Robotics and Control Lab wins student paper awards at SPIE Medical Imaging 2019

Congratulations to the Robotics and Control Laboratory, whose team has received both the first place and the second place student paper awards in image guided procedures, robotics Interventions and modeling at SPIE Medical Imaging 2019.

The first place paper is titled “EpiGuide 2D: visibility assessment of a novel multi-channel out-of-plane needle guide for 2D point of care ultrasound”.

The second place paper is titled “Temporal enhanced ultrasound and shear wave elastography for tissue classification in cancer interventions: an experimental evaluation”.

The conference was held from February 16 to February 21 in San Diego, California.

Spherical display brings virtual collaboration closer to reality

Virtual reality spherical display. Credit: Clare Kiernan

For more information, contact Lou Corpuz-Bosshart

Virtual reality can often make a user feel isolated from the world, with only computer-generated characters for company. But researchers at the University of British Columbia and University of Saskatchewan think they may have found a way to encourage a more sociable virtual reality.

The researchers have developed a ball-shaped VR display that supports up to two users at a time, using advanced calibration and graphics rendering techniques that produce a complete, distortion-free 3D image even when viewed from multiple angles.

Most spherical VR displays in the market are capable of showing a correct image only from a single viewpoint, said lead researcher Sidney Fels, an electrical and computer engineering professor at UBC.

“When you look at our globe, the 3D illusion is rich and correct from any angle,” explained Fels. “This allows two users to use the display to do some sort of collaborative task or enjoy a multiplayer game, while being in the same space. It’s one of the very first spherical VR systems with this capability.”

The system—which the researchers are calling Crystal—includes a ball-shaped display with a diameter of 24 inches (600 millimetres). The hollow spherical display surface was custom-made to specifications in Ottawa, while four high-speed projectors and one camera used for creating the images, calibration and touch sensing were purchased off-the-shelf.

The researchers are working on a four-person system and see many potential uses for their display in the future, including multiplayer virtual reality games, virtual surgery and VR-aided learning. However, they are focusing on teleconferencing applications and computer-aided design for now.

“Imagine a remote user joining a meeting of local users. At either location you can have a Crystal globe, which is great for seeing people’s heads and faces in 3D,” said Ian Stavness, a computer science professor at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the research team. “Or you can have a team of industrial designers in a room, perfecting a design with the help of VR and motion tracking technology.”

While the technology is young, the researchers are forecasting a good future for it.

“We’re not saying that spherical VR will replace flat screens or headsets,” said Fels, adding “but we think it can be a good option for VR activities where you still want to see and talk to other people—be it at home or in the office, for work or play.”

The research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and B-Con Engineering.

Original article on UBC News

Karthik Pattabiraman and Matei Ripeanu receives 2018 Faculty Research Awards

Matei Ripeanu (left) and Karthik Pattabiraman (right)

ECE professors Karthik Pattabiraman and Matei Ripeanu are recipients of UBC’s 2018 Faculty Research Awards. Professor Pattabiraman received the UBC Killam Research Prize, which recognizes outstanding research and scholarly contributions. Professor Ripeanu received UBC’s Killam Research Fellowship, which enables faculty to pursue full-time research during a recognized study leave.

Professor Pattabiraman’s work in the area of dependable computer systems has led to the adoption of low-cost techniques to protect everyday common computer systems, such as desktop computers, mobile phones and self-driving cars, from errors and failures. He has also received numerous prestigious accolades and awards, most recently a Distinguished Alumni Educator Award for Early Career Educator from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Professor Pattabiraman’s transformative research has significantly impacted academia and industry, and continues to shape the future of dependable computer systems. For more details on professor Pattabiraman’s research, please see his website: blogs.ubc.ca/karthik

On his upcoming study leave professor Ripeanu will focus on two projects: solutions to process time-evolving large-scale graphs (with collaborators at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) and blockchain-based solutions for markets in computing resources (with collaborators at iExec). Professor Ripeanu was recently recognized for his impact as a mentor having received the 2018 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring. For more details on professor Ripeanu’s research, please visit his group website: netsyslab.ece.ubc.ca

Full list of this year’s Faculty Research Award winners is available here.

