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FACULTY
BOYI HU, PH.D., RECEIVES NSF AWARD
Boyi Hu, Ph.D., has received funding from the National Science Foundation in support of his research in human-robot collaboration in the remanufacturing industry. Dr. Hu’s research focuses on creating an integrated framework that utilizes the capabilities of both humans and robots in a safe, complementary, and interactive manner.
The framework will elucidate strengths of intelligence and physical capabilities in both humans and robots to compensate for weaknesses. It will advance the disassembly sequence planning and product design process, by considering the uncertainty of involving humans and collaborative robots. In addition, the research team will investigate human behavior and response factors in robot-assisted environments.
Xiang Zhong, Ph.D., received funding from the UF Informatics Institute for her research in developing a transfer learning framework that will enhance prediction performance for disease diagnosis and adverse event prevention. Dr. Zhong and her team will develop machine learning algorithms that will borrow knowledge learned from predicting an alternate outcome to increase the efficiency of predicting the target outcome.
These robust predictive models can be integrated with hospital decision support systems. This enables shared decision-making between physicians and patients, and will improve patient outcomes while minimizing intervention costs.
Yongpei Guan, Ph.D., was named a 2021 IEEE Fellow.
Mengyu Li, Ph.D., was named a 2021 Rising Star by the UF Center for Teaching Excellence.
Karen Hicklin, Ph.D., received funding for research on how the current U.S. racial climate impacts the college experience for black undergraduate engineering students.
UF ISE FACULTY DESIGN AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE DISABILITIES
Three UF ISE faculty received funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation after competing in the Inclusive Design Challenge, which tasked competitors with designing a solution to enable people with disabilities to use automated vehicles (AVs).
The winning team consisted of twelve members, including UF ISE faculty Wayne Giang, Ph.D., Sanaz Motamedi, Ph.D., and Boyi Hu, Ph.D., as well as faculty from UF’s Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering, UF’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, and the University of Kansas.
The proposed system will have the capability to connect the traveler with the automated driving system through a mobile app to accommodate pre-trip planning. The system will also integrate a traveler monitoring system that detects traveler emotional and cognitive state based on their facial expressions, skeletal motion, and eye movement. These expressions and behaviors will be captured by a webcam as well as a screen-based eye tracker. The data will then be used to evaluate the traveler’s level of alertness.
The team will then implement an automated in-vehicle agent that will house a customized playbook of possible interventions defined by the traveler, their caregivers, and their doctors prior to using the automated driving system. This personalized learning model will then be able to provide real-time feedback to travelers in emergency or non-emergency situations.
