Autonomous Systems and Robotics

Salford Innovation Research Centre (SIRC)

Autonomous Systems and Robotics

ASAR has internationally recognised research excellence in Robotics & Artificial Intelligence (RAI). It was appointed the home of the National Advanced Robotics Research Centre in 1987 and was the founding member of the Northern Robotics Network, which became the National Robotics Network (NRN). ASAR is a spoke of the EPSRC Future AI & Robotics for Space Hub, a UK national centre of research excellence in space robots and AI funded through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

ASAR is at the forefront of strategic research initiatives funded by the EPSRC, the EU Framework Programmes for R&I, UK Government Departments (BEIS and Defra) and industry.

Our research has been applied in a range of sectors including automotive and aerospace manufacturing, nuclear decommissioning, space exploration, food production, agriculture and in health and social care.

Overview

History

The Centre has strong national and international connections with both other research institutes and the industry, with specific regard to manufacturing and partners, particularly in the Aerospace and Food sectors. Salford researchers have been at the forefront of strategic national developments initiated by several organizations in different areas of interest including: the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the Department  of  Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Also, the Centre participated to multiple international initiatives from the European Union. Currently, the Centre is host for two  government  sponsored networks in Robotincs and in Automation, as part of the DEFRA-sponsored Food Manufacturing Engineering Group.

In addition to taught courses, the Center has a unique offer of different Ph.D. programmes towards Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Professional Doctorate (D.Prof.), with approximately 80-100 students involved in robotics research activities covering a wide range of topics and applications.

Expertise and Research Areas

Over the years, the Centre developed a unique expertise in several areas in the field of Robotics and Automation, which, in turn, offer a unique advantage in terms of both basic and applied research. The Centre focuses its research on automation systems, robot and machine design, dexterous end effectors, legged robots and walking systems, soft robotics, biomimetics and biologically-inspired robots, haptics and telepresence, physical human-robot interaction, rehabilitation robotics, cognitive robotics and autonomous systems, uninhabited autonomous systems and unmanned air vehicles, and food automation. In addition, the Centre gained expertise in adjacent research topics and is extremely open to leveraging its know-how and facilities to explore other topics and to support multidisciplinary research in different areas.

Projects

Research Projects and Grants

The Centre has attracted many research grants including:

ERDF. North of England Centre of excellence in Robotics and Intelligent Automation. £6.7M. 2020.

Research England. The North of England Robotics Innovation Centre. £3.6M. 2020.

ESTIA-Composite Adour ( Coriolis, ADS and Dassault Systems).   Intelligent Automation and industry 5.0. £500k. 2019.

UKRI. Synergy. £400k. 2019

EPSRC. FAIR-SPACE Hub. £700k. 2017

UKRI, NDA, Sellafield. Integrated Innovation for Nuclear Decommissioning. £200k. 2019.

Medical Research Council. Kinecting Frailty Study. £100k. 2017.

Wood group Ltd. An intelligent robotic adaptive gripper for demonstration purposes. £100k. 2017.

Marie-Curie, EU. SMART-E: Sustainable Manufacturing through Robotics Training in Europe. £4M. 2013.

In Touch Ltd.  Research Fellowship. £160k. 2017

EPSRC. Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Intelligent Automation Feasibility Study. £50k. 2015.

KTP. HellermannTyton Ltd. £300k. 2014.

BAE Systems. Autonomous Swarm-Based Mission Planning and Management System. £50k. 2015.

RGF and BEIS. GAMMA: Growing Autonomous Mission Management Applications. £300k. 2015.

Adaptive control of large scale UAV). £200k. 2012.

EPSRC. Challenging established rules for train control through a fault tolerance approach. £346K. 2010.

BAE, InnovateUK. ASTRAEA T7. £30k. 2019.

Meyertech Ltd . Cognitive Multi-agent platform for Video Network System. £120k. 2010.

EU cognition Network. European Network for the Advancement of Artificial Cognitive Systems-Doctoral school. £60k. 2010.

Meyertech Ltd. Human behaviour monitoring using video analysis. 120k. 2010.

EC (Framework). The portal for projects and communities in the virtual organisation domain (VE-Forum). £36k. 2010.

EC (Framework). Novel processing methods for the production and distribution of high quality and safe foods NovelQ. £71k. 2010.

EPSRC fellowship. Information retrieval and documents categorisation based on inclusion concepts. £125k. 2010.