The future will be faster thanks to photonics

Hassam Shoman holding the chip developed by his research team. (Photo: Erica Yeung)

Imagine standing in a checkout line at a store with 10 other people, waiting for one cashier to serve you. Now imagine how much faster it would be if there were 10 cashiers available. Similarly, the operation of a silicon electrical chip can be substantially improved by introducing photonics: more information is routed using photonics wires on chip allowing information to be processed more efficiently compared to traditional copper electrical wires.

“Instead of serving one customer at a time, you’re serving 10 customers at the same time,” explains Hossam Shoman, a PhD student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “The multiplexing of frequencies that make up light makes it faster because you’re sending more information at once.”

Hossam is part of a research team, which includes ECE graduate Hasitha Jayatilleka and professors Lukas Chrostowski and Sudip Shekhar, that recently designed an integrated element that can monitor light precisely and control it on a chip using just a single element. This means better on-chip real estate management in devices, resulting in smaller devices without sacrificing performance.

“This will reduce the footprint compared to other devices and allow for large scaling of photonic systems,” says Hossam. “You can continue boosting the performance of devices by increasing the number of cores of devices, which is becoming difficult to do using electrical wires because they overheat and decrease the performance of the chips.”

Hossam believes that their research will benefit the biomedical industries by enabling the development of cost-effective biosensors that can help detect early stages of cancers. The technology will also make medical devices more accessible and affordable.

“We’re working on integrating and packaging the chips in cost-effective ways for consumers and countries that can’t afford expensive medical equipment,” says Hossam. “Imagine a sensor on the back of your phone that could detect your blood sugar level.”

The paper, titled “Photoconductive Heaters Enable Control of Large-Scale Silicon Photonic Ring Resonator Circuits,” was recently published in Optica.

Photo gallery.

Professor Matei Ripeanu receives Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring

Photo credit: Lukas Chrostowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) professor Matei Ripeanu is the recipient of the 2018 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring in the mid-career category. The award recognizes outstanding mentorship of numerous graduate students over many years.

Professor Ripeanu’s approach to mentoring is very much catered to the needs of his students.

“I try to match students with projects that best fit their skillset and discover with them specific problems they care about so that they can find their maximal motivation,” says professor Ripeanu.

His students will be the first in line to acknowledge the impact of his mentorship and why he is an excellent advisor and mentor.

“One aspect that stands out concerning professor Ripeanu’s mentoring approach is his adaptability,” explains Hassan Halawa, a PhD student in the department. “He deliberately adjusts it to each mentee – according to their particular traits, skill sets, motivations, circumstances and ambitions.”

“His mentoring style is to let the students’ curiosity and interest be the driver of their own research journey,” says Hao Yang, an ECE masters student.

There are four aspects to professor Ripeanu’s approach to mentorship:

Find out in what areas students can excel
Discover what projects motivate them
Fostering a climate of respect and intellectual honesty, and
Enabling students to own their career path and make sure they do not lose their sense of happiness in the process.

Ultimately, professor Ripeanu hopes that his students will find success both professionally and personally.

“My experience is that if we are successful with the above, then the desired professional and often personal accomplishments follow.”

Learn more about professor Ripeanu’s research at Networked Systems Laboratory.

UBC launches connected-vehicle test facility on campus

Photo credit: Clare Kiernan

Original article HERE

Contact Lou Corpuz-Bosshart, UBC Media Relations

University of British Columbia researchers today unveiled a national test bed for connected-vehicle research as part of an initiative to promote safe, smart transportation in BC and beyond.

The facility, called AURORA, includes a network operations centre, a mobile base station and five intersections equipped with roadside units on the southeastern portion of UBC’s Vancouver campus. It also includes traffic cameras, software-defined radios, a smart traffic signal controller and two test drive vehicles, with all units connected to the campus network by wireless links.

“This launch marks the first step in enhancing information sharing between vehicles, infrastructure and pedestrians, to improve safety and get people to their destination more efficiently,” said lead researcher David G. Michelson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science. “With AURORA now open for research ventures and partnerships, academics, industry and government can collaborate in connected-vehicle research and testing in an integrated world-class facility right here at UBC.”

