CACET Speakers
Prof. Ian McAndrew
(Keynote Speaker)
Vedere Institute, USA
Keynote Lecture: Security Concerns and Opportunities for Space Systems
Abstract: This presentation draws upon several research projects and pulls together the principal finding and suggestions for future needs. The legal, ethical and cyberpsychology issues will be related to the security concerns of space systems in both commercial and other applications. It further goes to highlight the challenges and methos being tested to protect in the short and long term. Findings and conclusions will present a direction for engineers and scientist to develop robust solutions.
Biography: Professor Ian R. McAndrew FRAeS is a very highly qualified academic with extensive experiences within industry and internationally recognised researcher with extensive teaching experience at all levels of education. Conference and Journal publication in excess of 100 over 34 years, six books and numerous Keynote presentations around the world. Has supervised 190 students to their doctoral completion in USA, UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Kenya and South Africa. Extensive consultancy experience internationally for multi-nations and organizations. Leading a global doctorate program of in excess of 570 students. As the Dean of Doctoral Programs at Capitol Technology University he is responsible for 42 different Doctoral Programs ranging from Cybersecurity, Analytics, Aviation, Aeronautical Science and Technology based.
Prof. Con Doolan
(Keynote Speaker)
University of New South Wales, Australia
Keynote Lecture: Unmanned Vehicle Propeller Noise
Abstract: Unmanned systems (drones, UAS, Air Mobility Vehicles, etc) are poised to revolutionise urban and short distance transportation. Overwhelmingly, small ducted and unducted propellers are becoming increasingly common choices for unmanned aerial system propulsion. This is because they are inexpensive and, in the case of a ducted propeller, promise high operational efficiency. Unfortunately, drone propellers also have a serious noise problem. Their acoustic signature consists of intense tones and broadband components which can be highly annoying to the public, especially in workplaces and dwellings. To ensure unmanned systems realise their potential, drone propeller noise needs to be better understood and controlled.
This talk will review unmanned vehicle propulsion system noise and focusing on the physical mechanisms behind the generation of sound in small-scale propellers. Using aeroacoustic theory and recent experiments at UNSW as a guide, the acoustic design principles of drone rotor systems will be explored. The talk will explain how anechoic wind tunnels can be used to study the noise sources in detail, using advanced acoustic and turbulence measurement systems. The most important noise source is created by the interaction of turbulence with a rotor blade, and some latest developments in this area will be described. Additionally, the effect of the duct on the noise source will be summarised. Geometrical blade modifications aimed to control noise will also be discussed. The talk will conclude with recommendations for future research and development to support the design of new unmanned vehicle propulsions systems.
Biography: Professor Con Doolan has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Queensland. After working at the University of Glasgow, Department of Defence (Australia) and University of Adelaide, he is now a Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Professor Doolan founded and leads the Flow Noise Group, a world leader in aeroacoustics, which is the science of sound produced by fluid flow. His research ranges from the fundamental to the applied, with extensive projects with the Australian Research Council and industries from the Defence, medical, mining, energy, aerospace and construction sectors.
Prof. Doolan has extensive international collaboration experience involving universities and companies from Europe, USA, South America, Asia and Oceania. Current international collaboration projects are with European (Universite de Poitiers), British (University of Cambridge) and Asian universities (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and various companies. He ran Flinovia in 2023, an invitation-only conference involving the world’s prestigious researchers and companies in flow-induced noise and vibration.
Prof. Doolan has held senior leadership roles, the most recent being Associate Dean (Education) for UNSW Engineering where he was Program Authority for 16,000+ students and program review, compliance, and accreditation activities.
Prof. Hesheng Wang
(Keynote Speaker)
Shanghai Jiaotong University, China
Keynote Lecture: Vision-Based Robot Localization, Navigation, and Control
Abstract: This report focuses on the two core functions of service robots: mobility and manipulation. First, an overview of the current status of the service robot industry and technological development, along with the challenges faced, is provided. Next, the report introduces the key achievements of the team's long-term efforts in addressing the core technical challenges of mobility and manipulation. To tackle the issue of velocity perception and localization failure caused by the complex dynamics of non-holonomic mobile robots and dynamic environmental interferences, a computation method that integrates attention-based back-end optimization and explicit occlusion handling is proposed. This method achieves robust perception and localization of mobile robots through visual fusion in complex and large scenes. To address the problem of traditional calibrated control algorithms being prone to failure in uncalibrated environments, an adaptive visual servoing framework is developed that entirely relies on visual feedback without prior environmental information. This framework solves the challenge of high-precision robotic operations without calibration. A practical and versatile vision-based method system has been established, elevating the critical technological level of service robots.
Biography: Hesheng Wang is a Distinguished Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. He has published more than 200 papers in refereed journals and conferences. Dr. Wang is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Robotic Intelligence and Automation and the International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, a Senior Editor of the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, an Editor of Conference Editorial Board (CEB) of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. He served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics from 2015 to 2019, a Technical Editor of the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics from 2020 to 2023. He was the General Chair of IEEE ROBIO 2022 and IEEE RCAR 2016, and the Program Chair of the IEEE ROBIO 2014 and IEEE/ASME AIM 2019. He will be the General Chair of IEEE/RSJ IROS 2025.
Prof. Bernd R. Noack
(Keynote Speaker)
Harbin Institute of Technology ( Shenzhen), China
Keynote Lecture: Aerodynamic technologies for a gust-safe low-altitude economy
Abstract: The rapidly evolving low-altitude economy transforms mankind into an aerial society: Drones and air taxis allow un- precedented transport and mobility over traffic jams in congested metropolises and to remote rural destinations. Yet, steady winds and wind gusts challenge the safety of air taxi and delivery drone operation in urban environments. These winds lead to unintended displacements and may result potential collisions and accidents.
