Fun Research in Computer Vision and Robotics

Abstract.  In this talk, I would like to touch upon highlights of various research and development in which I was involved in the area of computer vision and robotics. A few candidates for topics that I will cover include face image analysis, vision-based autonomous robots, EyeVision, biological live cell tracking, and smart headlight. While presenting their technical contents, I will try to sprinkle my anecdotal experiences, strategies, and philosophy in research including my research motto, “Think like an amateur, do as an expert”, which I hope the audience finds interesting and useful in order for them to make their research and development fun and productive.

Bio.  Takeo Kanade is the U. A. and Helen Whitaker University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon. He received his Doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering from Kyoto University, Japan, in 1974. After holding a faculty position in the Department of Information Science, Kyoto University, he joined Carnegie Mellon University in 1980.  He was the Director of the Robotics Institute from 1992 to 2001 as well as the founding director of the Quality of Life Technology Center from 2006 to 2012. Dr. Kanade works in multiple areas of robotics: computer vision, multi-media, manipulators, autonomous mobile robots, medical robotics, and sensors. He has written more than 400 technical papers and reports in these areas. Dr. Kanade has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Awards he received include the Kyoto Prize, Franklin Institute Bower Prize, ACM/AAAI Newell Award, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Pioneer Award, and IEEE PAMI Azriel Rosenfeld Lifetime Accomplishment Award, and Joseph Engelberger Award.