According to Michelson, the “smart intersections” on campus are now capable of communicating with connected vehicles, and the network will grow rapidly in terms of both size and capability with continued expansion planned for over the next year.

“When connected vehicles pass through these smart intersections, the new infrastructure will allow us to count vehicles, map vehicle trajectories, analyze driver behaviour, and share traffic and traffic signal information — while stripping the data of personal information to protect users’ privacy,” he added.

The AURORA connected-vehicle test bed is one of UBC’s important contributions to the development of smart cities, according to James Olson, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science.

“Transportation is one of the biggest challenges of smart cities, and AURORA is a first step in determining, through research, how smart roadside infrastructure can help both drivers and planners make better decisions,” said Olson. “Thanks to recent infrastructure investments and the formation of key research teams, UBC is well-positioned to support these efforts, in collaboration with industry and government.”

AURORA is funded in part by Transport Canada, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and other partners and organizations.

Quick Facts:

• AURORA is an acronym for AUtomotive testbed for Reconfigurable and Optimized Radio Access.

• AURORA researchers will test “driver assist” alerts and add more connected intersections to the network.

• The AURORA team is working with the Ministry of Forests and FPInnovations to develop both road traffic models and connected-vehicle technology that will improve safety on B.C.’s resource roads.

• AURORA researchers are working with Cisco Systems and Eleven-X to develop methods for using emerging low-power wide-area wireless networking technology to provide connectivity to smart road infrastructure on the province’s many highways that aren’t currently covered by the mobile cellular networks or other wireless providers.

• The AURORA system can help achieve “Vision Zero” — a transportation system with zero fatalities and zero serious injuries.

Karthik Pattabiraman awarded Distinguished Alumni Educator Award from University of Illinois

Professor Karthik Pattabiraman receiving the Distinguished Alumni Educator Award from his PhD advisor, Professor Ravishankar K. Iyer. (Photo supplied)

ECE professor Karthik Pattabiraman has been awarded a Distinguished Alumni Educator Award for Early Career Educator from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Computer Science. He received the award on October 19 at the 8th annual Alumni Awards Ceremony and Banquet in Champaign, Illinois. He was one of two alumni awarded in this category this year.

Professor Pattabiraman received his master’s degree from UIUC in 2004, and his PhD in 2009. He has been at UBC since 2010, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also received a UBC Killam Faculty Research Fellowship in 2016. His research interests are in dependable and secure computing, and software systems.

According to UIUC, the award “honors computer science alumni or faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to computer science education and recognizes alumni and faculty who excel at motivating computer science students.” The award has previously been awarded to faculty members from other top universities and research labs world-wide.

UIUC Computer Science is ranked top 5 in the world and has a long history of notable alumni.

Visit UIUC to see the full list of winners.

ICICS Hosts “The Future of Digital Innovation”

Dr. Karen Cheung presenting on Innovation in Biotechnology. (Photo by Paul Joseph, UBC Photographer)

Article by: Craig Wilson, ICICS

On September 17 and 18, the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS) hosted a networking event for research alumni from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg who now work in the USA or Canada. Under the theme of “The Future of Digital Innovation,” the event allowed these FAU Research Alumni members to meet each other, exchange ideas, and strengthen their affiliation with FAU, while learning more about parallel work being done at UBC.

On day one, FAU-affiliated researchers and senior administrators presented a series of talks in ICICS paired with their UBC counterparts. For example, Robert Schober, Head of the Institute for Digital Communications at FAU and a former UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) professor, gave a talk entitled “How to Communicate Inside a Human Body”. This was immediately followed by a presentation from UBC ECE Professor Karen Cheung on “Innovation in Biotechnology,” offering illuminating perspectives on this fascinating area of research.

The introduction of “Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster” by UBC Vice President Research & Innovation Professor Gail Murphy and the presentation “Making Digital Innovation Happen: The FAU Ecosystem” by FAU Vice President Outreach Professor Kathrin Möslein highlighted the ongoing activities at both institutions to remain on the forefront of digital innovation.