We address this safety challenge for multicopter drones and similarly designed air taxis on several fronts. First, an aerodynamic drone model is developed for low and highspeed operation. This plant serves for the assessment and optimization of cruise performance and flight control under wind gusts. Second, the urban wind conditions are emulated in simulations and experiments with the world’s largest fan array wind generator (FAWG) with 40 × 40 individually controllable fans. Thus, flow prediction methodologies are developed for sparse optimized sensors. Finally, the flight control is optimized for take-off, landing and cruise under gusty wind conditions. The control design employs the aerodynamic model, artificial intelligence based learning and is further improved by estimated flow conditions.
This lecture is based on work of Prof. Noack’s team, in particular Yutong Liu, Yanting Liu, Tianyu Wang, Zhutao Jiang, Yiqing Li, Chang Hou, Yutong Liang, Guy Cornejo Maceda, Muhammad Babansoro Sanusi and Matheesha Pathiraja in collaboration with Profs. Yannian Yang (SCUT), Gang Hu (HIT), Hao Xiong (HIT) and Franz Raps (SZTU).
Biography: Bernd R. Noack is National Talent Professor and Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Aerodynamics (CAIA) at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Shenzhen, Professor and Chair of Turbulence Control at the Technical University of Berlin, and Visiting Professor at Shenzhen Technology University. At HIT, he heads a growing team with three laboratories for the aerodynamics problems of the low-altitude economy. For over three decades, he has worked on engineering turbulence control for transport vehicles in leading European and the US institutions, including the Max-Plank Society, German Aerospace Center (DLR), United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), TU Berlin and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Prof. Noack has written about 300 refereed publications, including 2 international patents, 1 China Utility Model Patent, 6 books and over 150 journal articles. His work has been awarded with dozens of national and international awards. For instance, he became Fellow of the American Physical Society, got the first senior ANR Chair of Excellence in Fluid Mechanics, and was the only winner of the annual von Mises award 2005. Mendeley/Stanford lists him as highly cited scientist and Research.com rates him as Top Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Scientist in China and worldwide.
Prof. I-Ming Chen
(Keynote Speaker)
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Keynote Lecture: Robot Perception and Learning for Aerospace and Manufacturing Automation Applications
Abstract: Industry robot manipulators have been invented for nearly 50 years. In the past, such robot manipulators are used in mass manufacturing lines and programmed manually by engineers. However, as modern manufacturing moves into low volume high mix products in a very tight schedule, it becomes very challenge to program the robots to handle large variety of products and parts and also to make changes to the manufacturing lines in a very short time. With advancement in 3D machine vision, machine learning methods and fast computing power, there is an emerging trend to put 3D perception device, machine learning technique into industry robots to make them “smart’ enough to handle a variety of products in a changing environment. In this speech, we will discuss how 3D perception systems and machine learning techniques are used in some aerospace and manufacturing automation scenarios and prepare for wider adoption in the industry.
Biography: Professor I-Ming Chen received B.S. degree from National Taiwan University in 1986, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA in 1989 and 1994 respectively. He is currently Full Professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Co-Director of CARTIN (Center for Advanced Robotics Technology and Innovation) in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Technical Advisor to National Robotics Program Office in Singapore, and Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA). He was Editor-in-chief of IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics from 2020 to 2022, and Director of Robotics Research Centre (NTU) from 2013 to 2017. Professor Chen is Fellow of Singapore Academy of Engineering, Fellow of IEEE and Fellow of ASME, General Chairman of 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2017) in Singapore. His research interests are in Robot AI & perception, logistics and construction robots, human-robot interaction, and industrial automation. He founded Transforma Robotics Pte Ltd developing robots for construction industry and Hand Plus Robotics Pte Ltd developing robotics and AI solutions for logistics and manufacturing industry.
Songtao WANG
(Keynote Speaker)
AESC Global Sales & Marketing EVP, China
Keynote Lecture: Potential Applications of Automotive parts in VTOL Development
Biography: Before joining AESC, Mr. Wang was President of Bosch Mobility Aftermarket Asia Pacific, Vice President of Europe and Vice President of Robert Bosch Battery Systems (Deutschland) GmbH, and also worked in the high-speed railway industry and IT industry for many years. He has extensive experience in multicultural cooperation in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and operates billion CNY business covering strategic planning, hardware and software business, service innovation, and domestic and international manufacturing plants.
He places a high value on talent and organizational culture and implements a medium to long-term development perspective that combines strategic planning with excellent operations. He drives the practice of the entire value chain, overcoming the impact of the pandemic to steadily increase regional sales, profit margins and free cash flow. At the same time, with a forward-looking vision, he vigorously promotes organizational transformation, enhancement of organizational capabilities and innovation in business models. The digital transformation practices he has led enjoy a good reputation in the relevant industry. His team has consecutively won the "Digital Pioneer Award" within the company. He has been invited to share his experiences with multinational corporations, business schools, industry forums and professional media. Renowned digital transformation expert, Mr. Robin Speculand, along with scholars from Singapore Management University, and Duke Kunshan University, has authored business cases on his digital practices (2024).
Mr. Wang Songtao was involved in the negotiation of the acquisition of European projects by Chinese listed companies and assisted in the handover to production. After returning to China, he led a strategic investment in a big data platform and served as the board director. Working with other prominent venture capitalists, he enabled the company grow to become the leading unicorn in its space (Forbes China 2022 list), and preparing for its overseas IPO as well.
Mr. Songtao Wang was born in 1978 in Anhui. He holds dual EMBA degrees from Mannheim Business School and Tongji University, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He has also pursued advanced general management courses at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT).
