Ewald Heer
Encyclopedia
Ewald Heer is an aerospace engineer, author and professor who has worked on robotics
, artificial intelligence
(AI), and large space structures. He is primarily known for his work and advocacy for the development of intelligent robotic systems used to explorate and operate in space.
(a principality of Moldavia
that was part of the Kingdom of Romania
in 1918 before being occupied by the USSR) in 1930. He fled the Russian army and escaped to Germany, eventually making his way to the United States.
Heer received a degree in architectural engineering from the Technical University of Hamburg in 1953, a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the City College of New York
in 1959, a Master of Science from Columbia University
in 1960, a Civil Engineering from Columbia University
in 1962, and a Doktor-Ingenieur degree from the University of Hanover (Leibniz University
) in 1964. He is a licensed Professional Engineer
in New York
and California
.
and General Electric
's Space Science Laboratoy before joining the Jet Propulsion laboratory in 1966. After completing a one-year assignment as program manager of the lunar surface experiments for Apollo 14
and Apollo 15
in the NASA
Office for the Exploration of the Moon
at NASA Headquarters, Heer returned to the CALTECH Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in 1971, where he initiated the first NASA research program for space
robotics
and artificial intelligence
.
Heer worked to advance space robotics research and organized the first national conference on remotely manned systems in 1972 at the California Institute of Technology
and in 1973 published Remotely Manned Systems: Exploration and Operation in Space. In 1975 he organized and chaired the second conference on remotely operated systems, at the University of Southern California
, and published its proceedings.
In 1977, Stanley Sadin at NASA Headquarters asked Heer to evaluate machine intelligence and robotics technologies for future space missions and establish requirements. Heer selected and organized the NASA Study Group on Machine Intelligence and Robotics.
While project manager for autonomous systems and space mechanics at NASA in 1979, he was executive secretary of a NASA study group included Carl Sagan
as chairman, James S. Albus
, Robert Balzer, Thomas Binford
, Ralph C. Gonzales, Peter Hart
, John Hill
, Gentry Lee
, Elliott C. Levinthal, Jack Minker
, Marvin Minsky
, Donald A Norman, Raj Reddy
, Charles J. Rieger, Thomas B. Sheridan
, William M. Whitney, Patrick Winston
, and Steven Yerazunis.
Heer edited and published the findings and recommendations of the Study Group as the NASA/JPL Report No. 715-32.
Ewald Heer was a robotics specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Interviewd in an Omni (magazine)
article he called self-replicating
robots "one of the most fascinating ideas for the future of space" and said: "This offers a way to create a self-supporting economy by robot labor... Immigrants from Earth could set out, knowing that the means of their survival had already been provided."
In a 1980 article on "Telepresence
", Marvin Minsky
recommended Heer's Remotely Manned Systems (Caltech, 1973) for more technical details on the subject.
of Industrial Engineering
and Systems Engineering
(1973-1984) and Founder and Director of the Institute of Techno-Economic Studies (1978-1984) at the University of Southern California
. He was invited and contributed to The Book of Predictions
(1980). He was a Distinguished Lecturer on Space Robotics of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(1983-1984). He received from NASA
six New Technology Awards and two Certificates of Recognition for “Creative Development of Technology”.
He was Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Computer Engineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(1981 to 1983) and General Chairman of the Computers in Engineering Conference and Exhibit of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(1984). He authored or coauthored more than one hundred technical publications including three books. He chaired two international conferences on remotely manned systems (at California Institute of Technology in 1972 and at USC in 1975) and organized the NASA study group on machine intelligence and robotics in 1977.
Heer has also written on his family background in Chronicle of the Heer family, published in English and German (Cronik der familie Heer).
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI), and large space structures. He is primarily known for his work and advocacy for the development of intelligent robotic systems used to explorate and operate in space.
Background and education
Heer was born in Friedensfeld, BessarabiaBessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
(a principality of Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
that was part of the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
in 1918 before being occupied by the USSR) in 1930. He fled the Russian army and escaped to Germany, eventually making his way to the United States.
Heer received a degree in architectural engineering from the Technical University of Hamburg in 1953, a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1959, a Master of Science from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1960, a Civil Engineering from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1962, and a Doktor-Ingenieur degree from the University of Hanover (Leibniz University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
) in 1964. He is a licensed Professional Engineer
Professional Engineer
Regulation of the engineering profession is established by various jurisdictions of the world to protect the safety, well-being and other interests of the general public, and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes authorized to provide professional services to the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Career
He worked for McDonnell DouglasMcDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
's Space Science Laboratoy before joining the Jet Propulsion laboratory in 1966. After completing a one-year assignment as program manager of the lunar surface experiments for Apollo 14
Apollo 14
Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks....
and Apollo 15
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
in the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Office for the Exploration of the Moon
Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the...
at NASA Headquarters, Heer returned to the CALTECH Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
in 1971, where he initiated the first NASA research program for space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
.
