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Month: July 2022

ScII signs partnership with Nanyang Polytechnic for student and faculty exchange

Posted on by bajinderscii

The Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (ScII) and Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for student and faculty exchange. Signed on June 28, 2022, the MoU provides for both Institutes to exchange up to six students every year.

Both Institutes will provide official transcripts for every exchange student. The transcripts will serve as official credits for the courses the students attended. Furthermore, both Institutes plan to facilitate student immersion programs to promote internationalization. Beside students, both ScII and Nanyang Polytechnic will also encourage faculty and staff exchanges.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Executive Director, ScII, and Ms. Esther Ho, Director, School of Business Management, Nanyang Polytechnic.

Ms. Ether Ho noted that Nanyang Polytechnic follows an interdisciplinary approach similar to the one adopted by ScII. ”Competency-based learning permeates our curriculum,” she said. From their very first day in the program, students engage in industry-based projects, and as they progress, the scope and complexity of the projects increase. “We also have teaching enterprise project centers where our pedagogy is implemented with real-life industry as a platform for students to apply their knowledge and skills,” Ms Ho said.

Signing the agreement, Prof. Worsak said, “This agreement will bring Thai and Singaporean students closer together and promote project-based learning with industry partners, a landmark pedagogical approach fostered both at our School and at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management.” Thanks to the practical industry-focused approach followed at Nanyang, ScII students can now look forward to working with industry and business majors in Singapore. “ScII has already established solid partnerships with 11 multinational companies and eight international academic partners, five of which are among the top 300 universities in the world,” Prof. Worsak said. ScII’s network now extends from the UK and the US to China, Australia, and Japan, among others.

Prof. Worsak also suggested that ScII and Nanyang Polytechnic partner with like-minded universities and institutions in neighboring countries so that students can benefit from the emerging ecosystem.

Participants from Nanyang Polytechnic included Ms. Esther Ho, Director, Mr. Aloysius Tan, Deputy Director, Ms. Charmaine Khoo, Manager; and Ms. Nurul Huda. ScII was represented by Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Executive Director, and Dr. Pietro Borsano, Deputy Executive Director.

Training helps entrepreneurs achieve 72% increase in revenue growth, new research finds

Posted on by Valerie Won

New research by academics from leading business schools Singapore Management University (SMU), INSEAD and HEC Paris demonstrate how growth training helps entrepreneurs achieve increased revenues for their ventures. This research project, developed by Prof Reddi Kotha (SMU), Prof Bala Vissa (INSEAD), Yimin Lin (SMU) and Prof Anne Valerie Corboz (HEC Paris), was funded by the Singapore government’s Ministry of Education research grant.

According to the research paper, titled “Do Ambitious Entrepreneurs Benefit More from Training?”, training in growth-catalyst tools helped entrepreneurs achieve a 72% increase in their ventures’ revenues; which is about 40% more than entrepreneurs who did not receive such training. Additionally, the paper also showed that ventures led by entrepreneurs with more ambitious growth expectations experienced revenue growth of about 100% compared to 10% for those who had not received training.

Research findings are based on an extensive field experiment involving interactive training sessions, workshops and personalised coaching which was delivered to 103 Singapore-based entrepreneurs, out of the 181 entrepreneurs participating in the study (the remaining 78 made up the study’s control group). The entrepreneurs, who were running new ventures, received training in three specific areas, or growth-catalyst tools, relevant for formulating and executing innovation-led growth: business-model design, leveraging external networks, and building internal teams.

The paper, which is forthcoming in Strategic Management Journal, also looked at other success measures like a venture’s “survival rate,” in other words, the likelihood that a start-up will survive. According to the study’s findings, ventures whose founders attended had a survival rate of 50 percent against the 36 percent survival rate of ventures led by entrepreneurs who had not been trained in growth-catalyst tools.

Surprisingly, previous research on the impact of training on entrepreneurs and their ventures had provided mixed results – a few studies did find a positive impact of training whilst many others failed to do so. The authors of this study suggested that the prior mixed findings are a reflection of at least two factors: (i) many prior studies were conducted in emerging economies where entrepreneurship is often necessity-based; (ii) entrepreneurs with diverse growth ambitions may have been lumped into the same training intervention with narrower content.

