Armando Sousa

Armando Jorge Miranda de Sousa received his PhD in 2004, in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at University of Porto - Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), Portugal. His thesis work was in the subarea of Robotics and Automation.

He is currently an Associate Professor in the ECE department of FEUP and an integrated senior researcher at Centre for Intelligent and Industrial Systems (CRIIS) at the INESC TEC interface institute. He earned in 2014 the international pedagogical certification "ING.PAED.IGIP" from the International Society for Engineering Pedagogy and is currently an active member for the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI).

His main research areas include Higher Education and Robotics, but most recently focusing on Robot Learning and Learning for Cyber Physical Systems. Application areas include not only intelligent robots for agriculture and forest but also robotic manipulation of flexible objects. As a frequent participant in robotic contests, some of which used AI in real world robotics, he has earned several national and international merits (examples: vice champion of RoboCup Robotic Soccer in 2006, winner of Autonomous Driving of Portuguese Robotics Open of 2022).

He has also earned educational awards such as the University of Porto (UP) excellence award in 2015 and 10 best at ECEL 2015 excellence e-learning awards. He has published over 80 indexed peer reviewed articles both in pedagogical issues and more technical areas. Also, he has a patent entitled "Device and method for identifying a cork stopper and respective kit". He is also involved in educational and technical funded projects such as "IntelWheels 2" and "blockchain.pt".

He currently (co-)supervises 7 PhD students.

More details in https://www.cienciavitae.pt/en/1C17-7D93-4CF3 and https://fe.up.pt/asousa.

Domains

Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems Artificial Intelligence Robotics

Projects

ColRobot

Project ColRobot’s main objective is to combine cutting-edge European robot technology and end-user requirements for assembly processes to create an integrated system for collaborative robotics in which a mobile manipulator acts as a “third hand” by delivering kits, tools, parts, and holding work pieces while the operator works on them. Humans will cognitively and physically interact with ColRobot robots using gestures, touch commands and demonstrations. The robot will be able to navigate autonomously in the factory floor to pick up the required parts and tools, and prepare kits for assembly. A safety system that pushes the limits of standardisation in collaborative robotics supervises the process. The project findings will be validated in 2 demonstrators in real operational environment at the end-users’ facilities, one in the automotive industry - Renault SAS -, and another in the aerospace industry - Thales Alenia Space France.

Collaborative Robotics for Assembly and Kitting in Smart Manufacturing

SAFER

The SAFER project aimed to develop techniques and tools for ensuring the quality of robotic software developed with ROS. To facilitate the integration and adoption by the robotics community, the project focused on developing techniques that worked directly from source code and supported by automated verification tools. The main deliverable of the project was the HAROS tool for static analysis of ROS software.

View all projects

Publications

ETHICAL COMPETENCES THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR THE ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE ACKNOWLEDGED IN PROFESSIONAL DEONTOLOGICAL CODE

Monteiro, F;Sousa, A;

2022

INTED2022 Proceedings - INTED Proceedings

EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENCE OF ETHICAL EDUCATION IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN PORTUGAL

Monteiro, F;Sousa, A;

2022

INTED2022 Proceedings - INTED Proceedings

The underlying potential of NLP for microcontroller programming education

Rocha, A;Sousa, L;Alves, M;Sousa, A;

2024

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

CO2 Emissions Resulting from Large-Scale Integration of Electric Vehicles Using a Macro Perspective

Monteiro, F;Sousa, A;

2024

APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL

View all publications

Centres

Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems

At the Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, we develop innovative solutions to leverage robotics in the industrial, agricultural, and forestry contexts, driving the digital transformation of the industry. We take a practical approach - from design to deployment - to test the navigation and localisation of mobile robots, explore advances in 2D/3D industrial vision and advanced detection, while also focusing on industrial and collaborative robotics, as well as human-robot interfaces. Our TRIBE LAB is fertile ground for innovative ideas about the agriculture of the future; we develop prototypes and promote excellence in agricultural robotics and IoT technology: with prototypes, advanced sensors (LiDAR, AI cameras), and rapid prototyping tools, we accelerate the development of solutions for the agroforestry sector. We are also present at the iiLab, where we combine applied research, technological demonstration, and controlled environment testing, promoting the integration of emerging technologies into industry. From intelligent robotic cells and cyber-physical systems to data analysis and AI, it is an innovation space where companies can experiment with and validate solutions for the factory of the future. With a multidisciplinary team, and following European agendas, our research work combines fundamental science and application, impacting the design of solutions for Industry 4.0, fostering competitiveness and the digital transformation of the sector.