Connectionists: [Meeting] CRNS Talk Series - Live Talk by Dr. Yumi Iwashita - NASA JPL, USA

[Amir Aly]

Dear All

* *Apologies for cross-posting**

The* Center for Robotics and Neural Systems* (CRNS) and *UK-Ireland IEEE
RAS Chapter* are pleased to announce the talk of *Dr. Yumi Iwashita* from *NASA
JPL, USA* on Wednesday, *February 26th *from *3:30 PM* to *5:00 PM*  (*London
time*) over *Zoom*. *Thank you for forwarding the invitation to any of your
colleagues who might be interested*.

>> *Events*: The CRNS talk series will cover a wide range of topics
including Social and Cognitive Robotics, Computational Neuroscience,
Developmental Psychology, Computational Linguistics, Cognitive Vision, AI
and Machine Learning, and healthcare. More details are available here:

 https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/robotics-neural-systems/whats-on
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.plymouth.ac.uk%2Fresearch%2Frobotics-neural-systems%2Fwhats-on&data=04%7C01%7Camir.aly%40plymouth.ac.uk%7Ccc2c14f8cea84b5ca57008d9e66bc8f7%7C5437e7eb83fb4d1abfd3bb247e061bf1%7C1%7C0%7C637794174088133015%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=WvbN9fuNT6UfUlocuG0asp9iUHev227dEAHAFz00p34%3D&reserved=0>

>> *Link for the next event (**No Registration is Required**)*:

Join Zoom Meeting

*https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/95753314935?pwd=B9cuV9Dj6MWkhgrWEZrGsVz9brL21Q.1&from=addon
<https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/95753314935?pwd=B9cuV9Dj6MWkhgrWEZrGsVz9brL21Q.1&from=addon>*


>> *Title of the talk:  **Exploring Moons: Preparing for Future Missions to
Europa and the Moon*

*Abstract*:

Each planet has one or more moons, many of which hold immense potential for
unlocking fundamental questions about the origins of life. Among the
numerous moons in our solar system, Jupiter’s Europa, Earth’s Moon, and
Saturn’s Enceladus are of particular scientific interest. NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has undertaken several projects focused on
these celestial bodies. In this talk, I will introduce two key projects
related to Europa and the Moon.

The first project, the Europa Lander Mission Concept, faces significant
challenges, including a highly limited operational lifetime, constrained
energy supply, intermittent communication with prolonged blackouts, and
hazardous environmental conditions. Moreover, its extreme distance from
Earth prevents reliance on real-time human control. To address these
constraints, we developed an autonomous software prototype to test and
validate planning and execution strategies for science-driven missions with
minimal human intervention. Additionally, we demonstrated autonomous
sampling techniques at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska.

The second project, LuNaMaps, focuses on autonomous lunar landing.
Successful planetary landings require precise localization with respect to
the targeted site. However, landing on the Moon presents unique challenges,
including insufficient global high-resolution data, the need to validate
existing datasets, and extreme illumination conditions—especially at the
poles. To address these issues, we have developed methodologies for
generating high-quality Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs) and tools to evaluate
their accuracy and reliability, supporting future lunar exploration
missions.


>> If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me,

Regards

--------------------------------------------

*Dr. Amir Aly*, PhD, FHEA, SIEEE
Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Programme Manager of Artificial Intelligence
UK and Ireland IEEE RAS Chapter Vice Chair
Director of the Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems (CRNS)
School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics

Room A307 Portland Square, Drake Circus, PL4 8AA

University of Plymouth, UK
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