[cid:image005.jpg@01D816BD.43DC9830] Faculty Candidate Seminar - Autonomous and Connected Systems [cid:image001.png@01D818E6.D18A34F0]Dr. Nak-Seung Patrick Hyun Research Associate (Postdoctoral Fellow) Harvard University Monday, February 7, 2022 Presentation: 10:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. Q & A: 11:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Purdue Graduate Student Center 504 Northwestern Ave. ~ Room 105A & B https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/97086184212 Autonomous Control of Extreme Behaviors in Bio-Inspired Robotics Abstract: Highly agile and extreme behaviors of many biological systems offer examples for future research directions to target similar mobility in bio-inspired robots understanding of the complex dynamics and subsequent design of a robust and adaptive control framework. Examples of extreme behaviors in biological systems are the fast oscillation-driven maneuvers of bees flapping their wings around 200 Hz and the rapid impulsive striking of mantis shrimp releasing their stored potential energy within milliseconds. The challenges for control of robots with similar extreme behaviors lie in the highly nonlinear dynamics operating over multiple timescales. Specifically, one has to account for fast dynamics (extreme motions) and slow dynamics (time-averaged motion or slower drift in the system), and the time-varying actuation model in the high-frequency regime (fast-dynamics) vs the low-frequency regime (slow dynamics). This talk will address the control-theoretic aspects of dealing with such challenges in bio-inspired robots based on first principles in mathematical system theory. The first part of this talk will address the recent progress on controlling the Harvard Robobee, an insect scale flapping-wing vehicle that flaps its wings around 150Hz. In addition, the recent findings in the nonlinear modeling of the dynamic principles of mantis shrimp strike will be covered, which allows the striking speed to reach 27 m/s within a few milliseconds. The second part of this talk will address the causality of modeling nonlinear impulsive systems, which utilize a singular impulsive contact force in nonlinear mechanical system modeling. The third part of this talk will introduce the recent work on safe trajectory optimization and multi-agent system control, envisioning the future of swarms of flapping wing vehicles. Lastly, I will conclude this talk with future research on the control autonomy of extreme behaviors in bio-inspired robotics. Bio: Nak-seung Patrick Hyun is a research associate at the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory, hosted by Robert J. Wood. His research focuses on the control-theoretic aspects of bio-inspired robots, emphasizing systems with extreme behaviors such as flapping vehicles and impulsive systems. He is interested in the broad range of nonlinear control, including optimization-based control, geometric control, and contraction-based control. His research program provides a cyclic learning cycle between biology, mathematical system theory, and robotics. He received a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 2018, an M.S. degree in mathematics in 2013, and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 2013 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His previous research at Georgia Tech addresses a new framework of causal modeling of impulsive systems and optimal safe path planning for multi-agent systems. He was recognized as an outstanding graduate teaching assistant by the Georgia Tech ECE Department in 2011.