The following day, ICICS director Robert Rohling and AMPEL director John Madden organized lab tours for the visitors that included the Robotics and Control Laboratory, the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory (AMPEL) and HATCH, UBC’s incubator for tech-based startups, located in ICICS. Discussions are underway for a follow-up visit by HATCH staff to FAU’s startup incubator in the near future.

“The Future of Digital Innovation” was sponsored by Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and spearheaded at UBC by ECE Professor Vijay Bhargava. Dr. Bhargava received a Humboldt Research Prize in 2015 to work with collaborators at FAU, and was appointed FAU Honorary Ambassador in 2016, in which capacity he helped organize this event. FAU alumni and UBC ECE Professor Lutz Lampe opened the event with a talk entitled “A Bottom-Up Approach to Smart Grid Monitoring.”

Original article on ICICS website

Could a DIY ultrasound be in your future? UBC breakthrough opens door to $100 ultrasound machine

Article by Lou Corpuz-Bosshart, UBC Media Relations

Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new ultrasound transducer, or probe, that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Their patent-pending innovation—no bigger than a Band-Aid—is portable, wearable and can be powered by a smartphone.

Conventional ultrasound scanners use piezoelectric crystals to create images of the inside of the body and send them to a computer to create sonograms. Researchers replaced the piezoelectric crystals with tiny vibrating drums made of polymer resin, called polyCMUTs (polymer capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers), which are cheaper to manufacture.

“Transducer drums have typically been made out of rigid silicon materials that require costly, environment-controlled manufacturing processes, and this has hampered their use in ultrasound,” said study lead author Carlos Gerardo, a PhD candidate in electrical and computer engineering at UBC. “By using polymer resin, we were able to produce polyCMUTs in fewer fabrication steps, using a minimum amount of equipment, resulting in significant cost savings.”

Sonograms produced by the UBC device were as sharp as or even more detailed than traditional sonograms produced by piezoelectric transducers, said co-author Edmond Cretu, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“Since our transducer needs just 10 volts to operate, it can be powered by a smartphone, making it suitable for use in remote or low-power locations,” he added. “And unlike rigid ultrasound probes, our transducer has the potential to be built into a flexible material that can be wrapped around the body for easier scanning and more detailed views–without dramatically increasing costs.”

Co-author Robert Rohling, a professor of mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering, said the next step in the research is to develop a wide range of prototypes and eventually test their device in clinical applications.

“You could miniaturize these transducers and use them to look inside your arteries and veins. You could stick them on your chest and do live continuous monitoring of your heart in your daily life. It opens up so many different possibilities,” said Rohling.

The research was published recently in Nature Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

Original press release on UBC News

ECE Team wins DSN Best Paper Award Runner Up

ECE PhD student, Guanpeng Li, and his advisor, Dr. Karthik Pattabiraman, received the Best Paper Award Runner Up at the 48th IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN), 2018. The conference took place from June 25-28 in Luxembourg City.

Their paper is titled Modeling Soft-Error Propagation in Programs, and was one of three papers to be nominated for the award out of nearly 300 submissions. The DSN conference is considered to be the most prestigious venue in the field of dependable computing.

The paper proposes a new technique, Trident, to estimate the error resilience of a program through static and dynamic analysis methods. Traditionally, error resilience was estimated through the use of fault injection experiments, which are very time-consuming. Consequently, researchers have proposed alternate techniques to estimate the error resilience of a program without performing fault injections. However, those techniques suffer from significant inaccuracies. The paper from the ECE team showed that it is possible to achieve high accuracy without the use of fault injections, thereby significantly accelerating the resilience estimation process. Says Dr. Pattabiraman about the paper, “Trident represents a fundamental advance in the way dependable systems are designed. In the past, practitioners were loathe to integrate resilience techniques into the software development process as such techniques took too long to run. In contrast, Trident is almost two orders of magnitude faster than traditional techniques, and can hence be integrated into the software development process easily.”

The work was done in collaboration with researchers from Nvidia Research in the USA, and was funded in part through a Strategic Grant from the NSERC. The ECE team hopes to integrate Trident into a production compiler in the near future. The Trident code is freely available.