Industrial Engineering Professor Presents Research in China

University Relations

Harry Pierson

Harry Pierson, assistant professor of industrial engineering, was among seven United States representatives recently invited to present research at the 11th Sino-American Technology & Engineering Conference on Smart Robotics, in city of Shenyang, Liaoning province, on May 16.

Nominated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pierson was among representatives selected from both academia and industry, from various engineering organizations and government agencies, offering the Chinese government advice for developing its industrial policy.

The conference offered many opportunities for China and the United States to cooperate and learn from each other in intelligent manufacturing and robotics. In addition to exchanging of ideas on research, industrial application of robots, and the state of the robotics industry, conference participants from the two countries discussed the development of intelligent robots and the prospect of adding Chinese robots to the international market.

Pierson's presentation at the conference, "Deep Learning for Smart Robotics: A Review," was coauthored with Michael Gashler, assistant professor of computer science computer engineering, and is the result of their research collaboration on applying deep learning methods to solve problems in industrial robotics.  The project was funded by an Engineering Research and Innovation Seed Funding Grant, the grant is an internal College of Engineering initiative.

In addition to the presentations, experts toured manufacturing facilities and research institutes to assess the state of robotics in China.  The U.S. delegation then prepared a report on the state of robotics in China and delivered it to Chinese government officials.

Gang Rui, Liaoning's vice governor, explained the importance of the development of robotics in the province and added that the government will promote cooperation with American research institutes and enterprises to attract more foreign talent to Liaoning.

Other topics presented by the US delegation included medical robotics, wearable robotics, mobile robotics and sensors.