We have received another prestigious award from National Science Foundation for the project “NRI: FND: Intelligent Co-robots for Complex Welding Manufacturing through Learning and Generalization of Welders Capabilities”.   Prof. Yuming Zhang from the Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the project PI. This $666K grant will dedicate to research on advancing the robotic capabilities needed to realize fully robotic automation of complex welding tasks.

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2024614&HistoricalAward...

Abstract: There is a dramatic and growing shortage of highly skilled welders, accentuated by the fact that manufacturing complexity and production volumes are rising. As a result, global use of robotic welding is expanding rapidly.  However, current welding robots are not as adaptive and creative as human welders in performing complex welding tasks that require sophisticated skills. This award supports fundamental research on advancing the robotic capabilities needed to realize fully robotic automation of complex welding tasks. The research will endow collaborative welding robots with sophisticated welding knowledge, expert intelligence, and an interactive learning capability to enable them to address dynamic welding scenarios. The research results will both enhance the scientific base for robotic control and facilitate the realization of fully automatic, robotic, and intelligent manufacturing. The research involves several disciplines, including welding, process monitoring, data visualization, machine learning, optimization, and robotic control. That multi-disciplinary approach will broaden the participation of students from diverse backgrounds in research, and the knowledge gained will be incorporated in curricula in robotic and intelligent manufacturing.

Link to UK CoE announcement of this award: https://www.engr.uky.edu/news/2020/08/yuming-zhang-receives-new-nsf-gran...