Visual Learning Robotics Inc
VL Robotics Inc (Visual Learning Robotics Inc) was founded in 2013 by Drs. Janabi-Sharifi (CEO) and Vakanski to address the pressing need for AI-based learning platforms for a variety of existing and emerging robotic systems. They published their preliminary results in a book (Robot Learning by Visual Observation, Wiley, 2017) and patented the technology for automated robot programming through visual observations (US 10112303). Since then the technology for Visual Learning and Programming of Robots (VL-PR) has been further developed and is being prepared for delivery to potential customers.
In addition to developing VL-RP platform, VL Robotics has also been involved in a number of other innovations and technologies including 3D objects detection and pose estimation, vision-based surface inspection, vision-based robotic peening, visual-servo control of robots, and robotic visual cloud computing. Currently, we are developing a system for commercial-grade drone detection and pose measurement for airports and air exclusion zones (AEZs).
Meet Our Key Members
Farrokh Janabi-Sharifi
President and CEO
Farrokh has obtained his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1995. He is a roboticist with the keen interest on intelligent control and planning of autonomous robotic systems. He has a long experience in educating and developing robotic systems. Apart from teaching and research activities at Ryerson University, he has been a visiting professor and scientist in many international institutions including McGill University (Canada), KAISt (Korea), Technical University of Munich (Germany), and INRIA-IRISA (France). He has published extensively in Robotics-related journals and magazines. He has also co-authored several related book chapters and books including Robot Learning by Visual Observation (John Wiley and Sons, 2017), and edited a few proceedings and books. He has also organized several international conferences in the field. He currently serves as a technical editor for IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, and as the Associate Editor of several journals including Journal of Robotics, International Journal of Optomechatronics, and Transaction of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering.
He has been the recipient of several innovation awards and recognitions for his research and creative activities. He is a fellow the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineers, Engineering Institute of Canada, and Canadian Academy of Engineers.
Farrokh has co-founded several start-ups and is actively pursuing commercialization of lab-based robotic solutions to real-world problems.
Aleks Vakanski
CTO
Alex Vakanski is an assistant professor in Industrial Technology. At the University of Idaho in Idaho Falls, he teaches courses in the areas of manufacturing, robotics, CAD design and quality control. His research and development efforts are focused on enhancing cognitive abilities of robots and machines, through the development of algorithms for visual perception and comprehension of the world.
As a roboticist, he has keen interests in cognitive robotics, learning from demonstration, and development of visual learning systems for robot programming by demonstration.
