Brief bio

Dr. Corina Barbalata is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU). Prior to joining Louisiana State University, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Navel Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. She obtained her PhD from Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, United Kingdom) in 2017 from the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, a dual-MS degree from University of Burgundy (France) and Heriot-Watt University (UK), and a BS degree in Automation-System Engineering from Transilvania University (Romania). Her research interests are in autonomy for robotic systems, with a focus on dynamic modeling, control theory, motion planning, and perception systems. Her work is focused on mobile robotic manipulator systems that perform tasks in complex, dynamic and uncertain environments, such as underwater environments or industrial settings.

TALK TITLE

Underwater vehicle and manipulator systems: towards energy-efficient behaviors

ABSTRACT

Underwater-Vehicle Manipulator Systems (UVMS) have gained research attention in the past years as they can expand the applicability of marine robots from performing exploration tasks to intervention activities. Achieving full autonomy and long-term deployments for these systems requires addressing limitations in the areas of system modeling and behavior understanding, scene understanding, control and planning, energy management, to name a few. This talk will focus on the steps taken to address the challenges in modeling and control of underwater vehicles and manipulator systems operating in complex and dynamic environments. Both deterministic and stochastic modeling and control approaches will be discussed, highlighting the capabilities of these methods to achieve robust behaviors while expanding the energy-efficiency of the vehicle-manipulator systems for long-term deployments.