Wendell Chun

There has been a promise of robots and artificial intelligence to serve mankind in a futuristic machine age.  A major topic has been the role of automation and the role of human operators.  The required technologies are moving so fast, it is hard to say where this technology will lead us.  Both a robot and its environment can be complex, represented by uncertainties that has driven a need for autonomy.  There has been some successes in robotics such as the Mars Rovers.  In the beginning of the movement smart robot systems as demonstrated by research programs in exoskeletons, autonomous navigation, walking machines, military vehicles, aerial drones, polymorphic robots, and satellite servicing systems for spacecraft.  This talk will review the state of the art of the technology, the successes, and were we plan to be tomorrow.  This future may be predicated on machines that are able to think, learn, and reason about itself and its environment.  We touch on Moore’s law, the upcoming singularity, and the validity of the Turing test for intelligence.  Based on thirty years of hands-on-experience in this field, we take a look at current trends in both robotics and direction of artificial intelligence.

Biography:

Wendall Chun holds a MS in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Bosh Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Hawaii Manoa. Mr. Chun has more than 33 years of experience engineering spacecraft, robotics, including the Walking Beam rover and multiple DARPA research programs. Mr. Chun has additionally taught many Denver engineering students with 20 years of teaching experience. Mr. Chun has taught for the Colorado School of Mines and currently the University of Colorado Denver, including such courses as design, controls, mechatronics, robotics, and systems engineering and project management.

Mr Chun has also worked as a technical consultant and reviewer for DOE Headquarters, reviewer for NSF, and a reviewer for NASA Headquarters in the area of Robotics and Automation as well as helped several small businesses develop automated work cells for production assembly and packaging. Mr Chun is an IEEE member and was an associate editor for the IEEE ICRA conference (2018/2019) and workshop organizer at IEEE ICRA 2012.