Prof Vissa comments, “our research suggests that perhaps training interventions for entrepreneurship in mature market economies need to be tailored differently for entrepreneurs who value growth versus those who value autonomy or control”.

The authors of the study argue that their findings can support policymakers when designing initiatives to support entrepreneurs. “Fast-growing new ventures founded by opportunity-seeking entrepreneurs benefit society because they are key sources of jobs and innovation that boost economic prosperity,” says Prof. Corboz, citing business and management experts.

“We hope our work encourages new research on entrepreneur training and inform policymakers to draw new plans to help entrepreneurs, as they are key drivers of economic growth,” adds Prof Kotha.

EdUHK research on how habitus influences migration trajectories of African students in China

Posted on by eduhk

Global flows of international students have diversified in recent years. As a result, the common association of this form of mobility with affluent members of the global middle class increasingly does not hold. About six per cent of African tertiary students undertake higher education outside their home country, a higher proportion than in any other region. About half study in Africa; China is the second-largest single host country after France, having hosted 81,562 African students in 2018.

A study by Dr Benjamin Joseph Mulvey, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of International Education (IE), The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), focused on the migration patterns of African international students in China. The main aim was to establish how international student migration is experienced differentially by students positioned in their home societies in unequal ways. It provided a detailed account of the pre-mobility social backgrounds, overseas experience, and post-study plans of 40 students from 14 African countries, based on data from semi-structured interviews. This enabled a focus on socially-classed differences in pre-mobility habitus, and the mutability of habitus as a consequence of an overseas sojourn. The study revealed that differences in social background in some cases led to distinct trajectories during the sojourn and in terms of post-study plans.

To understand the relationship between study abroad and habitus adjustment, the researchers examined the pre-mobility habitus of students. Students from less advantaged backgrounds tended to reflect on having faced disadvantages and succeeding. There was relatively little evidence of long-term planning for migration, because study abroad was not previously seen as a possibility. In the group of middle-class students, in contrast, studying abroad was always perceived as possible. Many had kinship networks and established study-abroad patterns among their peers.

The study found that pre-mobility habitus was an important factor shaping the trajectories of students’ overseas sojourns. International students from disadvantaged backgrounds tended to be successful academically during their time abroad, as they were able to draw on internal resources developed as a response to a lack of cultural and social capital during childhood and adolescence. These students displayed a strong sense of connection to their home communities, while shunning African students from more privileged backgrounds.

Most students, regardless of their original social background, did not perceive integration in China as possible mainly because of the large cultural gap and racialisation. A profound sense of alienation when initially navigating new social fields in China appeared in most cases to lead to withdrawal from the host society, rather than to attempts to adapt.

In terms of post-graduation plans, a consistent theme among students from disadvantaged backgrounds was giving back to their home communities. The vast majority of middle-class students and graduates, in contrast, planned to move away, some preferring to return home, and some seeking to migrate to third countries for work or further study. A common thread was anxiety around maintaining their middle-class status.

The study was conducted together with Profess Mark Mason at IE of EdUHK. It makes a theoretical contribution to international student migration literature, arguing that the nature of transformation that takes place among student migrants as a result of studying in China is shaped by the nature of mobility, both spatial and social.

To learn more about the study, please click here.

Work visit, discussion between UiTM Pahang branch campus and Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary

Posted on by Roziana binti Bujang, Dr. Nurrohana binti Ahmad, Dr. Shaari bin Daud, Puan Wan Siti Atikah binti Wan Omar, Ts. Fazidah binti Rosli dan Dr. Noor Izyan binti Mohamad Adnan.

On 7th June 2022, the Research and Industrial Linkages Division, Faculty of Applied Science and Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology of Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang Branch held a working visit to the Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary (MBRS), Ayer Keroh, Melaka. This visit was a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between UiTM and MBRS on 23rd September 2021 which complied with SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 17 (Partnerships of the Goals).

