Events for December 4, 2025

Rehabilitation robotics leverages the principle of "practice makes perfect" by using repetitive task-based exercises to facilitate motor re-learning and functional recovery, particularly in poststroke rehabilitation. Rooted in neurocognitive rehabilitation theories, robot-assisted therapies provide tailored, intensive training routines that meet individual patient needs. Learning control (LC) strategies, originally developed in 1978 to achieve high tracking performance in industrial applications, offer a compelling framework for controller designs in this field. Unlike traditional control methods, LC algorithms improve performance over time by utilizing information from previous iterations. This talk highlights recent advances in LC designs and illustrates how various LC algorithms effectively address the unique challenges posed by rehabilitation robotics. Additionally, it explores future opportunities for integrating learning control into rehabilitation systems and outlines key research questions for advancing control theory in this critical area. Co-sponsored by: Dept. Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne Speaker(s): Prof Ying Tan from the University of Melbourne Level 2, Building 193 (EEE), The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, 3010, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/519148

Talk Topic: Physical and computational modeling of smart homes Abstract: Novel “smart” technologies such as smart homes, smart grids, variable pricing, and local energy markets promise both better overall efficiency for the providers, a greener home, and lower prices. However, they also create unexpected problems. During the February 2021 North-American Ice Storm, the deregulated energy market in Texas came dangerously close to collapse, leading to rolling brownouts and loss of service in many homes that relied on electric power for heating. As a response, the variable pricing system shot up to $5000 per kilowatt hour, generating very high bills for customers who did not lose service. This behavior penalized customers but did nothing to help in the ongoing crisis. Although it did not happen on this occasion, a controller that would sell the home’s energy reserves to take advantage of the high pricing would be even more dangerous for customers facing freezing temperatures. The lesson we can learn from these events is that “smart” systems must be extensively tested, including for black swan events for which no previous data is available. In this talk, we discuss the need for extensive modeling and simulation for all the components of such homes, including the physical environment, the smart controllers, the behavior of the humans, and the external environment, including the smart grids and local energy market to which the systems connect. Speaker(s): Professor Damla Turgut Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/517639