Recent Publications

Refereed journal publications

  1. Majidi Fard Vatan, H , Nefti-Meziani, S, Davis, ST , Saffari, Z and El-Hussieny, H 2021, ‘A review : a comprehensive review of soft and rigid wearable rehabilitation and assistive devices with a focus on the shoulder joint’ , Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 102 (1) , p. 9.   
  2. Wahab, MNA, Nefti-Meziani, S and Atyabi, A 2020, ‘A comparative review on mobile robot path planning : classical or meta-heuristic methods?’ , Annual Reviews in Control, 50 , pp. 233-252.          
  3. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2020, ‘Controlling of pneumatic muscle actuator systems by Parallel Structure of Neural Network and Proportional Controllers (PNNP)’ , Frontiers in Robotics and AI, section Soft Robotics, 7 , p. 115.        
  4. Soufian, M , Nefti-Meziani, S and Drake, J 2020, ‘Toward Kinecting cognition by behaviour recognition-based deep learning and big data’ , Universal Access in the Information Society .             
  5. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2020, ‘The design, kinematics and torque analysis of the self-bending soft contraction actuator’ , Actuators, 9 (2) , e33.             
  6. Bousaid, A, Theodoridis, T , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, S 2020, ‘Perspective distortion modeling for image measurements’ , IEEE Access, 8 , pp. 15322-15331.          
  7. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S, Davis, ST and Theodoridis, T 2018, ‘Novel design and position control strategy of a soft robot arm’ , Robotics, 7 (4) .           
  8. Mahboubi, S, Davis, ST and Nefti-Meziani, S 2018, ‘Variable stiffness robotic hand for stable grasp and flexible handling’ , IEEE Access, 6 , pp. 68195-68209.       
  9. Elkurdi, A, Soufian, M and Nefti-Meziani, S 2018, ‘Gait speeds classifications by supervised modulation based machine-learning using Kinect camera’ , Medical Research and Innovations, 2 (4) , pp. 1-6.            
  10. Al-Fahaam, HSH , Nefti-Meziani, S, Theodoridis, T and Davis, ST 2018, ‘The design and mathematical model of a novel variable stiffness extensor-contractor pneumatic artificial muscle’ , Soft Robotics, 5 (5) , pp. 576-591.                
  11. Assaf, R, Do, P, Nefti-Meziani, S and Scarf, PA 2018, ‘Wear rate-state interactions within a multi-component system : a study of a gearbox accelerated life testing platform’ , Proceedings of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, 232 (4) , pp. 425-434.    
  12. Hao, L, Chaoqun, X, Giannaccini, ME, Cheng, H, Zhang, Y, Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2018, ‘Design and control of a novel variable stiffness soft arm’ , Advanced Robotics, 32 (11) , pp. 605-622.
  13. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2018, ‘Design, kinematics, and controlling a novel soft robot arm with parallel motion’ , Robotics, 7 (2) , p. 19.       
  14. Al-Fahaam, H , Davis, ST , Nefti-Meziani, S and Theodoridis, T 2018, ‘Novel soft bending actuator based power augmentation hand exoskeleton controlled by human intention’ , Intelligent Service Robotics, 11 (3) , pp. 247-268.      
  15. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2018, ‘Active soft end effectors for efficient grasping and safe handling’ , IEEE Access, 6 , pp. 23591-23601.       
  16. Al Abeach, LAT, Nefti-Meziani, S, Theodoridis, T and Davis, ST 2018, ‘A variable stiffness soft gripper using granular jamming and biologically inspired pneumatic muscles’ , Journal of Bionic Engineering, 15 (2) , pp. 236-246.      
  17. Al-Ibadi, Alaa , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2018, ‘Design, implementation and modelling of the single and multiple extensor pneumatic muscle actuators’ , Systems Science & Control Engineering, 6 (1) , pp. 80-89.                
  18. Giannaccini, ME, Xiang, CQ, Atyabi, A, Theodoridis, T , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2018, ‘Novel design of a soft lightweight pneumatic continuum robot arm with decoupled variable stiffness and positioning’ , Soft Robotics, 5 (1) , pp. 54-70.           
  19. Al-Fahaam, HSH , Davis, ST and Nefti-Meziani, S 2017, ‘The design and mathematical modelling of novel extensor bending pneumatic artificial muscles (EBPAMs) for soft exoskeletons’ , Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 99 , pp. 63-74.                
  20. Al-Ibadi, A , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2017, ‘Efficient structure-based models for the McKibben contraction pneumatic muscle actuator : the full description of the behaviour of the contraction PMA’ , Actuators, 6 (4) , p. 32.  
  21. Al Abeach, L, Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2017, ‘Design of a variable stiffness soft dexterous gripper’ , Soft Robotics, 4 (3) , pp. 274-284.      
  22. Russo, S, Nefti-Meziani, S, Carbonaro, N and Tognetti, A 2017, ‘A quantitative evaluation of drive pattern selection for optimizing EIT-based stretchable sensors’ , Physical Sensors, 17 (9) , p. 1999.
  23. Russo, S, Nefti-Meziani, S, Carbonaro, N and Tognetti, A 2017, ‘Development of a high-speed current injection and voltage measurement system for electrical impedance tomography-based stretchable sensors’ , Technologies, 5 (3) , p. 48.           
