International professors hold seminars on Human-Robot interactions at LabTel

On the last 5th, the associate professors of the University of the West of England, Carlos Cifuentes and Marcela Múnera, concluded the sequence of presentations of a cycle of seminars at the Telecommunications Laboratory of Ufes (LabTel).

With the theme focused on social robotics, Cifuentes and Múnera each presented two seminars over the course of two weeks, which took place in late March and early April. During the presentations, topics such as the interaction between robots and humans, rehabilitation robotics and assistive robots were addressed.

Cifuentes is already an acquaintance of LabTel, the professor, who did his doctorate in the Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering at Ufes (PPGEE), highlighted the high performance of the Laboratory.

“It’s very competitive here at Ufes, especially within Electrical Engineering. I felt that there is a high level here that makes us improve over time”, says Cifuentes.

In addition to the partnerships with the University, the professor also had another objective in this visit. Cifuentes, which has a laboratory in the United Kingdom, aims to further strengthen its partnership ties with LabTel, promoting the exchange of students and professors between Brazil and the United Kingdom.

“I really enjoyed the visit, people were interested in the lectures, they liked the presentation I gave about our laboratory there in West England and the opportunities we have to form new partnerships”, concludes Cifuentes.

As for Múnera, who is visiting LabTel for the second time, the visit was positive, with an exchange of experiences on projects and the possibility of partnerships in the future.

“The first time I came in 2018, LabTel was already very promising, now it’s even better! Everything is organized, the Laboratory has published many articles and I learned that they are also advancing in the creation of companies”, said the professor.

Researcher Múnera participates in three projects in partnership with Labtel; the Castor robot, the exoskeleton and the robotic hand prosthesis, and welcomes LabTel’s work in the field of fiber optic sensors.

“I am working on human-machine interactions, and this collaboration with LabTel on optical fiber sensors can further improve these interactions”, explained Múnera.

With the trip, the professionals were able to discuss future plans, such as the possibility of a joint workshop and international seminars.

The researcher’s visit to Ufes is an initiative approved in a public notice by the National Council of State Foundations for Research Support (CONFAP) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), in partnership with British institutions (Confap public notice – CNPq – The UK Academies).

During the lecture by Prof. Carlos Cifuentes addressed soft robotics technologies for interaction between machines and humans.
Professor Marcela Múnera presented human-robot interaction projects and said she was very anxious for future partnerships between her laboratory and LabTel.
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