Yue Hu - Assistant Professor (Lab Director)
Thomas M. Kwok - Postdoc
Thomas M. Kwok is a Postdoctoral Scholar working on shared autonomy for teleoperated robots. Previously, he was a Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Sciences and Engineering (Biomedical Engineering) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a B.Eng. and M.Phil. in Mechanical and Automation Engineering from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). His research interests include robotics, rehabilitation engineering, and human-robot interaction.
°ä´Ç²Ô³Ù²¹³¦³Ù:Ìýthomasm.kwok@uwaterloo.ca
Ibrahim Abdulhafiz - PhD student
Ibrahim is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, performing research on physical interactions with humanoid robots.
Hisham Khalil - PhD student
Hisham is a PhD student in Mechatronics Engineering starting Winter 2024. Hisham obtained his BEng in Mechanical Precision Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2023. He was also a Research Student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan supervised by Prof. Gentiane Venture. His research interests include applied machine learning for human state and motion analysis, learning-based control, and physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). His goal is to develop personalized frameworks that allow collaborative robots to provide effective caregiving services to humans, especially for elder adults.
Geoffrey Hanks - PhD student
Geoffrey Hanks is Mechanical Engineering PhD student started in Fall 2024. Geoffrey obtained his MASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ in August 2024 at the AIRLab. Geoffrey's research is on learning from demonstration applied to robot control.
Anas Mahdi - PhD student
Anas Mahdi is a PhD student in System Design Engineering, co-supervised by Prof. Katja Mombaur at theÌýCERC in Human-Centred Robotics and Machine Intelligence (HCRMI).
Adam Sanderson - PhD student
Adam is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, performing research on the teleoperation of dual-arm collaborative robots.
JaeEun Shin (Jen) - PhD student
JaeEun is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Mechatronic Engineering at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ. She is co-supervised with and the Safe Interactions Lab.ÌýHer research interests lie in human-robot interaction, especially in privacy and cybersecurity risks in social robots. Her current research explores privacy perception in child-robot interaction and the design of safe interactions with humanoid social robots.
Amr Hamdi - MASc
I am a recent Mechatronics graduate from Ain Shams University in Egypt. With a passion for robotics, humanoids, and human-robot interactions, I have embarked on a new academic journey by joining the Spring 2023 semester for a Master of Applied Science (MASc) program. My specific interest lies in the field of robotics, where I am fascinated by the development of intelligent machines that can interact and cooperate with humans. I am particularly drawn to humanoid robots, which possess human-like characteristics and abilities, enabling them to perform tasks in a manner that is more relatable and compatible with human expectations. In pursuing my MASc, I am eager to delve deeper into the realm of robotics and explore advanced topics related to humanoid robots and human-robot interactions. I aim to contribute to the development of intelligent machines that can work alongside humans in a safe, efficient, and collaborative manner. By integrating my knowledge of mechatronics, robotics, and human-robot interactions, I hope to make significant contributions to this rapidly evolving field.ÌýI am co-supervised byÌýYue Hu from A.I.R Lab and Kerstin Dauntehaun from SIRRL are conducting research in social human-robot interactions (HRI).
Kevin Joseph - MASc Student
Kevin Joseph is pursuing his MASc in Mechatronics Engineering starting in the Fall of 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Yue Hu. Kevin has a BESc in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Western Ontario. His research interests lie in robotics, machine learning and controls.
Neil Fernandes - MASc
Neil is a MASc student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, co-supervised withÌýProf. Kerstin DautenhahnÌýin the SIRRL Lab. Neil's research is on developing a social robot for human-robot interaction in the educational setting. Neil's personal page.
Jeffrey Lee- MASc Student
Jeffrey is a Masters student in Mechatronics Engineering supervised by Professor Yue Hu and co-supervised by Professor Alex Wong in Systems Design Engineering. His interests are in Human-Robot Interaction and Artificial Intelligence. Jeffrey will Ìýmainly focus on research in Human-Robot Collaboration using multi-modal human estimation with computer vision and various artificial intelligence learning tools.
Manal Siddiqui - MASc Student
Manal Siddiqui is a master's student in System Design Engineering at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, working under the co-supervision of Prof. Yue Hu and Dr. Moojan Ghafurian in the SIRRL Lab. Her research interests focus on human-robot interaction, particularly in social robotics for health monitoring in aging populations. Manal's current research explores the design and development of user-centered health monitoring systems using social robots. These systems aim to enhance senior care by integrating functionalities such as medication reminders, vital sign monitoring, and telepresence, ultimately improving the quality of life for older adults and addressing challenges in traditional caregiving methods.
Cheng Tang - Research Assistant
Cheng Tang is a 3rd year Computer Engineering student working part-time on the development of a social robot for immigrant children, and a joint project with the Cheriton School of Computer Science on cybersecurity of teleoperated robots.