  24. Assaf, R, Scarf, PA , Nefti-Meziani, S and Do, P 2016, ‘Wear rate-state interaction modelling for a multi-component system : models and an experimental platform’ , IFAC-PapersOnLine, 49 (28) , pp. 232-237.
  25. Xiang, Chaoqun, Giannaccini, ME, Theodoridis, T , Nefti-Meziani, S and Davis, ST 2016, ‘Variable stiffness McKibben muscles with hydraulic and pneumatic operating modes’ , Advanced Robotics, 30 (13) , pp. 889-899.                
  26. Gulrez, T, Nefti-Meziani, S, McEvoy, P and Hodgson, A 2016, ‘Loneliness kills : can autonomous systems and robotics assist in providing solutions?’ , International Journal of Swarm Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation, 5 (1) , e113.           
  27. Mahboubi, S, Fakhrabadi, MMS, Davis, ST and Nefti-Meziani, S 2016, ‘Two bioinspired mobile manipulators with rolling locomotion’ , Journal of Bionic Engineering, 13 (1) , pp. 48-58.             
  28. Russo, S, Ranzani, T, Liu, H, Nefti-Meziani, S, Althoefer, K and Menciassi, A 2015, ‘Soft and stretchable sensor using biocompatible electrodes and liquid for medical applications’ , Soft Robotics, 2 (4) , pp. 146-154.    
  29. Tavakoli, HR, Atyabi, A, Rantanen, A, Laukka, SJ, Nefti-Meziani, S and Heikki, J 2015, ‘Predicting the valence of a scene from observers’ eye movements’ , PLoS ONE, 10 (9) , e0138198.
  30. Nefti-Meziani, S, Manzoor, U, Davis, ST and Pupala, SK 2015, ‘3D perception from binocular vision for a low cost humanoid robot NAO’ , Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 68 , pp. 129-139.            
  31. Ab Wahab, MN, Nefti-Meziani, S and Atyabi, A 2015, ‘A comprehensive review of swarm optimization algorithms’ , PLoS ONE, 10 (5) , e0122827.           
  32. Zaeim, A, Nefti-Meziani, S and Atyabi, A 2015, ‘Application of distributed lighting control architecture in dementia-friendly smart homes’ , International Journal of Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence (IJARAI), 4 (8) .   
  33. Nefti-Meziani, S, Oußalah, MC and Soufian, M 2015, ‘On the use of inclusion structure in fuzzy clustering algorithm in case of Gaussian membership functions’ , Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, 28 (4) , pp. 1477-1493.
  34. Rea, F, Nefti-Meziani, S, Manzoor, U and Davis, ST 2014, ‘Ontology enhancing process for a situated and curiosity-driven robot’ , Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 62 (12) , pp. 1837-1847.       
  35. Manzoor, U and Nefti-Meziani, S 2009, ‘An agent based system for activity monitoring on network – ABSAMN’ , Expert Systems with Applications, 36 (8) , pp. 10987-10994.      
  36. Nefti-Meziani, S, Oussalah, M and Khan, S 2008, ‘Personalized information retrieval system in the framework of fuzzy logic’ , Expert Systems with Applications, 35 (1-2) , p. 423.            
  37. Nefti-Meziani, S, Kaymak, U and Oussalah, M 2008, ‘A new fuzzy set merging technique using inclusion-based fuzzy clustering’ , Fuzzy Systems, IEEE Transactions on, 16 (1) , pp. 145-161.          
  38. Meziane, F and Nefti-Meziani, S 2007, ‘Evaluating e-commerce trust using fuzzy logic [article]’ , International Journal of Intelligent Information Technologies, 3 (4) , pp. 25-39.               
  39. Nefti-Meziani, S and Djouani, K 2003, ‘Extended fuzzy clustering algorithm based on an inclusion concept’ , Fuzzy Systems, 2 , pp. 869-874.
  40. Djouani, K, Oussalah, M, Pontnau, J and Nefti-Meziani, S 2001, ‘Intelligent adaptive mobile robot navigation’ , Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 30 (4) , pp. 311-329.
  41. Davis, ST and Caldwell, DG 2012, ‘Biologically inspired damage tolerance in braided pneumatic muscle actuators’ , Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 23 (3) , pp. 309-321    
  42. Pettersson, A, Ohlsson, T, Davis, ST , Gray, JO and Dodd, TJ 2011, ‘A hygienically designed force gripper for flexible handling of variable and easily damaged natural food products’ , Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, 12 (3) , pp. 344-351.
  43. Pettersson, A, Davis, ST , Gray, JO and Ohlsson, T 2010, ‘Design of a magnetorheological robot gripper for handling of delicate food products with varying shapes’ , Journal of Food Engineering, 98 (3) , pp. 332-338.               
  44. Davis, ST , Gray, J and Caldwell, DG 2010, ‘Automation for value added prepared vegetables – the Brussels sprout’ , Trends in Food Science & Technology, 21 (3) , pp. 138-144.         
  45. Pettersson, A, Ohlsson, T, Caldwell, DG, Davis, ST , Gray, JO and Dodd, T 2010, ‘A Bernoulli principle gripper for handling of planar and 3D (food) products’ , Industrial Robot, 37 (6) , pp. 518-526              
  46. Davis, ST , Gray, JO and Caldwell, DG 2008, ‘An end effector based on the Bernoulli principle for handling sliced fruit and vegetables’ , Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 24 (2) , pp. 249-257.        
  47. Davis, ST and Caldwell, DG 2006, ‘Braid effects on contractile range and friction modelling in pneumatic muscle actuators’ , The International Journal of Robotics Research, 25 (4) , pp. 359-369.
  48. Tsagarakis, NG, Davis, ST , Canderle, J and Caldwell, DG 2003, ‘Enhanced modelling and performance in braided pneumatic muscle actuators’ , The International Journal of Robotics Research, 22 (3) , pp. 213-227.