During the visit, a discussion between the two parties was conducted, where UiTM was represented by Dr. Nurrohana binti Ahmad as the ICAN Coordinator, Dr. Noor Izyan Mohamad Adnan as the Coordinator of Innovation and Commercialization, Dr. Shaari bin Daud as the Head of School of Science, Faculty of Applied Science, Puan Roziana binti Bujang as the Director of the MoU Program between UiTM and MBRS, Ts. Fazidah binti Rosli as the Head of School, Faculty of Plantation & Agrotechnology, and Puan Wan Siti Atikah binti Wan Omar as the Science (Hons) Program Coordinator of Bachelor of Biodiversity Management (AS255). Meanwhile, representatives from MBRS were the MBRS Managing Director, Mr. Gerard Wong, the MBRS Manager, Mrs. Qurratu Ain binti Rohaminordin, the MBRS Marketing Executive Officer, Mrs. Juwairiyah binti Hashim, the MBRS Finance and Development Manager, Ms. Elaine Leong, the Head of the Butterfly Laboratory and Insects, Ms. Elysia Yeo Ee Chiew, and the Head of the Lizard Reptiles Division, Ms. Michelle Yee Zi Yen.

The objective of this visit and discussion was to strengthen the cooperative relationship between UiTM and MBRS, thus reflecting what was agreed during the MoU signing. Among the matters discussed during the working visit were the placement of industrial training students from the Faculty of Applied Science and the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology as well as an academic visit that was expected to be held this year. Also, UiTM was suggested by MBRS to hold a celebration of World Insect Day in June every year to inculcate public awareness on the importance of preserving the diversity of insects. MBRS also announced that a 30% discount on the entrance fee to MBRS will be given to all UiTM students throughout Malaysia where students only needed to show their student cards at the entrance. Overall, the working visit went smoothly, and it is hoped that all plans would be able to be carried out successfully.

Towards autonomous prediction, synthesis of novel magnetic materials

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

In materials science, candidates for novel functional materials are usually explored in a trial-and-error fashion through calculations, synthetic methods, and material analysis. However, the approach is time-consuming and requires expertise. Now, researchers from Japan have used a data-driven approach to automate the process of predicting new magnetic materials. By combining first-principles calculations, Bayesian optimization, and monoatomic alternating deposition, the proposed method can enable a faster development of next-generation electronic devices.

Materials scientists are constantly on the lookout for new “functional materials” with favorable properties directed towards some application. For instance, finding novel functional magnetic materials could open doors to energy-efficient spintronic devices. In recent years, the development of spintronics devices like magnetoresistive random access memory—an electronic device in which a single magnetoresistive element is integrated as one bit of information—has been progressing rapidly, for which magnetic materials with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) are required. Ferromagnetic materials, which retain their magnetization without an external magnetic field, are of particular interest as data storage systems, therefore. For instance, L10-type ordered alloys consisting of two elements and two periods, such as L10-FeCo and L10-FeNi, have been studied actively as promising candidates for next-generation functional magnetic materials. However, the combination of constituent elements is extremely limited, and materials with extended element type, number, and periodicity have rarely been explored.

What impedes this exploration? Scientists point at combinatorial explosions that can occur easily in multilayered films, requiring a great deal of time and effort in the selection of the constituent elements and material fabrication, as the major reason. Besides, it is extremely difficult to predict the function of MCA because of the complex interplay of various parameters including crystal structure, magnetic moment, and electronic state, and the conventional protocol relies largely on trial and error. Thus, there is much scope and need for developing an efficient route to discovering new high-performance magnetic materials.

On this front, a team of researchers from Japan including Prof. Masato Kotsugi, Mr. Daigo Furuya, and Mr. Takuya Miyashita from Tokyo University of Science (TUS), along with Dr. Yoshio Miura from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), has now turned to a data-driven approach for automating the prediction and synthesis of new magnetic materials. In a new study, which was made available online on June 30, 2022 and published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials: Methods on July 1, 2022, the team reported their success in the development of material exploration system by integrating computational, information, and experimental sciences for high MCA magnetic materials. Prof. Kotsugi explains, “We have focused on artificial intelligence and have combined it with computational and experimental science to develop an efficient material synthesis method. Promising materials beyond human expectation have been discovered in terms of electronic structure. Thus, it will change the nature of materials engineering!”

