CECD Hosts Symposium on Autonomy

The Center for Energetic Concepts Development (CECD) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted a symposium on autonomy. Representatives from across industry and government, in addition to faculty and researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) Clark School of Engineering, attended the one-day event held May 15, 2014. CECD Director, Professor Davinder K. Anand, and Mechanical Engineering Department Chair and Minta Martin Professor Bala Balachandran welcomed the participants.

The Honorable John L. Bohanan, Jr., Democrat, District 29B, St. Mary's County, made a special appearance at the symposium and addressed the participants, highlighting the role universities play in the skilled workforce development. Bohanan has also been a supporter in the launch of UMD's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site located in Southern Maryland.

The pace of development for the autonomous operation of engineered systems performing complex multi-step tasks is accelerating. Fundamental to implementing autonomy is a control system comprised of sensors, actuators and high speed computational capability coupled with governing mathematical algorithms. This brings into focus the essential contributions of engineering and consideration of engineering disciplines necessary to develop the underlying technologies for autonomous systems. The successful application of autonomy is an interdisciplinary activity and requires significant contributions made by all branches of engineering.

For more information and to read the final report, visit: http://www.cecd.umd.edu/news-archives/2014-autonomy-symposium.html

Published September 29, 2014