Articles in refereed conference proceedings

  1. Atyabi, A. and Powers, D. (2013). Cooperative Area Extension of PSO Transfer Learning vs. Uncertainty in a simulated Swarm Robotics. In 10th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO). 10th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO).
  2. Atyabi, A., Luerssen, M., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). Adapting Subject-Independent Task-Specific EEG Feature Masks using PSO. In A Abbass, D Essam & R Sarker, ed. Proceedings of the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. IEEE CEC 2012.
  3. Atyabi, A., Luerssen, M., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). Dimension Reduction in EEG Data using Particle Swarm Optimization. In A Abbass, D Essam & R Sarker, ed. Proceedings of the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. IEEE CEC 2012.. [Nominated for best paper award]
  4. Atyabi, A., Luerssen, M., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). Evolutionary feature selection and electrode reduction for EEG classification. In A Abbass, D Essam & R Sarker, ed. Proceedings of the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. IEEE CEC 2012.
  5. Atyabi, A., Luerssen, M., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). The Impact of PSO based Dimension Reduction on EEG classification. In FM Zanzotto, S Tsumoto, N Taatgen & Y Yao, ed. Brain Informatics International Conference Proceedings. Brain Informatics 2012. pp. 220-231
  6. Powers, D.M. and Atyabi, A. (2012). The Problem of Cross-Validation: Averaging and Bias, Repetition and Significance. In Spring World Congress on Engineering and Technology: Proceedings. SCET2012.
  7. Atyabi, A., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). Biasing the Overlapping and Non-Overlapping Sub-Windows of EEG recording. In A Abbass, D Essam & R Sarker, ed. Proceedings of the 2012 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks. IJCNN2012.
  8. Atyabi, A., Fitzgibbon, S. and Powers, D. (2012). Multiplication of EEG samples through Replicating, Biasing, and Overlapping. In FM Zanzotto, S Tsumoto, N Taatgen & Y Yao, ed. Brain Informatics International Conference Proceedings. Brain Informatics 2012. pp. 209-219
  9. Powers, D.M., Atyabi, A. and Anderson, T. (2012). MAGIC Robots – Resilient Communications: A Guaranteed Redundant Expansible Mesh Built on Unreliable Media. In Spring World Congress on Engineering and Technology: Proceedings. SCET2012.
  10. Atyabi, A., Fitzgibbon, S.P. and Powers, D. (2011). Multiplying the Mileage of Your Dataset with Subwindowing. In Hu, Bin and Liu, Jiming and Chen, Lin and Zhong, Ning, ed. Lecture Notes in Computer Sciences, Vol 6889. Brain Informatics 2011. pp. 173-184.
  11. Atyabi, A., Anderson, T.A.F., Treharne, K. and Powers, D.M. (2011). Magician Simulator. In Eleventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2010). Eleventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2010).
  12. Umar Manzoor, Samia Nefti, and Janita Irfan (2011) “Cognitive Agent based Intelligent Warning System to Monitor Patients Suffering from Dementia using Ambient Assisted Living” in the proceeding of World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-11), London, UK.
  13. Umar Manzoor, Samia Nefti (2011) “HERMIT: A new Methodology for Creating Autonomous Software Deployment Packages”.
  14. Atyabi, A. and Powers, D.M. (2010). The Use of Area Extended Particle Swarm Optimization (AEPSO) in Swarm Robotics. In Eleventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2010). Eleventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2010).
  15. Umar Manzoor, Samia Nefti, Yacine Rezgui (2010): Autonomous Malicious Activity Inspector – AMAI. NLDB 2010: 204-215.
  16. Umar Manzoor, and Samia Nefti, (2010) “Cognitive Agent based Intelligent Warning System to Monitor Patients Suffering from Dementia using Ambient Assisted Living” accepted for publication in IEEE International Conference on Information Society.
  17. Umar Manzoor, and Samia Nefti (2010) “Autonomous Malicious Activity Inspector – AMAI” under review in International Conference on Applications of Natural Language to Information Systems.