In their study, which was the result of joint research by TUS and NIMS and supported by JST-CREST, the team calculated MCA energy through first-principles calculations (a method used to calculate electronic states and physical properties in materials based on the laws of quantum mechanics) and performed Bayesian optimization to search for materials with high MCA energy. After examining the algorithm for Bayesian optimization, they found promising materials five times more efficiently than through the conventional trial-and-error approach. This robust material search method was less susceptible to influences from irregular factors like outliers and noise and allowed the team to select the top three candidate materials—(Fe/Cu/Fe/Cu), (Fe/Cu/Co/Cu), and (Fe/Co/Fe/Ni)—comprising iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and copper (Cu).

The top three predicted materials with the largest MCA energy values were then fabricated via the monoatomic alternating stacking method using the laser-driven pulsed deposition technique to create multilayered magnetic materials consisting of 52 layers, namely [Fe/Cu/Fe/Cu]13, [Fe/Cu/Co/Cu]13, and [Fe/Co/Fe/Ni]13. Among the three structures, [Fe/Co/Fe/Ni]1 showed an MCA value (3.74 × 106 erg/cc) much above that of L10-FeNi (1.30 × 106 erg/cc).

Furthermore, using the second-order perturbation method, the team found that MCA is generated in the electronic state, which has not been realized in previously reported materials. This attests to the suitability of employing Bayesian optimization to identify electronic states that are likely impossible to envision through human experience and intuition alone. Thus, the developed method can autonomously search for suitable elements to design functional magnetic materials. “This technique is extendable to advanced magnetic materials with more complicated electronic correlations, such as Heusler alloys and spin-thermoelectric materials,” observes Prof. Kotsugi.

With these findings, the study sets the groundwork for automating the synthesis of hitherto-unexplored high-performance functional materials, which could enable the production of high-speed, energy-saving electronic devices and even pave the way for a carbon-neutral society!

***

Reference

Title of original paper: Autonomous synthesis system integrating theoretical, informatics, and experimental approaches for large-magnetic-anisotropy materials

Journal: Science and Technology of Advanced Materials: Methods

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/27660400.2022.2094698

About The Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan’s development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of “Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society”, TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today’s most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/

About Professor Masato Kotsugi from Tokyo University of Science

Professor Masato Kotsugi graduated from Sophia University, Japan, in 1996 and then received a PhD from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University in 2001. He joined the Tokyo University of Science in 2015 as a lecturer and is currently a Professor at the Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Technology. Prof. Kotsugi and students at his laboratory conduct cutting edge research on high-performance materials with the aim of creating a green energy society. He has published over 118 refereed papers and is currently interested in solid-state physics, magnetism, synchrotron radiation, and materials informatics.

He can be reached at [email protected]

Funding information

This work was partially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (21H04656) and (B) (20H02190), and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) CREST (Grant No. JPMJCR21O1).

Blue energy and blue economy: A virtual program held by ITS in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University and Aquatera

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya, in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University (HWU), United Kingdom, held a virtual program titled “Blue Energy and Blue Economy.” The program ran from June 20 to 30, 2022. The collaboration was initiated in 2021 and sponsored by the Going Global Partnership, British Council. The program focused on the implementation of alternative energy and sustainable economic empowerment for communities in coastal areas. This year, Aquatera, a leading renewable energy–based company in the UK, joined the collaboration to share its reputable experience.

The opening remarks were delivered by Opened on Monday (20/06/2022), and the virtual program was attended by the ITS Surabaya team, HWU team, and representatives from Aquatera Ltd. The program was opened directly by Dr. Eng. Trika Pitana, S.T., M.Sc, the Dean of the Faculty of Marine Technology, ITS Surabaya, and by Dr. Joanne Porter, Deputy Director at the International Center for Island Technology, HWU. In his speech, Dr. Trika Pitana emphasized the objectives and the overall series of activities in this program. “In this program we have professors and professionals who have a lot of experience in implementing blue energy, and I believe participants can take a lot of lessons and experiences to learn from the case studies conducted in Orkney, Scotland, and Indonesia,” explained Dr. Joanne Porter in supporting Dr. Trika’s remarks.

