Keynotes
Keynote
Symbiotic Cyber-Physical Systems: Unifying Human Surrogates, 3D Perception, and Hybrid Manufacturing
The transition to Industry 5.0 demands adaptive, human-centric industrial robots capable of executing contact-intensive tasks in highly variable environments. Moving beyond rigid trajectory programming, this keynote lecture presents a unified framework for intelligent robotic manufacturing developed at the University of Alberta’s ADaMS Laboratory. By integrating multi-modal sensor fusion, closed-loop feedback, and real-time digital twinning, this framework enables safe, adaptive, and certified production systems.
The talk shares insights in three core technological pillars:
Human-in-the-Loop Surrogates: Digitizing manual operations using sensorized work gloves and depth cameras to capture human force-motion dynamics. These datasets train force-aware imitation models that dictate robot contact forces via active impedance control.
Active 2D/3D Perception: Utilizing 3D machine vision scanners for real-time point-cloud mapping, semantic segmentation, and feature tracking. This vision-in-the-loop capability is demonstrated through various industrial examples.
Hybrid Manufacturing: Scaling symbiotic principles to large-scale additive-subtractive systems, featuring Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) of bimetallic joints, metal-ceramic composites, and continuous carbon-fiber printing. Geometric and material integrity are maintained via in-situ thermal monitoring and robotic post-deposition grinding.
The talk concludes with a visionary pathway for digital quality certification, introducing the digital twinning framework to manage regulatory and compliance data across the product lifecycle, establishing a robust foundation for autonomous manufacturing.
Speaker: Dr. Ahmed Jawad Qureshi
Dr. Ahmed Jawad Qureshi, Ph.D., P.Eng., is a professor and Research Chair in Advanced Manufacturing Processes and Automation at the University of Alberta, where he also serves as the founder and director of the Additive Design and Manufacturing Systems (ADaMS) Lab, which has a team of about 25 researchers and students. With over two decades of experience spanning North America, Europe, and Asia, Dr. Qureshi's research focuses on robotic hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing, digital twinning, AI-driven design methodologies, and advanced material processing. His pioneering contributions to robotic additive manufacturing include developing hybrid manufacturing systems and advanced material processing for sectors such as aerospace, mining, energy, and healthcare. He has received over $20 million in funding from prestigious organizations, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), MITACS, and international government and industry partnerships. As an educator, mentor, and co-founder of Elementiam Materials and Manufacturing Inc., Dr. Qureshi bridges academic innovation with industrial impact, making him a visionary leader in advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0/5.0 technologies.
Keynote
One Step Ahead: Predictive Control and Sensory Feedback for Adaptive Neurorehabilitation
Assistive devices for aiding walking function including prosthetic limbs, exoskeletons, and electrical stimulation are becoming increasingly available to patients; however, the control strategies in commercially available devices have shown little evolution and lack true personalization. Humans are fickle beings, and will quickly abandon assistive devices if the controller is not intuitive, accurate to near perfection, or adaptive to their needs. With any automated technology, humans are reluctant to give up control entirely. Therefore, it is critical that the development of novel control strategies learn online to predict the intent of the user, work with the user cooperatively, and provide sensory feedback to facilitate embodiment of the device. In this keynote talk, I propose that incorporating predictive representations of the limbs and terrains, as well as providing contextual sensory feedback, improve the control of assistive devices for walking. Predictions of limb movements and walking terrain can be learned online using reinforcement learning methods and used to adapt the control of limb movements. While sensory feedback can be provided by many different modalities, I will highlight how spinal cord stimulation, using implanted or external electrodes, can evoke reliable sensory percepts in the missing foot and improve postural stability during walking.
Speaker: Dr. Ashley Dalrymple
Dr. Ashley Dalrymple is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She is also a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Spinal Cord Neuromodulation. Dr. Dalrymple earned her BSc in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering and her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB, Canada. She completed her first postdoc at the Bionics Institute in Melbourne, Australia. She then moved to Pittsburgh, PA, USA, first at the University of Pittsburgh and then at Carnegie Mellon University. She was an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT, USA before joining UBC in Vancouver.
Dr. Dalrymple is the Director of the Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation Via Electrical Stimulation (NERVES) Lab. As the Director of the NERVES Lab, she aims to improve the quality of life of individuals with neurological impairments. She seeks to advance the scientific understanding of motor and somatosensory systems to better engineer new rehabilitation therapies and technologies. The research in the NERVES Lab involves the use of implanted and non-invasive spinal neural interfaces and assistive technologies to restore function, particularly the rehabilitation of walking, restoring sensation, and reducing pain. They also develop reinforcement learning methods to control walking after neural injury. Research in the NERVES Lab spans basic science, proof-of-concept, pre-clinical, and clinical studies, working towards translation into real clinical applications.
