Fall / Automne 2017 21 ...Continued on page 23 ACADEMIC STAGE I was very lucky to be called to serve and be hired by the University of Toronto in 1981 on contract as a Research Professor, and later in 1982 as full-time tenure-track Pro- fessor in the Department of Mech- anical Engineering. The depart- mental chairman, Dr. Ron Venter, was critical to my quick and suc- cessful integration at U of T and early successes. I became infatuated with robotics: publications galore, very large num- ber of graduate students, activities in professional societies, large research funding, editor of journals, con- ferences, presentations, speeches, etc.; high international recognition; accolades at right and left includ- ing three medals, the last being the IEEE McNaughton, and fellowships in several professional societies internationally, US and nationally. In fact, I was the founder of the field of Robotics at the University of Toronto where I have been since 1982. I have supervised the largest number to date of graduate students in the Faculty ofApplied Science and Engineering (46 PhD and 64 MASc), and have an exceptional publication record with more than 7,500 citations (128 archival journal papers, 294 papers in major conferences, 15 book chapters and 75 patents granted and applied).Though now and since 2011 I am a Professor Emeritus, I still maintain a reasonable load of gradu- ate students and research. Over the years, I was asked and accepted to be an editor of the archival international journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Auto- mation from 1986-1994, and I am still a member of the editorial boards of Robotica, Robotics in Japan, Journal of Robotics, Robotics Jour- nal, Scientific World Journal, Indus- trial Engineering and Management Journal, SOJ Robotics and Auto- mation and International Journal of Automation and Computing. From the early work as an academic I needed to show that I can build systems and see how they really work in practice. This prevailed, but it was concurrent with high-end academic work, leading to setting up at the University a commercial undertaking Medical Robots ...continued from page 20 MRI-Compatible General Surgery Robot including its auxiliary technology (surgical tool, control station and arch-base device) is a new surgical robot prototype for MRI-guided bone biopsy and general surgery. The robot is modular, re-configurable and fits into the MRI, mounted on a MRI-bore shaped arch. The re-configurability provides a means of finding the best possible configuration for specific bone biopsy and other surgical interventions. The robot with various surgical tool modules can operate under remote control as well as autonomously. Haptics technology can be used to provide the sensing of drilling force in bone biopsy interventions. Embedded Control Software and Graphical User Interfaces are part of the robot system. Software for visualization and navigation is currently being developed. The main features of the medical robot are modularity of robot and surgical tool, MRI- compatibility, visualization and navigation software for interaction with MR images, and easy attachment/detachment of the surgical tool module for sterilization. An arch device unit compact enough in size to fit in the limited space of 3-T close-bore MRI is also available. ■ GENERAL SURGERY ROBOT IN MRI Space Robots ...continued from page 19 The robot can be used effectively in security and defense applications while mounted on mobile platforms, as well as in manufacturing, robotic-based custom automation, and for research. The robot is 2.3 m long with DOF. It can be used in aerospace applications where light weight is a key factor, security and defence where high accuracy and dexterity is a key requirement, as a test bed for R & D in advanced control methods with open software architecture, visual servo applications of guided tool operations and tool exchanging, and testing in environ- ments with harsh Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), temperature and humidity requirements. It can be used indoor and outdoor. The design is modular consisting of one single-joint and three two-joint modules, links and AEEE. The joints are compliant (back-drivable). Light-weight and high-stiffness arm links made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) are coated in a 50-micron nickel alloy layer. Internal cabling provides protection from the environment and snagging. Advanced control methods that are used include impedance, adaptive, visual servo control and control in Cartesian-space. ADVANCED ROBOTS ARMS: SMALL MANIPULATOR ARM FOR PLANETARY EXPLORATION The Small Manipulator Arm was also developed to advance the state-of-the-art in manipulators for planetary exploration and to per- form simulated Moon and Mars missions on Earth. It is a light- weight, high payload-to-weight ratio manipulator with advanced control systems includ- ing force control, visual servo control, and open software architecture. The arm has six joints, links, payload inter- face, electronics (drivers and controller), harness, user interface software, and operator control unit. The arm can be operated in remote control and closed loop modes. It can be used effectively in security and defence applications while mounted on mobile platforms, as well as in manufacturing, robotic-based custom automation, and research. The arm complies with military standard (MIL-STD-461 Rev E) on EMC and Electromagnetic Inter- ference (EMI) requirements, and with space-quality requirements on vibration and shock resistance. The arm has a high payload-to-weight ratio of 1:1.1, high repeatability and accuracy at full extension, modular two-joint wrist with tilt and roll motion, and a payload interface module for multiple payloads.■ Fall / Automne 2017 21 Paediatric Surgery Robot Surgical Tool Module Arch Device Unit Small Manipulator Arm (SMA) MRI-compatible General Surgery Robot