The virtual program involved more than 70 participants and was composed of 41 students from ITS Surabaya, 7 from HWU, and the rest from various universities in Indonesia. The participants are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of important aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG number 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 13 (climate action), and SDG 14 (life below water). As a follow-up program, the second stage of this program consists of a field observation visit, which will be conducted in August in Larantuka, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. Through this activity, it is hoped that the team and program participants will get direct experience from the community and local stakeholders, so that they can identify problems in the field and develop a roadmap for the implementation of blue energy and the blue economy in Indonesia.

Novel meta-lens revolutionises conventional Vacuum UV optics technology

Posted on by Editorial Team

A research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have successfully developed a novel Vacuum Ultra-Violet (VUV) meta-lens which can generate and focus the VUV light, a disruptive technology for the VUV optics market.

VUV is used in semiconductor manufacturing, photochemistry and materials science. The focused VUV light source is strongly needed for the nanolithography, material processing, advanced manufacture, and other industrial areas.

However, it has been costly to work with. VUV with wavelengths between 100 to 200 nanometers (nm), is strongly absorbed by the oxygen in air, and requires a vacuum chamber or other specialised environment. Conventionally, very bulky and expensive system with special and rare nonlinear crystals are used for generating and focusing of VUV light.

In addition, virtually almost all types of glass used for conventional lenses are unsuitable for the VUV due to their strong absorption in this region. The few VUV-transmittable materials currently used for lenses are comparably fragile, placing practical limits on thin lens fabrication and design.

Professor Tsai Din-Ping, Chair Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) and Dr Chen Mu-Ku, Research Assistant Professor of EE, have designed and fabricated an array of the 150 nm length triangle shape zinc oxide nano-antenna to form a VUV meta-lens.

“We have developed a meta-lens with intricate nano-structures on zinc oxide thin film. It is capable of converting and focusing VUV light. This meta-lens provides a compact method for nonlinear VUV generation and focusing of the generated light,” said Professor Tsai, one of the corresponding authors of the paper recently published in Science Advances titled “Vacuum ultraviolet nonlinear metalens”.

The new VUV meta-lens in a 45 micro-meter diameter can convert UV light with 394 nm wavelength into VUV light with 197 nm wavelength, and focus the VUV light on a small spot less than 2 millionths of a meter in diameter. Tests at Rice University in the US demonstrating a focused light spot with the enhanced power density by 21 times.

“Our VUV meta-lens is compact, lightweight, effective, and can be mass produced by semiconductor electronics fabrication process. This novel and disruptive meta-device could revolutionise the conventional VUV optics technology and its market,” Professor Tsai said.

The meta-lens allows substantial streamlining of VUV system design and facilitating more advanced applications. This work provides a useful platform for developing low-loss VUV components and increasing the accessibility of the VUV regime.

This research is funded by the Area of Excellence Project (AoE), University Grants Committee/Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR government. Professor Tsai is the Project Coordinator of the AoE project “Meta-optics, Meta-acoustics and Meta-devices.”

Lingnan research cluster studies COVID-19’s wider impact

Posted on by Editorial Team

Once aware of the true scale and severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, scholars at Lingnan University in Hong Kong moved quickly to set up a wide-ranging series of research projects.

They recognised the importance of studying the likely longer-term impact and understanding what the disruptions to normal life would mean for different sectors of society.

By taking an interdisciplinary approach, their aim was to look at the direct effects of the disease and the challenges faced by families, schoolchildren, university students, and those now out of work.

Clearly, a stalling economy, online schooling, and social distancing requirements would affect livelihoods and general well-being. So, Lingnan formed a distinct research cluster focused on Covid-19 and its consequences, with many of the approved projects also tied directly to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These set out a blueprint for global action over the next few decades.

The purpose was to ensure proposals put forward by different departments have real-world significance and that, on completion, the research findings and recommendations can have a genuine impact.

For instance, one current study funded by the Lingnan Research Committee is looking at the well-being and health literacy of school principals, management teams and teachers during the ongoing pandemic.

Led by Prof Padmore Adusei Amoah of the School of Graduate Studies, the work is focusing on an issue which is often overlooked. That is the increased burden shouldered by those responsible for organising online classes and dealing with the extra complications that inevitably result.

Much of the public discourse has been about the impact on school children, their parents, and the merits or otherwise of online learning. But the viewpoint of teachers and principals – and the difficulties they encounter – require similar consideration, especially if some education authorities now advocate blended or hybrid learning as the way forward.