  18. Rosidah Sam and Samia Nefti, (2010) “Design and feasibility tests of multi-functional gripper for handling variable shape of food products”, IEEE International Conference on System, Man and Cybernetics, October 10-13, Istanbul, Turkey.
  19. S. Davis and Darwin G Caldwell. “Biomimetic Design for Bipedal/Quadrupedal Motion in a Robotic Primate”. IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation ICIA 2010. Heilongjiang, China. June 2010.
  20. S. Davis and Darwin G. Caldwell. “The Development and Maintenance of a Reliable Interactive Dexterous Robotic Hand for Museum Exhibition”. IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation ICIA 2010. Heilongjiang, China. June 2010.
  21. S. Davis, D.G. Caldwell. “The Design of an Anthropomorphic Dexterous Humanoid Foot”. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Taipei, Taiwan. October 2010.
  22. S. Davis, J.O.Gray and Darwin G Caldwell. “Compliance and Variable Stiffness Actuation in a Robotic Primate” International Workshop on Human Adaptive Mechatronics (HAM) 2010, Loughborough University, UK, 13-14 May, 2010
  23. Rosidah Sam and Samia Nefti (2009) “A new design approach of robotic gripper for reducing cost of handling food products”, Cybernetics Intelligent Systems, IEEE International Conference on, 2009, Birmingham.
  24. Umar Manzoor, Samia Nefti (2009) “Silent Unattended Installation / Un-Installation of Software’s on Network Using NDMAS – Network Deployment Using Multi-Agent System” in the proceeding of The Fourth European Conference on Intelligent Management System In Operations (IMSIO 2009), July , UK.
  25. El-Mabrouk, Samia Nefti (2009): “New deformable model for soft tissue modelling”, ICET 2009.
  26. El-Mabrouk, Samia Nefti(2009): “Neural Network modelling for cataract eye surgery Simulation”, Cybernetics Intelligent Systems 2009, IEEE International Conference on, Birmingham, UK.
  27. S.Nefti: Irrational Particle swarm optimasation. 3rd December 2009. https://cast.switch.ch/vod/clips/1vxh2ndrz7
  28. Davis S, Moreno Masey R, Gray J O, Caldwell D G. “The design of a low cost robot for the food industry”. IET Control 2008. Manchester. Sept. 2008.
  29. S. Davis, N.G. Tsagarakis and Darwin G. Caldwell. “The Initial Design and Manufacturing Process of a Low Cost Hand for the Robot iCub”. IEEE International Conference on Humanoid Robots. Korea. Dec 2008.
  30. S. Barresi, S. Nefti, Y. Rezgui (2008), “A Concept Based Indexing Approach for Document Clustering”, ICSC, pp. 26-33, IEEE International Conference on Semantic Computing, pp 26-33.
  31. Rosidah Sam and Samia Nefti (2008), “Design and development of flexible robotics gripper for handling food products”, Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision ICARCV, International Conference on, Hanoi, 1684-1689, Vietnam
  32. N. Costa, S. Nefti, D. Caldwell (2008)”Autonomy and Independence Amongst Patients with Cognitive Impairments”, IET Assisted Living in Conference Proceedings, London UK,2008.
  33. N.Costa, S. Nefti, Darwin G.Caldwell (2008), Powered Lower Limb Orthosis for Human Assistance and Neurorehabilitation, CLAWAR Coimbra, Portugal, 8-10 Sept, 2008.
  34. W. Hinojosa and S.Nefti (2008)”Reinforcement Learning for Probabilistic Fuzzy Controllers”, UKACC Control ,3-6.
  35. Umar Manzoor, and Samia Nefti, (2008) “Silent Unattended Installation Package Manager – SUIPM” in the proceeding of IEEE International Conference on Computational Intelligence for Modelling, Control and Automation (CIMCA), Vienna, Austria, 10-12 December.
  36. Umar Manzoor, and Samia Nefti, (2008) “Agent Based Activity Monitoring System – ABAMS” in the proceeding of IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI 2008), pp 200-203, Dayton, USA, 3-5 November.
  37. A. Atyabi & S.P. Amnuaisuk, Particle swarm optimization with area extension (AEPSO). IEEE Congress of Evolutionary Computation CEC’07, Stamford University, Singapore, pp. 1970-1976, 2007.
  38. A. Atyabi, S.P. Amnuaisuk & C.K. Ho, Effects of communication range, noise and help request signal on particle swarm optimization with area extension (AEPSO). The 2007 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology ACM, pp. 85-88, 2007.
