Speakers

Prof. Emad Samuel Malki Ebeid is a professor at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), leading the SDU Digital and High Frequency Electronics unit. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Verona and has extensive experience in electrical and computer engineering.

His research interests include robot programming, programmable digital electronics, accelerators, sensors and sensing, and distributed systems. Prof. Ebeid has been involved in various projects and has led many research projects, including the H2020 Drones4Safety and IFD Drones4Energy projects, which focus on using drones to inspect and maintain critical infrastructure.

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan is a Full Professor at the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS) at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (UNIZG-FER) in Croatia. He specializes in robotics and automation, teaching several courses in these fields.

His research interests include autonomous systems, aerial robotics, multi-agent systems, intelligent control systems, bio-inspired systems, and discrete event systems. Prof. Bogdan has published over 180 conference and journal papers and co-authored four books1. He has also been involved in numerous national and international scientific projects, including several EU H2020 projects.

Prof. Hae-Won Park is the director of the Humanoid Robot Research Center and an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Yonsei University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Before joining KAIST, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a postdoctoral researcher at MIT. His research focuses on learning, model-based control, and robotic design, especially in legged and bio-inspired robots. Prof. Park has received several prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award and the RSS Early-Career Spotlight Award, and serves on editorial boards for top robotics journals and conferences such as IJRR and IEEE ICRA.

Dr. Aksel Andreas Transeth is a senior scientist at SINTEF Digital, specifically within the Department of Mathematics and Cybernetics. He holds a PhD in robotics and control from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

At SINTEF, Dr. Transeth focuses on research and business development in robotics and autonomous systems. His work spans various applications, including inspection and maintenance, manufacturing, search and rescue, transportation, oil and gas, space, and energy. He also coordinates several EU topic groups related to AI, data, and robotics.

Dr. Richard Moore, Senior Research Scientist, SINTEF Digital, A computer vision and autonomous systems specialist with over 15 years’ experience at the forefront of drones and robotics research from both academia and industry – including as Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University on the RoboBees project; as Function Owner at Valeo Vision Systems responsible for driver assistance technologies now found in consumer vehicles; and currently as senior researcher and project manager at SINTEF Digital, with a portfolio of projects within the inspection and maintenance, agriculture, and digitalisation sectors.

Prof. Matteo Fumagalli is an Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), within the Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering. His research focuses on automation and control, with particular interests in robotics, aerial interaction, compliant actuators, and force control. He is the leader of AeroTrain, MSCA Doctoral Networks. Prof. Fumagalli’s innovative work aims to enhance robotic capabilities for various applications, including industrial automation and environmental monitoring.

Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), specifically within the Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on aerial robotics, autonomous systems, and power line perception for drones. He has a Ph.D. in Robotics from SDU, where he worked on power line perception for autonomous cable landing and recharging.

His work is particularly notable for its applications in drone technology for infrastructure maintenance, such as autonomous power line tracking and recharging systems.

Etienne Dupont is an Autonomy Engineer specializing in 3D scanning at Skydio, a company known for its advanced autonomous drones. Before joining Skydio, he worked as a Drone AI Engineer at Sterblue and held various positions in research and industry, including at the Laboratoire De Météorologie Dynamique and Accenture.

His work at Skydio involves developing and enhancing autonomous systems for drones, particularly focusing on 3D scanning technologies. This technology is crucial for applications like infrastructure inspection, mapping, and other tasks requiring precise and autonomous data collection.

Jake Lahmann is the Director of Innovation & Business Development at Valmont Industries. He leads a team to develop infrastructure health management solutions for the energy, communications, and transportation sectors. Since 1999, Jake has focused on UAS technology, leading the development of the SEEKER EO/IR UAS platform and launching a nationwide UAS training program. At Valmont, he has driven advancements in autonomous drones and data capture systems. Jake holds five U.S. patents in asset management and one in medical technology. He earned his MBA from Bellevue University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Western Governors University of Texas, with certificates in Agile and Product Management from the University of Marylan.