Prof. Cecilio Angulo

Cognitive Assistants Supporting Human-Robot Networks Collaboration in Human Cyber Physical Systems

We are living a new sociotechnical era of collaborative, human-centred, distributed work in networks of human–robot teams in the smart factory. This new scenario, generically defined as human cyber physical systems, requires specific methods and techniques to analyse and develop cognitive assistance systems supporting and taking care of the Operator 5.0. Computer networks, distributed computing, and cognitive information systems are key research areas for the design and development principles of cognitive assistants in the smart factory, their application domains, and associated challenges. This keynote focuses on the current state-of-the-art of standards, platforms, and solutions, as well as new trends in assistance systems that support collaborative robotics and IoT technologies. This talk will provide attendants with a comprehensive overview of how cognitive assistants can be designed and work in human–robot networked teams.

Biography of Cecilio Angulo

Cecilio Angulo PhD in Science (Applied Mathematics), is Full Professor at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain. He has held various tenured and visiting professorship positions: University of Perpignan Via Domitia, France, University of Genova, Italy, and Spanish AI Research Institute. Prof. Angulo has widely published in peer reviewed international journals and conferences in the field (H-index 34). Founder of the Research Centre on Intelligent Data Science and AI (IDEAI-UPC), Prof. Angulo has led and participated in more than 40 R&D competitive projects, 18 of them funded by the European Commission. Prof. Angulo has an extensive outreach and social service. He is promoter and member of the Ethics Committee at UPC and President of the Catalan Association on AI. His research interests include reinforcement learning and robotics, applications on recommender systems, cognitive social robots and assistive technologies. He can be reached at cecilio.angulo@upc.edu and https://futur.upc.edu/CecilioAnguloBahon.

Prof. Javier Lopez

Standardization efforts for Digital Twins: an analysis from the security side

Digital Twins (DTs) and their potential application to business in general, and industrial scenarios in particular, are increasingly attracting the attention of many companies and, hence, the scientific community. DTs are demonstrating its high value in predicting failures, spotting abnormal situations and thus improving industrial and manufacturing domains while providing real-time services. However, full deployment of DTs in a secure and consistent way relies much on the standardization efforts from international bodies and industrial associations. In this talk, we analyze the actual situation, presenting what has been approached so far and what is still lacking.

Biography of Prof. Javier Lopez

Javier Lopez is a Full Professor at the University of Malaga and Head on NICS Lab research group. His research activities mainly focus on network security, security protocols and critical information infrastructures protection. As Head of NICS Lab he has published about one hundred research papers in international journals, (co)supervised 19 PhD thesis, and lead more than fifty research projects including over a dozen funded by the European Commission. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of, amongst others, IEEE Wireless Communications and Journal of Network and Computer Applications. He has been Co-Editor in Chief of International Journal of Information Security.

Prof. Farookh Khadeer Hussain

Blockchain and Smart Contracts for Sustainability: Case Study of Carbon Credits and Biochar

Carbon credits represent an international mechanism through which governments and organizations can offset their carbon (CO2) emissions. Although the carbon market faces numerous challenges, one of the primary concerns for carbon credit purchasers is the reliability of credit quality. The quality of a carbon credit generally pertains to the capacity to unequivocally demonstrate that it has achieved its intended objectives of carbon abatement. Low-quality carbon credits, by extension, facilitate greenwashing and consequently offer negligible, if any, contribution to atmospheric carbon reduction.
To address this critical issue, we propose a blockchain- and smart contract-based approach for ensuring the provenance of biochar carbon credits, specifically those derived from large-scale industrial hemp cultivation. Industrial hemp not only serves as an efficient CO2 sequester but also provides feedstock for the production of biochar. The biochar processed from hemp can sequester CO2 reliably for up to one hundred years.
Within our proposed framework, establishing provenance for biochar carbon credits is a multifaceted procedure encompassing multiple phases—from seed selection and planting to the germination and harvesting of hemp plants. This approach aggregates relevant documentary evidence of hemp growth from a variety of sources and secures this information in a blockchain. Such evidence is then linked to the carbon credits generated by the CO2 sequestered within the processed industrial hemp.
Smart contracts regulate the orchestration of all activities within each phase, including seed selection and harvesting. In addition, a data-driven, overarching master orchestrator coordinates all related processes to ensure the authenticity and traceability of carbon credits.

Biography of Prof. Farookh Khadeer Hussain

Farookh Khadeer Hussain was the foundation Head of Discipline for Software Engineering at the School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also a member of the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute (AAII), one of Australia’s premier AI-focused research centres. Before joining UTS, he served in two leadership roles at Curtin University, Perth, WA.
Farookh completed a Bachelor of Computer Science (2002), a Master of Information Technology (La Trobe University, 2003) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Curtin University, 2007). Farookh’s broad areas of research interest are artificial intelligence, fog computing, and blockchain. He is particularly interested in developing research-inspired solutions to pressing industry problems (across a range of verticals such as, but not limited to, transportation, manufacturing, mining, food sector, etc.).
Farookh’s h-index is 47, his i-10 index is 180, and his research has been cited more than 9100 times. Farookh has published more than 100 SCI-indexed journal papers. Most of his journal publications appear in journal outlets that are ranked JCR Q1. He has secured external funding worth more than $10 million for various projects. Some of the research projects led by Farookh have been funded by the prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) and other Australian government agencies such as the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), thereby demonstrating academic research excellence. Eight different research-based software solutions conceptualised and developed by Farookh’s team have been translated into practice, demonstrating research impact on a commercial and industry front and industry research excellence. Farookh has successfully supervised/co-supervised more than 50 PhD students to completion.