Plenary Talks
Title: Intelligent and Dependable Control for Cyber-Physical Mobility Systems
Prof. Amir Khajepour
University of Waterloo, Canada
Abstract:
Cyber-physical mobility systems, such as advanced vehicles and intelligent transportation platforms, demand control architectures that are both scalable and dependable. This talk presents a unified framework that integrates hybrid modeling, combining physics-based representations with data-driven learning to capture complex subsystem interactions and uncertainties. Building on this foundation, a learning-agent–based Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach enables real-time adaptation, continual learning, and dynamic prioritization of competing objectives across diverse vehicle operating modes and environments. These methods enhance robustness, reduce calibration complexity, and improve transferability across varying configurations of actuators, sensors, and propulsion systems. Applications span vehicle motion control, autonomous mobility, and energy-efficient operation in dynamic environments. The talk highlights how hybrid modeling and intelligent control can transform modern mobility systems into self-adaptive, reliable, and high-performance platforms capable of meeting the challenges of next-generation transportation.
Speaker Bio:
Amir Khajepour is a Professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and the Executive Director of the Waterloo Center for Automotive Research (WatCAR) at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He held the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Mechatronic Vehicle Systems from 2008 to 2022 and the Senior NSERC/General Motors Industrial Research Chair in Holistic Vehicle Control from 2017 to 2022. His work has led to the training of over 200 PhD and MASc students, 35 patents, more than 600 research publications, numerous technology transfers, and the creation of several start-up companies. He has been recognized with the Engineering Medal from Professional Engineers Ontario and is a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering.
Title: Data-driven Controller Optimization for High-tech Mechatronic Systems
Prof. Nathan Van de Wouw
Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Abstract:
High-tech systems such as electron microscopes and semiconductor equipment require extreme positioning accuracy and speed. The performance achievable through model-based controller design is often limited by unknown disturbance characteristics, unmodeled dynamics, and changing operating conditions. In this talk, we present data-driven techniques for automated controller tuning that optimize performance in terms of settling time and tracking error. In particular, extremum seeking control is proposed as a framework that enables both performance optimization and stability guarantees. A key advantage of extremum seeking control is its ability to support both offline calibration and online lifelong learning. We demonstrate that data-driven optimization can deliver significant performance gains in linear, time-varying, and nonlinear controllers, with guaranteed stability and robustness. Industrial case studies highlight the impact on real-world high-tech systems, such as electron microscopes, wire bonders, and lithography equipment.
Speaker Bio:
Nathan van de Wouw obtained his Ph.D.-degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, in 1999. He currently holds a full professor position at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, and chairs the Dynamics and Control section. He has held a (part-time) full professor position the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, from 2015-2019. He has also held an adjunct full professor position at the University of Minnesota, U.S.A, from 2014-2021. He has published the books ‘Uniform Output Regulation of Nonlinear Systems: A convergent Dynamics Approach’ with A.V. Pavlov and H. Nijmeijer (Birkhﾃ､user, 2005) and `Stability and Convergence of Mechanical Systems with Unilateral Constraints’ with R.I. Leine (Springer-Verlag, 2008). In 2015, he received the IEEE Control Systems Technology Award “For the development and application of variable-gain control techniques for high-performance motion systems”. In 2025, he received the Springer Nature Best paper award for the journal ‘Nonlinear Dynamics’. He is an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to hybrid, data-based and networked control.
Title: NRIC (Nonlinear Robust Internal loop Compensator) and its application to Robotics
Prof. Wan Kyun Chung
Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea
Abstract:
In this talk, a way to provide robustness to robot control is introduced based on Nonlinear optimal theory and the NRIC (Nonlinear Robust Internal-loop Compensator). A solution to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation is derived in the form of PID control, which is a solution of the inverse optimal control problem. From the well-known disturbance observer, it is extended to a nonlinear system. By the robustness obtained by NRIC, we can have better performance for position and interactive control of robots, for example, impedance control in SE(3). Furthermore, the NRIC is reformulated based on the Lie algebra se(3) of the Lie group SE(3). Since the Lie algebra se(3) is isomorphic to a six-dimensional vector space, we can make use of many properties inherited from the linear vector space to develop the new type of NRIC.
Speaker Bio:
He received the B.S. degree in mechanical design from Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, in 1981, and the M.S. degree in mechanical engineering and the Ph.D. degree in production engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea, in 1983 and 1987, respectively. Dr. Chung is currently Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Pohang University of Science and Technology. His research interests include the development of robust controllers for precision motion control, biomedical robotics, and AI-based biorobotics with sponsorship by national agencies (Korea Research Foundation , Department of Commerce and Industry) and industries. He has published over 180 journal papers and 350 refereed conference papers. He has more than 11,000 citations, and his H-index is 52. Dr. Chung has served as a program committee member for IEEE ICRA and IROS almost every year. He served as a Conference Local Arrangement Chair for the 1999 IEEE/IROS conference, VIDEO proceeding chair in 2001 ICRA. He served as an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Robotics from 2008 to 2013, Editor-in-Chief for Intelligent Service Robotics by Springer Nature during 2016-2022, and International Editorial Board for Advanced Robotics. He is a co-author of 3 books published by Springer-Verlag. In 1988, he was a Visiting Professor with the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. In 1995, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. Dr. Chung was designated as an IEEE Fellow in 2016, IEEE Life Fellow 2024, member of the National Academy of Engineers of Korea in 2017. He was the president of Korea Robotics Society in 2013.