Professor Salah Sukkarieh explains the history, the funding and the outlook in robotics in his recent interview with fruitworldmedia.
Among the recent developments are the award-winning robots RIPPA and Ladybird.
Professor Salah Sukkarieh is an international expert in the research, development and commercialisation of field robotic systems. He has led a number of robotics and intelligent systems R&D projects in logistics, commercial aviation, aerospace, education, environment monitoring, agriculture and mining, and has consulted to industry including Rio Tinto, BHP, Patrick Stevedores, Qantas, BAE Systems, QLD Biosecurity, Meat and Livestock Australia, and the NSW DPI amongst others. In 2014 he was awarded the NSW Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Engineering and Information and Communications Technologies.
The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) is based in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at The University of Sydney, and is dedicated to the research, development, application and dissemination of autonomous and intelligent robots and systems for operation in outdoor environments. The ACFR is one of the largest robotics research institutes in the world and has been instrumental in developing breakthrough technologies and in conducting world-leading research and development of field robotics principles and systems.
The ACFR has partnered with major national and international agencies in academia, government and industry, and has established a number of leading research centres funded by the Australian Research Council, mining, security and defence, and environmental agencies. The group has substantial experimental facilities including three laboratories and a field test site, a range of experimental and production vehicles, industry-quality mechanical and electrical design and fabrication facilities, and employs the latest in embedded computing, sensing and control technologies.