Project “Robotic Platform For Precision Irrigation Management Using Passive Zero-Maintenance, Long-Life, Buried Sensors” funded by United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Team: S. Roundy (PI), Co-PIs: Leang, Young and Zesiger
N. R. Olsen; S. M. McKee; O. S. Haddadin; S. M. Lyon; J. E. Campbell; K. K. Leang Information-Theoretic Bayesian Inference for Multi-Agent Localization and Tracking of an RF Target with Unknown Waveform ASME J. Dyn. Syst. Meas. and Cont., vol. 146, iss. 6, pp. 061104, 2024.
S. K. McKee, O. Haddadin and K. K. Leang. Feedforward Mutual-Information Anomaly Detection: Application to Autonomous Vehicles, ASME J. of Autonomous Vehicles and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 041003 (7 pages), published online in Dec. 22, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4064519 ABASTRACT: This paper describes a mutual-information (MI)-based approach […]
W. S. Nagel, O. Fakharian, M. Aureli, and K.K. Leang, Engineered IPMC sensors: modeling, characterization, and application towards wearable postural-tactile measurement, Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 33, pp. 015035 (12pp), 2024 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-665X/ad142b ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on the modeling and development of engineered ionic polymer-metal composite (eIPMC) […]
DARC Lab and L3-Harris will be collaborating to conduct research on optimized distribution of UAV swarms for applications in emergency response missions.
2020
DARC Lab receives new U.S. Airforce STTR Phase II award for autonomous aerial-based chemical sensing
Focus of the project is to develop aerial robotic systems for autonomous chemical sensing. Nevada NanoTech Systems, Inc. is the industry partner.
Leang was recognized 2019-2020 Professor of the Year based on his overall Faculty Activity Report (FAR) by the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Professor Leang has been elected a Fellow of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Founded in 1880, the ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization “that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society.” Only […]
Congratulations to Nathan Olsen B.S. ’20 for receiving the 2020 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship will support Nathan during his Ph.D. studies. The focus of his project is to study/develop robotics-based algorithms for static/mobile sensor networks with application in agriculture and environmental monitoring. The […]
Focus of the project is to develop aerial robotic systems for autonomous chemical sensing.
Congratulations to Profs. Jake Abbott, Yong Lin Kong, Kam Leang and Ken Monson on their new $2M NSF EFRI Award, project in collaboration with R. Rajamani of Univ. of Minnesota and O. Pak of Santa Clara Univ. Project tile: “EFRI C3 SoRo: Magneto-electroactive Soft, Continuum, Compliant, Configurable […]
University of Utah mechanical engineering associate professor Kam Leang talked about the impact drones are having on society and industry for this year’s William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and The Quality of Life. The lecture, “Drones to the Rescue,” was held at […]
Collaborative Research: Microengineered electroactive polymer strain sensors towards soft self-powered wearable cyber-physical systems Investigators: M. Aureli (PI, UNR); co-PIs: K. K. Leang (Utah) and Yiliang Liao (UNR) Project period: 9/1/2018 – 8/31/2021 Goal and Objectives: This project aims at establishing a new class of electroactive materials with superior multiphysics […]
Dejun Guo, Ph.D. student advised by associate professor Kam K. Leang, and member of the DARC Lab, and the University of Utah Robotics Center. Guo received the B.Eng. from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, in 2012 and the M.S. degree in the Department of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China in 2015. […]
2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) paper entitled, “Design, Modeling, and Analysis of Inductive Resonant Coupling Wireless Power Transfer for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs)” by Gregory M. Plaizier, Erik Andersen, Binh Truong, Xiang He, Shad Roundy and Kam K. Leang The video below summaries […]
Congratulations to Jim and Tom for publishing their 70-page review paper in the Special Issue on Active Materials and Soft Mechatronics, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials! The paper is titled, “A comprehensive review of select smart polymeric and gel actuators for soft mechatronics and robotics […]
2017
Dejun Guo, Wins 2017 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference (DSCC) Best Student Paper Award
DARC Lab Ph.D. student, Dejun Guo (pictured on the right), advised by associate professor Kam K. Leang (pictured on the left), won the 2017 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dynamic Systems and Control Conference (DSCC) Best Student Paper Award, held October 11-13, 2017 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. This conference and competition represent […]
Mechanical Engineering assistant professor, Owen Kingstedt (principle investigator – PI), Mechanical Engineering associate professor Kam Leang (co-PI), and Mining Engineering McKinnon Endowed Chair Professor Kim McCarter (co-PI) have been awarded a Research Instrumentation Fund (RIF) grant from the Utah Office of the Vice President for Research. The […]
Congratulations to Ph.D. student Dejun Guo for publishing his work on visual-servo control for aerial robots in the special issue “Robotics: mechanics and control of locomotion” of the Journal of Nonlinear Science.
