now able to inexpensively, efficiently, and accurately collect remotely-sensed data from localities once thought inaccessible.  When combined with recent advances in hardware and software, scientists across a range of disciplines can now address research questions once thought, literally, out of reach.  In addition to reviewing recent changes in drone use and operation, Surpless will explore how drone data are collected and analyzed in the context of a real-world geologic investigation.

Speaker:  Ben Surpless is Professor of Geosciences at Trinity University, where he has performed research with students since 2005.   Ben earned his Ph.D. in geosciences from Stanford University and has been awarded several National Science Foundation awards to support his research with students.  He was awarded the 2013 Junior Faculty Teaching and Research Award and the 2020 Z.T. Scott Fellowship, for excellence in teaching and advising.

Sept 23, 2021 – Renu Robotics Tour

The September meeting of the Robotics and Automation Chapter was at Noon on Thursday, Sept 23.    The meeting was a presentation and tour of Renu Robotics,a San Antonio manufacturer of robot tractors for solar farm vegetation control.

June 24, 2021 – San Antonio – City of Innovation

Location: Remote (Zoom)
Agenda: At this meeting, we heard from Iris Gonzalez about recent robotics startup companies and related activities.

May 27, 2021 – Academic Robotics Research in San Antonio

Location: Remote (Zoom)
Agenda: At this meeting, we heard from our academic members about research programmes in San Antonio in robotics, including:

  • University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
    • Dr. Patrick Benavidez
    • Mr. Daniel Brun
  • Trinity University
    • Dr. Kevin Nickels
    • Dr. Emma Treadway
  • University of the Incarnate Word (UIW)
    • Mr. Srikanth Vemula
  • St. Mary’s University
    • Dr. Dante Tezza

Apr 22, 2021 – Robotics Research at Southwest Research Institute

  • Location: Southwest Research Institute
  • Speakers: Paul Evans, P.E., Director at Southwest Research Institute, and David Anthony, Senior Research Engineer, Southwest Research Institute
  • Joint Meeting: UTSA Student Branch, Robotics & Automation Society; Lone Star Section, TEMS Chapter
  • Agenda: Mr. Evans and Dr. Anthony reviewed some of the robotics and automation work that SwRI has conducted in San Antonio.

Mar 25, 2021 – Organizational Meeting

  • Location: San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology
  • Agenda: At this meeting, we discussed the goals and objectives of the chapter, logistics and procedures, and took nominations for officers.