  39. A. Atyabi, S.P. Amnuaisuk & C.K. Ho, Particle Swarm Optimizations: A Critical Review, Proceeding of Conf IKT07, Third conference of Information and Knowledge Technology, Ferdowsi University, Iran, 2007.
  40. S.Baresi, S.Nefti, Y.Rezgui (2007): “A New Conceptual Approach to Document Indexing”, Eight International Conference on Intelligent Text Processing and Computational Linguistics, (CICLing 2007), IEEE CS Press.
  41. Y.Rezgui, S.Nefti (2007): “Semantic Mapping using fuzzy framework”. ICIS, Madeira Island, Portugal, 12-17 June.
  42. Yacine Rezgui, Samia Nefti (2007): Ontology-Based Dynamic Service Composition Using Semantic Relatedness and Categorization Techniques. ICEIS (4) : 113-120
  43. S. Davis, Darwin G. Caldwell “Automated Handling, Assembly and Packaging of Highly Variable Compliant Food Products – Making a Sandwich” IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation. Rome, Italy. April 2007. Best Automation paper finalist.
  44. S. Davis, Darwin G. Caldwell “Pneumatic Muscle Actuators for Humanoid applications -Sensor and Valve Integration” IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots December 2006. Genova, Italy.
  45. J.O. Gray, S. Davis, R. J. Moreno-Masey and Darwin G. Caldwell. “Visions for Automated Food Manufacturing”. International Symposium Food Factory of the Future 3, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 2006.
  46. S. Davis, Darwin G. Caldwell, J.O. Gray. “Automated Handling and Drying of Fresh Food Slices”. International Symposium Food Factory of the Future 3, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 2006.
  47. P.Y Chua, M. Bezdicek, S. Davis, D.G. Caldwell, J. O. Gray. “Tele-Operated High Speed Anthropomorphic Dextrous Hands with Object Shape and Texture Identification”. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Beijing, China October 2006.
  48. S.Nefti, F.Meziane and M.K. Kasiran (2005) “A Fuzzy Trust Model for E-Commerce”. IEEE International Conference on E-Commerce Technology Munich, Germany.12 July.
  49. S.Nefti, M.Oussalah (2004), “Probabilistic-Fuzzy Clustering Algorithm”, IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 3915-3920.
  50. S.Nefti, M.Oussalah (2004), “A Neural Network approach for Railway Safety Prediction”, IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, October,10-13, Volume: 4, pp 3915- 3920, vol.4 ISSN: 1062-922X 6-9.
  51. S.Nefti, K.Djouani (2003). “Extended Fuzzy clustering based on inclusion concept” .IEEE conference on Fuzzy System USA, volume: 2, pp 869- 874, ISBN: 0-7803-7810-5Mai 25-28.
  52. S. Davis, P. Tresadern, J. Canderle, N.G. Tsagarakis, P. Dodd, and Darwin G. Caldwell. “The Biomimetic Design of ‘Soft’ Mechatronic Systems”. IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics. Coimbra, Portugal. June/July 2003.
  53. N.G.Tsagarakis, V.A.Tsachouridis, S.Davis And D.G.Caldwell. “Modelling And Control Of A Pneumatic Muscle Actuated Joint Using On/Off Solenoid Valves”. IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics. Coimbra, Portugal. June/July 2003.
  54. S.Nefti, K.Djouani (2002) “Fuzzy Modelling of MIMO Non Linear System: Complexity Reduction”. IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, October, Volume: 2, pp185- 189, ISSN: 1062-922X 6-9.
  55. S.Nefti.(2002). “New algorithm for simplification of rule base generated by automated fuzzy modelling”. IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics October,6-9, Volume: 2,pp 190- 195, ISSN: 1062-922X.
  56. S.Nefti, K.Djouani (2002). “Transparency improvement of standard fuzzy systems in case of application for control nonlinear system”, IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics October, Volume: 1,pp 332- 337, ISSN: 1062-922X, 6-9.
  57. S.Nefti, K.Djouani (2002) “Neuro-Fuzzy Learning Approach for Real Time Mobile Robot Navigation”. The 2002 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IC-AI’02: USA, June 24-27).
  58. S.Nefti, K.Djouani (2002) “Neuro-Fuzzy systems for a 6 DOF Parallel Robot Force Control”. The 2002 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IC-AI’02: , USA, June 24-27.).