Jim Carrico’s and Dejun Guo’s ICRA 2017 papers were recently accepted. The papers are: J. D. Carrico, K. J. Kim and K. K. Leang, “3D-Printed Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Soft Crawling Robot”, IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation, 2017, to appear. D. Guo, H. Wang, W. Chen, […]
New article entitled, “On-board model-based automatic collision avoidance: application in remotely-piloted unmanned aerial vehicles”, by D. Bareiss, J. R. Bourne and K. K. Leang was recently published in Autonomous Robots. The article can be accessed by following this link: http://rdcu.be/oOIG An evaluation version of the article can […]
Recent work on automatic collision avoidance for UAVs presented at 2016 International Symposium on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics (SSRR 2016): Daman Bareiss, Jur van den Berg, Jake Abbott, Kam K. Leang (2016): Study of Improved Pilot Performance using Automatic Collision Avoidance for Tele-operated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. […]
2016
Postdoctoral Position Available in Aerial Robotics Based Chemical Source Detection and Localization
A postdoctoral position is available in aerial robotics based chemical source detection and localization at the DARC Lab. Applicants should have a PhD in engineering (e.g., mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, etc.) or computer science, with a strong background in robotics and autonomous systems, specifically motion planning (including experience with collision avoidance), […]
DARC Lab and Nevada NanoTech Systems receive U.S ARMY STTR Phase II contract for autonomous chemical sensing UAV. The two-year $1M project is entitled, “Autonomous Broad Spectrum Environmental Sentinels”. The goal of the proposed program is the development of a hover-capable, flying robot with integrated chemical sensing, […]
William Nagel wins Best Session Presentation Award for paper entitled, “Master- Slave Control with Hysteresis Inversion for Dual-Stage Nanopositioning Systems”, at the American Control Conference in Boston, MA, July 6-8, 2016. ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on motion control of a piezo-based dual-stage nanopositioner where hysteresis and dynamic effects dominate […]
Daman Bareiss successfully defended his Ph.D.! Congrats Daman! Daman is now off to work with Omron Adept Technologies, Inc. Model-Based Collision Avoidance for Dynamic Single- and Multi-Robot Systems: Theory and Application in Ground and Aerial Robots Committee Members: Dr. Kam K. Leang (Chair), Dr. Jur van den Berg, Dr. Jake […]
Chris Pratt and Prof. Kam Leang’s ICRA paper and video make the final cut of ICRA 2016 Video Trailer Episode I — Flying Robots! Paper is entitled, “Dynamic Underactuated Flying-Walking (DUCK) Robot”. The work will be presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), which […]
Kam Leang recently joins the editorial board of Elsevier Mechatronics Journal as an Associate Editor. http://www.journals.elsevier.com/mechatronics/
Congratulations to DARC Lab undergraduate researcher Matthew Givens who recently received funding from the University of Utah’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to work on project entitled, “Sensorless Obstacle Detection using Ground Effects for Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”. The UROP will provide Matthew with $1200 to support his work […]
Kam Leang in collaboration with UNLV-lead team and other researchers receive new $3.8M NSF funding to work on electroactive polymer materials for soft robotics. More details can be found here.
