Martin Haegele
Fraunhofer IPA, Stuttgart

Time and Place

1305 Newell-Simon Hall
Refreshments 3:15 pm
Talk 3:30 pm

Abstract

Conventional robots find their limitations if the task execution requires a level of perception, dexterity and reasoning which cannot be met technically in a cost-effective or a robust way. A safe and flexible co-operation between robot and operator may be a promising way to achieve better productivity at a manual workplace (manufacturing assistant) or to offer valuable assistance in public or home settings (home or care assistant). Key components and methods supporting these robot assistants are currently under intense investigation. In parallel, first prototypes of robot assistants are being installed and evaluated.

After an introduction to robotics at Fraunhofer IPA I will report on current R&D on human-robot interaction. Several experiments such as the Care-o-bot for care and housekeeping assistance, or the rob@work or team@work as examples of manufacturing assistants, will be presented.

Speaker Biography

Martin Haegele received his degree as Diplom-Ingenieur in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart in 1989 and his degree of Master of Science in Engineering Science (Solid Mechanics and Materials Science) from the George Washington University in Washington DC, USA. In 1989 he started working at Fraunhofer IPA in robotics development and application (especially material flow automation). In 1993 he was promoted to Head of Department of "Robot Systems" and was appointed a member of the Fraunhofer IPA managing board in 2001.

Martin Haegele holds 4 patents and several awards such as the "Award of the German Association of Machine Tools Manufacturers (VDW)" in 1990, the "Innovation Award of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)" in 1995 and the "Grand Prix Europeen de l'Innovation et des Technologies Nouvelles" in 1998.

About Fraunhofer
Fraunhofer IPA is one of the largest of the 58 Fraunhofer institutes in Germany with a current employment of more than 250 engineers and scientists. Its annual turnover totaled some 35 million EURO in 2002, most of it stemming from industrial contract research. Fraunhofer IPA has been a pioneer in both industrial and service-robot application and development. Personal robots as well as assistive systems for interactive human-machine-task execution both at workplaces and in public environments stand out as current research topics. The institute covers both robot systems design and research in critical robot key technologies such as sensor data processing, control and man-machine-interaction with some 35 scientists and engineers.

Related Links
Fraunhofer IPA
Robotics at Fraunhofer
Fraunhofer Society
Care-o-Bot
MORPHA, an R&D project on human robot interaction.

For appointments, please contact Hagen Schempf (hagen+@cmu.edu)