2002 Workshop on Fundamental Issues and Future Research Directions for Parallel Mechanisms and Manipulators

     


    ABOUT THE WORKSHOP (Workshop flyer as pdf):

    This workshop seeks to bring together experts in the area of parallel manipulators from around the globe for two days in order to disseminate recent research progress and to identify the most promising future research directions for parallel manipulators. This meeting is not a routine conference, wherein the primary responsibility of the participant is to present his or her paper. Instead, through a series of focused keynote presentations, round-tables, focused paper sessions, focused poster sessions and in-depth discussion sessions we seek convergence on key issues related to parallel manipulators.

    By focusing on workshop activities, rather than standard conference activites, this workshop seeks to complement other conferences and meetings dealing with parallel manipulators.

    WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES:

    1. Develop awareness of the current state-of-the-art of research in all areas of parallel manipulators and wire-driven manipulators, including kinematics, dynamics, controls, design and novel applications;
    2. Identify roadblocks that must be resolved to increase the industrial use of parallel manipulators;
    3. Identify open problems in the theoretical framework;
    4. Identify promising approaches that may yield significant advances in the theoretical framework;
    5. Establish and reinforce international collaboration and collaboration between academia and industry;
    6. Discuss educational needs and methods;
    7. Develop a strategy for the research community as a whole to accelerate the development and use of parallel manipulators.

    CONFIRMED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

    JEAN-PIERRE MERLET
    INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis, France
    view abstract

    JORGE ANGELES
    McGill University, Montreal, Canada
    view abstract

    TORGNY BROGARDH
    ABB Robotics, Sweden
    view abstract

    WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS:

    CLEMENT GOSSELIN
    Département de Génie Mécanique
    Université Laval,
    Québec, Québec, Canada, G1K 7P4
    Phone: (418)-656-3474 Fax: (418)-656-7415
    email: gosselin@gmc.ulaval.ca
    http://robot.gmc.ulaval.ca

    IMME EBERT-UPHOFF
    Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    Atlanta, GA 30332-0405, USA
    Phone: (404) 385-0667 Fax: (404) 894-8496
    e-mail: ebert@me.gatech.edu
    http://robot.me.gatech.edu

    TECHNICAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE (in alphabetical order):

    Sunil Agrawal -- Univ. of Delaware, US
    Jian Dai -- King's College London, UK
    Tian Huang -- Tianjin Univ., P.R. China
    Just Herder -- Delft Univ. of Technology, The Netherlands
    Venkat Krovi -- SUNY Buffalo, US
    John McPhee -- Univ. of Waterloo, Canada
    Vincenzo Parenti-Castelli -- Univ. of Bologna, Italy
    Francois Pierrot -- LIRMM, France
    Moshe Shoham -- Technion, Israel
    Yukio Takeda -- Tokyo Inst. of Technology, Japan
    Philippe Wenger -- IRCCynN, France
    Gloria Wiens -- Univ. of Florida, US

    INDUSTRY PANELISTS:

    Torgny Brogardh -- ABB Robotics, Sweden
    Ed Dougherty -- August Design Inc., US
    Adam Jacoff -- NIST, US
    Gerhard Serapins -- CAE, Montreal, Canada
    Paul Sheldon-- SheldonWorks, US

    EDUCATIONAL PANEL DISCUSSION LED BY:

    J. Michael McCarthy-- University of California, Irvine, US
    Just Herder-- Delft Univ. of Technology, The Netherlands


    We invite ALL workshop participants to contribute to the Educational Panel

    QUEBE CITY:

    Location:

    The well preserved historic area of Quebec City is quite unique in North America. UNESCO cites the City of Québec as one of the best examples of a fortified colonial city. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

    Brief History (from UNESCO citation):

    Québec was founded by the French explorer Champlain in the early 17th century. It is the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts, together with the numerous bastions, gates and defensive works which still surround Old Québec. The Upper Town, built on the cliff, has remained the religious and administrative centre, with its churches, convents and other monuments like the Dauphine Redoubt, the Citadel and Château Frontenac. Together with the Lower Town and its ancient quarters, it forms an urban ensemble which is one of the best examples of a fortified colonial city.

    Photo by Imme Ebert-Uphoff, 1997.

    Basse Ville / Lower City: One of the oldest areas of the city of Québec. Some of the houses date back to the early 1600s.