  59. S. Davis, N.G. Tsagarakis, D.G. Caldwell. “Biomimetic Actuators – The Need for and use of ‘Soft’ Actuators”. 7th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS-7). California, USA. March 25-27, 2002.
  60. S. Davis, J. Canderle, P. Artrit, N. Tsagarakis, D.G. Caldwell. “Enhanced Dynamic Performance in Pneumatic Muscle Actuators”. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Washington, USA. May 2002.
  61. S. Davis, N.G. Tsagarakis, D.G. Caldwell. “The Need for, and Application of, ‘Soft’ Actuators”. Robotics and Machine Perception, a SPIE International Technical Group Newsletter. July 2002. [Invited Paper].
  62. D.G. Caldwell, N. Tsagarakis, P. Artrit, J. Canderle, S. Davis, G.A. Medrano-Cerda. “Biomimetic and Smart Technology Principles of Humanoid Design”. 2001 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics. Como, Italy. July 8-12, 2001.
  63. S.T. Davis, D.G. Caldwell. “The Biomimetic Design Of A Robot Primate Using Pneumatic Muscle Actuators”. 4rd International Conference On Climbing And Walking Robots CLAWAR. Karlsruhe, Germany. 24-26 September 2001.
  64. M.Beer, S.Green, S. Nefti, A. Sixsmith and J.Whatley (2000) “Education for Health Care Professionals through the Medium of the Internet”, IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Learning Technologies (IWALT 2000), 4-6 December, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
  65. S.T. Davis, D.G. Caldwell. “The Design and Construction of a Pneumatically Actuated Quadruped with Biologically Inspired Legs”. 3rd Eurel Workshop and Masterclass. European Advanced Robotics Systems Development. Univ. Salford, UK. April 2000.
  66. S.T. Davis, J. Canderle, D.G. Caldwell. “A Biologically Inspired Quadruped Using Pneumatic Muscle Actuators”. 3rd International Conference On Climbing And Walking Robots CLAWAR. Madrid, Spain. 2-4 October 2000.K. Djouani, S.Nefti, Y.Amirat and G. Fried (1998 )”Neuro-Fuzzy Approach for Non-Linear System Identification and Control”, In the proceeding of the ISATA Conference, June 3-5, Dusseldorf, Germany.
  67. S.Nefti, K. Djouani, Y.Amirat and G. Fried (1998): “Neuro-Fuzzy Adaptive System for Mobile robot Navigation in unknown environment”, In the proceeding of the ISATA Conference, June 3-5, Germany.
  68. S.Nefti, J.Pontnau, M.Soufian (1998): “Training and adaption of a Neuro-Fuzzy System for Navigation an Unknown Environment”. In the Proceeding Recent Advance in Soft Computing, Leicester UK, 02, July.
  69. S.Nefti, K.Djouani, J.Pontnau and M.Soufian (1998): “Practical Adaptive Navigation and Control of Mobile Robot Using Neuro-Fuzzy Systems”. In International Federation in Automatic Control (IFAC) Proceedings August, pp.64-69, Holland.
  70. S.Nefti, M.Oussalah, K.Djouani and J.Pontnau (1998). “Clustering and Adaptive Robot Navigation in an Unknown Environment”, INES 98- IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Systems, Vienna, Austria, pp 1998-2005, September.
  71. S.Nefti, K.Djouani and J.Pontnau (1998) “Neuro-Fuzzy Adaptive System for the Navigation of Mobile Robot “. EUFIT 98: The Sixth European Congress on Intelligent Techniques and Soft Computing, Germany, Volume 2, pp 798-805, September 7-10.
  72. S.Nefti, K.Djouani and J.Pontnau (1998) “Neuro-Fuzzy Adaptive System To Generate Fuzzy Behaviour for Autonomous Mobile Robot”. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Processing Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-based System (IPMU),pp1423-1429,,ISBN2-1 July 5-4, France.
  73. S.Nefti, K.Djouani, Y. Amirat and J.Pontnau (1997): “Neuro-Fuzzy Approach for an Autonomous Mobile Robot”, in the Proceeding of IFAC’97, Annecy, France on June 9-11.
  74. S. Nefti, Y.Amirat, B.Lakehal and J.Pontnau (1995) “Fuzzy Control of a cleaning Mobile Robot”. The Third European Congress on Intelligent Techniques and Soft Computing, Aachen, Germany, August 28-31, pp. 897-.
  75. S.Nefti (1999): “Neuro-Fuzzy Approach for Modelling and Control of MIMO Non-Linear Systems: Application to Robotics”, PhD Thesis, Paris XII University, France.

