Dr Ziwei Wang
Lecturer in RoboticsProfile
Ziwei Wang is a Lecturer in Robotics at Lancaster University and co-theme lead of the Lancaster Intelligent, Robotic and Autonomous Systems Centre (LIRA). He received the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University, China. Prior to joining Lancaster University, he worked as a Research Associate with the Human Robotics Group in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, U.K. He is also a Visiting Scholar at King’s College London, UK. His main research interests and expertise span a broad range of areas in teleoperation systems, human sensorimotor augmentation, and human-robot interaction, enhancing human sensorimotor capability and overall robotic system performance.
He is enthusiastic about developing AI-based telerobotics and control technologies to overcome the challenges of remote manipulation in extreme environments (including but not limited to remote surgery, space assembly and smart manufacturing). 1) Prescribed-Performance Teleoperation: A novel concept (termed as practically prescribed-time stability) and systematic approach for general teleoperation systems, which ensured user-defined characteristics of performance metrics such as operation time, accuracy, and state constraints. 2) Haptic Augmentation: He developed a Gaussian-process-based classifier for interactive environment identification and polynomial fuzzy based force estimation. These techniques have been successfully tested in the peg transfer task via the Da Vinci surgical robot, which enables a robust estimation accuracy (<0.025N) with few-shot data through the virtues of the fitting ability of polynomials and the nonlinear expression ability of fuzzy models. 3) Multiple Cooperative Teleoperation: He developed a series of reinforcement learning mechanisms to improve operation expertise and correct the operator commands before driving the remote devices, which allows for human-human and human-robot interaction in extreme environments.
He has authored and co-authored over 50 journals and conference papers, and some are published in prestigious journals such as IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, etc. He serves as an editorial board, a program committee member, and a reviewer for various international journals and conferences. He was supported by the Future AI and Robotics for Space (FAIR-SPACE) Hub funded by EPSRC. He has also served as a Session Chair of IEEE SMC 21, ICAC 23, IECON23 and ICIT 24; a Special Session Chair of IEEE WCCI 22, IECON 23 and IEEE WCCI 24; a Workshop Organiser of IROS 21, ICRA 24, IROS 24, Humanoids 2024; and a member of the technical program committee for a number of international conferences in the fields of AI and robotics.
He has served as an Associate Editor of Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics (BIROB), IEEE ICAC 2022-2024, IEEE ICIT 2024, IJCNN 2024, IECON 2023, Humanoids 2024; Guest Editor of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems; and an Editorial Board Member of Frontiers in Robotics and AI and Designs. He is an IEEE Member and a CSF Member. He has served as a Technical Community Member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) and IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (CIS), such as Collaborative Automation for Flexible Manufacturing, Human-Robot Interaction & Coordination, Telerobotics and Robotics & Automation in Nuclear Fusion (RAS-RANF). He is the ECR lead for the Ageing Society theme, The Automatic Control Engineering (ACE) Network. He is a Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) Fellow funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, UK Atomic Energy Authority, Sellafield Ltd and The University of Manchester. He was the recipient of the Young Author Award at the IFAC Workshop on Control Applications of Optimization in 2018, the Best Paper Award of the IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing in 2022, and the Best Poster Award of IROS Workshop 2022. He served as the Academic Advisor for the First Prize of the 2021 International Collegiate Spacecraft Innovation Design Contest.
Research Overview
- Physical human-robot interaction
- Sensory and motor augmentation in teleoperation
- Haptic communication between humans and robots
- Game theory-based interaction control
- Data-driven neuromechanics modelling
- Machine learning applications in robotics
- Robotic rehabilitation and assessment
Current Teaching
ENGR216: Mechanics Engineering
ENGR415: Machine Learning in Engineering
ENGR204: Engineering Projects (Electronics)
ENGR404/ENGR504: Mechanics and Actuators
PhD Supervision Interests
If you are interested in doing a Ph.D. on human-robot interaction or teleoperation in extreme environments (details of research topics can be found on Research Interests) or postdoctoral Fellowships via external funding sources (e.g., Marie-Curie). Please send a copy of your CV and a summary of your research interests.
ART4NDR: Augmented Reality based Teleoperation for Nuclear Decommissioning Robots
01/04/2024 → 31/03/2025
Research
Remote Microthrombus Removal using Vortex Ultrasound Tools
01/12/2023 → 30/11/2025
Research
Digital Platform for Defect-free Plastic Pipes Welding
01/05/2023 → 30/04/2025
Research
FST Engagement Fund
24/11/2022 → …
Research
FST Research Catalyst Fund
24/11/2022 → …
Research
Horizon Europe: Up skilling for Industry 5.0 roll out
01/09/2022 → 31/08/2025
Research
TWI: Intelligent Advanced Additive Manufacturing - Enabling Dynamic Process Efficiency
01/10/2021 → 30/09/2024
Research
Intelligent Advanced Additive Manufacturing - Enabling Dynamic Process Efficiency
21/09/2021 → 24/09/2024
Research
2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Event)
Publication peer-review
The 25th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (Event)
Publication peer-review
IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology 2024 (Event)
Editorial activity
The 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON2023) (Event)
Publication peer-review
The 28th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC2023)
Participation in conference - Academic
22nd IFAC World Congress
Other
Bimanual Coordinated Teleoperation and Assessment of Operator's Cognitive Workload
Invited talk
Towards Human-Robot Collaborative Surgery: Trajectory and Strategy Learning in Bimanual Peg Transfer
Invited talk
Bimanual Coordinated Teleoperation and Assessment of Operator's Cognitive Workload
Invited talk
The 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON2023)
Participation in conference - Academic
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (Journal)
Publication peer-review
The 27th IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC2022)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
IEEE WORLD CONGRESS ON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE 2022
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Designs (Journal)
Editorial activity
Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Journal)
Editorial activity
IEEE ASME Trans Mechatron (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (Journal)
Publication peer-review
2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (Event)
Publication peer-review
IFAC World Congress 2023 (Event)
Publication peer-review
Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Journal)
Editorial activity
Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Journal)
Editorial activity
IEEE Transactions on Robotics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems (Journal)
Publication peer-review
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (Event)
Editorial activity
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Young Author Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best Paper Award of ICAC 2022
Prize (including medals and awards)
IROS Best Poster Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
- Lancaster Intelligent, Robotic and Autonomous Systems Centre
- LIRA - Advanced Manufacturing
- LIRA - Extreme Environments
- Robotics and Control