Hugh HT Liu

Professor, Institute for Aerospace Studies
University of Toronto
Director, Centre for Aerial Robotics Research and EdTitle: UAV Flight Control in The Era of Deep Learning

Abstract: The rapid technological advancement in UAVs (drones), robotics and AI have created potential opportunities for emerging applications. In the meantime, the new challenges are encountered. How much shall we trust the intelligence, especially in safety-critical aviation domain? In this talk, we touch on this topic from a learning-based intelligent flight control perspective to provide our viewpoints. Based on a brief review of AI in UAV control, the discussions focus on two fronts: 1) safe-learning and self-supervised learning; 2) deep learning with hard constraints. The aim is to develop a model-based, learning-enhanced flight control strategy to take advantage of fast progress of AI algorithms yet maintain the safety and validation of control design. We will illustrate our recent study with a case study: slung payload control with variable-length cable. 

Bio

Hugh H.T. Liu is a Professor of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, where he has been on the faculty since 2000. His research interests in the area of aircraft systems and control include autonomous unmanned systems, cooperative and formation control, fault tolerant control, active control on advanced aircraft systems, as well as integrated modeling and simulations. He currently serves as the Associate Editor of AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics. He is also an Associate Editor of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal. Dr. Liu is a fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering, a fellow of Engineering Institute of Canada, an Associate Fellow of AIAA The Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI), and a Fellow of Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada. In 2021, Professor Hugh H.T. Liu was awarded the CASI McCurdy Award, presented for his outstanding achievement in the science and creative aspects of engineering relating to aeronautics and space research. ucation (CARRE)