Books

  1. S.Nefti: “Cognitive computing in Multi-Agent Systems framework”, in preparation with IET.
  2. S.Nefti and J.G.John, “Advanced in Cognitive Systems” (Editors), IET publisher, May 2010.

Chapters in books

  1. A. Atyabi, M. Luerssen, S.P. Fitzgibbon & D.M.W. Powers, 2012, The use of Evolutionary Algorithm-based methods in EEG based BCI systems, In Swarm Intelligence for Electric and Electronic Engineering, In Press.
  2. T.A. Anderson, Z. Chen, Y. Wen, M.K. Milne, A. Atyabi, K. Treharne, T. Matsumoto, X. Jia, M.H. Luerssen, T.W. Lewis, et al., 2012. Thinking Head MulSeMedia: A Storytelling Environment for Embodied Language Learning. In Multiple Sensorial Media Advances and Applications: New Developments in MulSeMedia. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global, pp. 182-203.
  3. A. Atyabi & S. Samadzadegan, 2011. Particle Swarm Optimization: A Survey. In Applications of Swarm Intelligence. Applications of Swarm Intelligence: Nova Publishers, pp. 167-178.
  4. Nefti-Meziani, S, A.Al-Dulaimy, May.Bunny & J.Gray 2010 “Decision making under risk in swarm intelligence techniques”, in Advances in Cognitive Systems, IET, London, UK, pp.397-413.
  5. D.G. Caldwell, S.Davis, R.J. Moreno Masey, J.O. Gray. “Automation in Food Processing”. Chapter 60. Springer Handbook of Automation. 2009.
  6. F. Meziane and S. Nefti (2008), “Evaluating E-commerce Trust Using Fuzzy Logic”, in Wen-Chen Hu (Editor), Selected Readings on Electronic Commerce Technologies Contemporary Applications, pp.272-285, IGI Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60566-096-7.
  7. Tsagarakis N G, Davis S, Sarakoglu Y, Caldwell D G. “Actuator Technologies”. In Wearable Robotics: Biomechatronics Exoskeletons, J.L. Pons (Ed.), John Wiley & Sons (Feb. 2008), ISBN 978-0470512944
  8. F. Meziane and S. Nefti (2008), “A Decision Support System for Trust Formalisation”, in Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Agent Technology and Collaborative Applications, pp.47-64, IGI Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60566-144-5.
  9. Nefti-Meziani, S & M.oussallah & U Kaymak 2007, “Clustering fuzzy Data using Inclusion Concept”, in: – Book Titile “Advances in Fuzzy Clustering”, de Oliveira and W. Pedrycz (Editors) in ,John Wiley & Sons.
  10. J O Gray and S T Davis “Robotics in the food industry: an introduction” Robotics and automation in the food industry: Current and future technologies. Edited by D Caldwell, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition.

Patents

S. Davis, D.G. Caldwell, “Handling Device” WO 2007052018, 10 May 2007.

PhD Opportunities

We attract students from all walks of life and this helps to create a vibrant and dynamic postgraduate research environment.

Research degrees offer you the flexibility to carry out your own research project under direct supervision of an academic member of staff. You can study towards a Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Professional Doctorate (DProf) or MSc by Research.

Our students have access to a wide range of supervisory expertise, training and excellent facilities. The research training you receive will be tailored to your particular needs, which your supervisory team will discuss with you as soon as possible after you arrive.

Our current students undertake research across a variety of topic areas from Actuators, Biomimetics/biologically inspired robotics, Soft robotics, End effectors and dexterous hands, Automation for the food industry, Physical human robot interaction (pHRI), and Rehabilitation robotics.

If you are interested in applying for the doctoral programme, first of all contact the relevant Research Group Lead to discuss your proposed research topic and to identify a Supervisor. You would also need to prepare a Research Proposal (approximately 1500 words) before you apply online.

For more information, please contact:

Catriona Nardone (Research Support Officer)
PGR-SupportCSE@salford.ac.uk

0161 295 3482