Seminar: Ayoung Kim, KAIST, Rob Mahony, ANU, Nov 15th 10a – noon
When: Fri Nov 15th, 10a – noon
Where: Rose St Building Seminar Area
Speaker 1: Ayoung Kim, KAIST
Title: Enhancing robotic perception in the underwater environment
Abstract: This talk focuses on two major underwater perceptual sensors, namely optical and sonar image. First part of this talk deals with the underwater optical image enhancement introducing model-based, non-model-based and learning-based image detail enhancement. The second part of this talk will introduce recent trials in deep learning methods for sonar images, presenting strategy and its results by training from a simulator and detecting objects in real sonar images.
Speaker 2: Robert Mahony, ANU
Title: An Equivariant Perspective on Spatial Awareness
Abstract: This talks considers a novel approach to spatial awareness for robotic systems based on exploiting properties of symmetry. I show how the classical SLAM problem can be formulated as equivariant kinematics on a homogeneous space under action from a novel semi-direct Lie-group that I term the SLAM group. Using this framework, I derive a nonlinear observer (on the lifted kinematics defined on the SLAM group) that integrates pose and landmark estimation in the same mathematical framework without resorting to linearisation. This approach provides a fully nonlinear state estimator with global convergence properties that is highly robust to noise and offers low-complexity real-time SLAM implementation for consumer robotic systems.
Bio: Robert Mahony is a Professor in the Research School of Engineering at the Australian National University. He received his BSc in 1989 (applied mathematics and geology) and his PhD in 1995 (systems engineering) both from the Australian National University. He is a fellow of the IEEE and was president of the Australian Robotics Association from 2008-2011. His research interests are in non-linear systems theory with applications in robotics and computer vision. He is known for his work in aerial robotics, geometric observer design, matrix subspace optimisation and image based visual servo control.