IR CTO awarded prestigious lifetime achievement award
Computer Science Canada | Informatique Canada (CS-Can|Info-Can) announces 2024 Award Winners including Indpendent Robotics Chief Technology Officer, company founder and McGill University Professor Greg Dudek.
Independent Robotics is delighted to congratulate all the winners of the Computer Science Canada Award for lifetime achievement. The CS-CAN|INFO-CAN awards acknowledge exemplary contributions to computer science research, education, community and professional service, and the significant accomplishments of computer scientists.
The process to review and determine the award recipients was rigorous. Nominations were brought forward to Awards Committees, a panel of computer scientists from different disciplines across the country who, after careful consideration of each nomination, selected the recipients.
After originally co-founding the company with entrepreneur Martin Stanley, and fellow academic Mike Jenkins, Greg Dudek stepped back to work with academia and other industry, including VP of AI at Samsung. He came back as the CTO of Independent Robotics earlier this year and, together witht he new CEO Julian Ware, they are leading an exciting AI revolution of the cutting edge robotics and AI software solutions.
Here is what the Computer Science award said about Greg:
Summary of achievements and contributions for Prof. Gregory Dudek Professor Gregory Dudek stands as a trailblazer in Canadian computer science, particularly in the field of mobile robotics. His vision led to the establishment of one of Canada's first robotics and AI labs in 1991, a time when such endeavors were unconventional. Dudek's commitment extended beyond building his lab at McGill; he actually laid the foundations for a pan-Canadian robotics community, which he continues to lead, challenging the best global robotics hubs. Dudek's research spans three key areas: robot localization, video data summarization, and underwater robotics. His work uniquely combines deep theoretical advancements with successful practical implementations, addressing fundamental challenges in algorithms, geometry, and control. Notably, his contributions to robot localization, beginning in the mid-1990s, showcased a rare blend of theoretical rigor and practical applicability. In the realm of video data summarization, Dudek applied computational geometry concepts to measure the distance between images, providing practical solutions for handling vast amounts of robotic sensor data. His work exemplifies the synergy between theoretical ideas and real-world applications. Underwater robotics, a challenging domain due to the properties of this unique environment complexities (limited visibility and inability to use standard communication and localization technologies) and autonomy requirements, became another focal point for Dudek. He is known for work with the AQUA robot, which demonstrated a remarkable fusion of perception, vehicle design, and control, yielding practical applications with industrial collaborations. Dudek's impact goes beyond research, evidenced by his significant service roles. Initiatives like the NSERC Canadian Robotics Network, under his leadership, connected universities, industrial partners, and government agencies for a decade, fostering collaboration and visibility for Canadian robotics internationally. The fact that Canada is an international leader in robotics today can largely be attributed to his leadership. Further, his role in organizing major international conferences and serving as editor of major robotics journals reflects his commitment to the global research community. In teaching and mentorship, Dudek's contributions are equally outstanding. A co-author of a popular robotics textbook, he is recognized for inspiring and guiding students. His mentorship record, with a substantial percentage of students becoming professors or working in top industry research divisions, attests to his impact. In summary, Professor Greg Dudek's lifetime achievements encompass groundbreaking research, transformative contributions to Canadian robotics, impactful mentorship, and leadership roles within the academic community.
Greg is still at the absolute forefront of bleeding edge technologies - including AI zero-shot fondation models. Independent Robotics is delighted to have such a prolific and powerful leader and asset back at the company and all are very excited about the new fast-paced trajectory and technologies.
You can read more about the award here https://cscan-infocan.ca/current-year-winners/
You can see a list of Greg’s 500+ peer-reviewed publications (and growing) here https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BSORuFoAAAAJ&hl=en