Congratulations to Jim Carrico and Nick Traeden, winners of 2015 ASME SMASIS (Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems) Conference Student Best Paper Award, held September 21-23, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jim and Nick’s work describes a new 3D printing technique for fabricating ionic polymer-metal composite actuators […]
Prof. Leang and collaborators from industry (Molecular Vista, Inc. (MVI)) and Villanova University (Prof. Garrett Clayton) received a new NSF grant ($305,912) from Sensors, Dynamics, & Control program to study new design and control system approaches for the development of advanced nanopositioning systems for nanoscale science and engineering applications. More […]
Congratulations to Joseph Melville for receiving the Department of Defense Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship. The scholarship will fully support Joseph for two years as he pursues his graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the DARC Lab. The program aims to increase the number […]
DARC Lab featured on PAC-12 Networks, “Conference of Champions: Utah”. Link to video: http://pac-12.com/videos/conference-champions-utah-2015
Kam featured on University of Utah, College of Engineering Spotlight: http://www.coe.utah.edu/blog/2015/04/22/kam-leang-robots-rule/
Photos of students working the DARC Lab featured in a Deseret News article on Sunday, April 4, 2015. Link to the full article: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865625733/Patching-the-pipeline-Educators-businesses-call-for-Utah-tech-talent.html
Visit our new YouTube Channel to see videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLK_i6nruvoFMmQ8RE00GJQ
The DARC Lab and Molecular Vista, Inc., recently received a new SBIR Phase I grant from the Dept. of Energy. The project title is, “Video-rate atomic force microscope for functional gas and liquid environments”. The focus on the project is to develop a high-speed atomic force microscope […]
Electro Scientific Industries (ESI), based out of Portland, OR, recently donated two precision nanopositioning stages to the DARC Lab to support collaborative research work. The work will focus on designing high-performance digital control systems for nanopositioning. A big thanks to M. Peeples at ESI for supporting the […]
Molecular Vista, Inc. (MVI), based out of San Jose, CA, donates a new atomic force microscope system (VistaScope) valued at $200,000 to DARC Lab. MVI designs, develops, and provides tools that allow its customers to probe and understand matter at the molecular level through quantitative visualization. […]
Kam shared his views about the potential applications and challenges of aerial robots. Read the full interview here: http://www.dronesandsociety.org/?p=216
DARC Lab graduate student Daman Bareiss interviewed by dronesandsociety.org. Read the full interview here: http://www.dronesandsociety.org/?p=203
The new DARC Lab opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 11 to offer tours to local high school students and their parents. About 500 high school students and their parents attended the University of Utah College Engineering Day to learn about engineering and […]
Nanothorn electrodes for ionic polymer-metal composite artificial muscles V. Palmre, D. Pugal, K. J. Kim, K. K. Leang, K. Asaka, A. Aabloo Scientific Reports, 4 : 6176, 2014. ABSTRACT Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) have recently received tremendous interest as soft biomimetic actuators and sensors in various bioengineering […]
The lab welcomes four new graduate students starting Fall 2014 semester: Daman Bareiss Christopher Pratt Balakumar Sundaralingam Nick Traeden Rajat Tyagi
Kam Leang and collaborators from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Drone America LLC, SpecTIR, and the Washoe county public safety sector receive funding from the National Science Foundation, Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program, to […]
Kam Leang and collaborators ( Drs. Andersson and Moore from Boston University (lead)) receive new National Science Foundation grant entitled, “Collaborative Research: High-speed AFM Imaging of Dynamics on Biopolymers Through Non-raster Scanning”. The three-year project starts August 15, 2014 The focus of the project is to develop […]
Joel J. Hubbard, Maxwell Fleming, Viljar Palmre, David Pugal, Kwang J. Kim, and Kam K. Leang* IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING, VOL. 39, NO. 3, JULY 2014 ABSTRACT: Emerging bioinspired underwater systems, such as autonomous ocean mapping and surveillance vehicles, that maneuver through their environment by mimicking […]
On July 1, 2014, Dr. Kam K. Leang joins the University of Utah’s Mechanical Engineering Department, robotics group, as an Associate Professor. He plans to continue is research on control systems, mechatronics, and robotics. He is excited to return to his alma mater and make an impact. […]
G. C. Clayton, C. J. Dudley, K. K. Leang (2014), Review of Scientific Instruments, 85 (4), pp. 045003 (6 pages). ABSTRACT: A novel dual-stage nanopositioner control framework is presented that considers range constraints. Dual-stage nanopositioners are becoming increasingly popular in applications such as scanning probe microscopy due to […]
