Author: Wael Suleiman (submitted January 2023)
I completed my PhD studies at LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse, France, under the supervision of Drs. André Monin and Jean-Paul Laumond between 2008 and 2010. I centered my research on humanoid robots. This field has captivated me since childhood as a result of my fascination with Japanese animations such as Gundam and Astro Boy. During my PhD, I had the opportunity to work with the HRP-2 humanoid robot. This was the only HRP series robot outside of Japan at that time, acquired by LAAS in 2016.
After earning my PhD, I received a two-year JSPS postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba, Japan. I worked under the guidance of Dr. Eiichi Yoshida. I also collaborated with leading humanoid robotics expert, Dr. Fumio Kanehiro. I continued my research with the HRP-2 and HRP-4C humanoid robots.
I am an associate professor at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. My research interests encompass humanoid robotics, collaborative robots, and physical human-robot interaction. We aim to increase usability, particularly for non-experts, by enabling physically-manipulated robot adjustments. We focus on developing vision- and tactile-based continuous multimodal intention and attention recognition. This will enhance safety in physical human-robot interaction.
Japan has a well-established reputation in robotics. I am keen on pursuing collaborative research opportunities with Japanese researchers.
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