Another important project, jointly run by Prof Maggie Ka Wai Lau of the School of Graduate Studies and Prof Stefan Kuehner of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, involved an international survey of children’s well-being during Covid-19.

It found that children in Hong Kong had a low ranking overall and expressed most dissatisfaction about “time use” and “being listened to by adults”. Obviously, there are lessons to learn here for anyone concerned about the well-being of young people and how to help them regain the sense of stability and participation that allows them to thrive.

Taking a different path, Prof Gizem Arat of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy has been exploring possible factors for the prevention of Covid-19 cases among underprivileged ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.

And, in the Department of Management, a study of the pandemic’s impact on doctors and nurses was overseen by Prof Nan Wang and Prof Nancy Yifeng Chen.

New angles will no doubt continue to emerge, and all the latest Lingnan University publications and articles related to Covid-19 can be found in the webpage.

ITS wins ahead of the world’s best universities in International Roboboat Competition 2022

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has once again proved its reputation as the world’s leading university in technology by earning the Grand Champion title in the International Roboboat Competition (IRC) 2022 held in Florida, United States, this June. The ITS team, Barunastra, ranked first in two categories, namely, Design & Documentation and Autonomy Challenge, finishing ahead of the world’s best universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan.

Since 2012, Barunastra has focused on developing unmanned vessels. Barunastra has been designing and producing Autonomous Surface Vehicles, as well as Fuel Engine Remote Control and Remote Control boats. Established by ITS Robotics, Metic Club from Marine Engineering, and Hydromodelling Club from Naval Architecture, Barunastra has a solid commitment to fostering global maritime technology advancement. Therefore, Barunastra has actively participated in various competitions, winning back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019 in IRC, in which it has participated since 2016.

Barunastra proudly presented an autonomous boat called Nala Theseus in this year’s competition. Nala Theseus has been developed with a modularity concept so that it could accommodate a large amount of cargo on board. In addition, Nala Theseus has been designed with a watertight hull that prevents damage to its electrical components. Barunastra’s achievement has not only become a source of ITS pride, but also a national treasure. Fatahillah Muhammad Daffa Shodiq, one of the team members, hopes that this accomplishment will inspire the development of autonomous boats in Indonesia, one of the world’s foremost maritime countries.

AI researcher works to integrate useful and safe robots into society

Posted on by Editorial Team

Although robots are designed by people, getting robots to perform useful tasks in a safe manner is an ongoing challenge. In order to teach robots how to perform their desired tasks, researchers like SFU computing science professor Mo Chen design artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to satisfy performance and safety requirements.

“For deep learning-based AI, we try to incorporate prior knowledge about the robots and their environments into learning algorithms so that robots can learn to perform their tasks more quickly,” says Chen.

Finding ways to integrate useful and safe robots into society in a way that assists people is a process that involves working on theory and simulations before experimenting with actual robots. Chen directs the Multi-Agent Robotic Systems Lab at SFU, where he and his team place an emphasis on fundamental, theoretical foundations, in addition to real world implementation.

“Theory is very important for designing algorithms that are guaranteed to be safe and for making learning algorithms more efficient,” says Chen. “To test our theory, we need to do a lot of simulations to make sure that the algorithm is doing what it should be doing. The next challenge is taking what the robots have done in simulations and transferring it to the real world. A lot of times we find that there are differences in the real world from simulation, so we often have to go back and refine what we developed.”

While this process is long and challenging, Chen focuses on the good that this research can do in the future. He sees many ways that robots can have a positive impact on society, whether it is having a robot greet you and help you find items in a store, using drones to help film movies or using robots to gather agricultural data to help people understand the well-being of crops.

For these goals to become a reality, however, there is still a lot of research and testing that needs to be done. Beyond the challenge of designing robots to complete desired tasks, Chen focuses on ensuring that robots are safe while maintaining their usefulness so that people can trust robots. As time goes on, he believes that we will see robots gradually integrate into society as people become more comfortable with them.

For the future, Chen is excited to continue collaborating with other researchers. In addition to his current research, he hopes to train robots to understand their effects on the environment and other agents, and make decisions based on these effects. This will help robots interact more naturally and safely with people.