Volodymyr Beimuk - Summer Program
Volodymyr is a student from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, currently an intern under the Students at Risk Summer Program. Volodymyr is working on vision-based collision avoidance for surgical assistant robots in operating rooms.
Noam Borenstein - USRA
Noam is a co-op student with NSERC USRA, working on surgical navigation and robot control for surgical assistance. Noam is co-supervised by Prof. Stewart McLachlin of the ORTHOTron lab.
Evie Bouganim - URA
Evie is a second year Mechatronics Engineering student and a URA. Evie works on the development of an efficient interface and control of a surgical assistant robot.
Finn Breuer - Exchange student
Finn is an exchange student from TUHH (Hamburg University of Technology). Finn is working on external load estimation for collaborative robots, aimed at surgical applications.
Nicholas Koenig - Summer intern
Nick is a 3rd year undergraduate student from McMaster University doing an internship under the Rising Star Program. Nick works on shared autonomy for the teleoperation of robots for caregiving.
Antonio Martin-Ozimek - Summer intern
Antonio is a 3rd year undergraduate student from the University of Alberta, doing an internship under the Rising Star Program. Antonio works on human state estimation models for human-robot interaction.
Shawn Yang - URA
Hello! I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Mechatronics Engineering. I have a deep passion for robotics, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence. My specific interests revolve around robotic arms, bionic prosthetics, and surgical robotics; areas in which I aspire to make meaningful contributions as I continue to expand my technical knowledge. Under the supervision of Dr. Hu, I am currently assisting with user studies involving human-robot interaction. These experiences are shaping my understanding and skills in this field, further fuelling my enthusiasm for robotics and its applications.
Kevin Wang - URA
Kevin is a second year Mechatronics Engineering student and a URA. Kevin works on developing force sensors for collaborative robots manipulation tasks.Ìý
Josh Wu - Summer intern
Josh is an incoming first year Mechatronics Engineering student. Josh works on using the humanoid robot NAO as physical therapist.Ìý
Iris Zhang - Member
Iris is a 4th year Mechatronics Engineering student, working on the development of a pet robot.
Wendi Liang - Remote volunteer
ÌýÌý
Wendi was a Mitacs Globalink Intern from HongKong in Spring 2024, working on Reinforcement Learning for robot arm control. Wendi is now a remote volunteer.
Past Members
​​​​​​Graduate students
- Spring 2022 - Winter 2024, Victoria Yang (MASc)
- Spring 2022 - Spring 2024, Nourhan Abdulazeem (MASc and RA)
Undergraduate students
- Winter 2022, Benjamin Li (URA, ME 4B)
- Spring 2022, Saawan Patel (URA, ME 2B)
- Spring/Fall 2022,ÌýNavanith Niranjan (URA, ME 2B)
- Fall 2022,ÌýKaveeshan Thurairajah (USRA, ME 4A)
- Winter 2023, Jeffrey Lee (URA, MTE 4B)
- Winter 2023, Steven Feng (URA, MTE 4B)
- Winter 2023, Aswin Visva (URA, MSCI, 4B)
- Winter, Spring 2023, Todd Tang (URA, MTE 3A)
- Spring 2023, Rijin Muralidharan (URA, MTE 3A)
- Fall 2022, Winter, Fall 2023, Aimen Awan (USRA, URA, ME 2B, 3A, 3B)
- Fall 2023, Bilal Ali (URA, MTE 2B)
- Fall 2022 - Winter 2024, Elin Liu (Volunteer)
- WinterÌý2024, Fall 2024, Shawn Yang (URA, MTE 1B, 2A)
- Winter 2024, Khushi Savla (URA, MTE 1B)
- Winter 2024, Abhi Gupta (URA, MTE 4B)
- Spring 2025, Charles Eret (USRA, CE 1B)
- Spring 2025, Winter 2025, Ben Boguslavsky (URA, MTE 2B, 3A)
- Winter 2025, Kaveet Grewal (URA, MTE 4B)
- Winter 2025, Aarush Jain (URA, MTE 3A)
- Winter 2025, Lili Strong (MTE 3B)
- Winter 2025, Jiaan Li (ME 3A)
Other
- Winter 2022, Henning Heck (Exchange student with TUHH, Hamburg University of Technology)
- Spring 2022, Julie Pivin (Visiting from Université de Sherbrooke)
- Spring/Fall 2022, Mustafa Akbaba (Visiting intern,ÌýMiddle East Technical University)
- Winter 2023, Nils Sichert (Exchange student with TUHH, Hamburg University of Technology)
- Spring 2023, Devyani Gorkar (Mitacs Globalink Intern)