Heer worked to advance space robotics research and organized the first national conference on remotely manned systems in 1972 at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
and in 1973 published Remotely Manned Systems: Exploration and Operation in Space. In 1975 he organized and chaired the second conference on remotely operated systems, at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and published its proceedings.
In 1977, Stanley Sadin at NASA Headquarters asked Heer to evaluate machine intelligence and robotics technologies for future space missions and establish requirements. Heer selected and organized the NASA Study Group on Machine Intelligence and Robotics.
While project manager for autonomous systems and space mechanics at NASA in 1979, he was executive secretary of a NASA study group included Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
as chairman, James S. Albus
James S. Albus
James Sacra Albus was an American engineer, Senior NIST Fellow and founder and former chief of the Intelligent Systems Division of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology .- Biography :Born in Louisville Ky., Albus received the B.S...
, Robert Balzer, Thomas Binford
Thomas Binford
Thomas Oriel Binford has been a leading researcher in image analysis and computer vision since 1967. He is known for pioneering a model-based approach to computer vision in which complex objects are represented as collections of generalized cylinders...
, Ralph C. Gonzales, Peter Hart
Peter Hart
Peter Hart was a Canadian historian, specialising in modern Irish history.-Life:Hart was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He studied for one year at the Memorial University of Newfoundland before moving to study at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He graduated from there with...
, John Hill
John Hill
-Politics:*John Hill , MP for Dorchester *John Hill , United States Representative from Virginia...
, Gentry Lee
Gentry Lee
Bert Gentry Lee is the chief engineer for the Planetary Flight Systems Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a science fiction writer. As an author he is best known for co-writing, with Arthur C. Clarke, the books Cradle in 1989, Rama II in 1989, The Garden of Rama in 1991 and Rama...
, Elliott C. Levinthal, Jack Minker
Jack Minker
Jack Minker is a leading authority in artificial intelligence, deductive databases, logic programming and non-monotonic reasoning. He is also an internationally recognized leader in the field of human rights of computer scientists.-Career:...
, Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...
, Donald A Norman, Raj Reddy
Raj Reddy
Dabbala Rajagopal "Raj" Reddy , a Turing Award winner, is one of the early pioneers in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and has served on the faculty of Stanford and Carnegie Mellon University for over 40 years. He was the founding Director of the Robotics Institute at CMU...
, Charles J. Rieger, Thomas B. Sheridan
Thomas B. Sheridan
Thomas B. Sheridan is American professor of mechanical engineering and Applied Psychology Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a pioneer of robotics and remote control technology.- Biography :...
, William M. Whitney, Patrick Winston
Patrick Winston
Patrick Henry Winston is an American computer scientist, and is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Winston was director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory from 1972 to 1997, succeeding Marvin Minsky, who left to found the MIT Media Lab and succeeded by Rodney Brooks...
, and Steven Yerazunis.
Heer edited and published the findings and recommendations of the Study Group as the NASA/JPL Report No. 715-32.
Ewald Heer was a robotics specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Interviewd in an Omni (magazine)
Omni (magazine)
OMNI was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science fact and short works of science fiction...
article he called self-replicating
Self-replication
Self-replication is any behavior of a dynamical system that yields construction of an identical copy of that dynamical system. Biological cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction...
robots "one of the most fascinating ideas for the future of space" and said: "This offers a way to create a self-supporting economy by robot labor... Immigrants from Earth could set out, knowing that the means of their survival had already been provided."
In a 1980 article on "Telepresence
Telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
", Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...
recommended Heer's Remotely Manned Systems (Caltech, 1973) for more technical details on the subject.
Academic work and professional affiliations
Ewald Heer was an adjunct professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
and Systems Engineering
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
(1973-1984) and Founder and Director of the Institute of Techno-Economic Studies (1978-1984) at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He was invited and contributed to The Book of Predictions
The Book of Predictions
The Book of Predictions was a book published in 1980 and written by David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace, and Irving Wallace, the authors of The Book of Lists...
(1980). He was a Distinguished Lecturer on Space Robotics of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
(1983-1984). He received from NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
six New Technology Awards and two Certificates of Recognition for “Creative Development of Technology”.
He was Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Computer Engineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
(1981 to 1983) and General Chairman of the Computers in Engineering Conference and Exhibit of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
(1984). He authored or coauthored more than one hundred technical publications including three books. He chaired two international conferences on remotely manned systems (at California Institute of Technology in 1972 and at USC in 1975) and organized the NASA study group on machine intelligence and robotics in 1977.
Heer has also written on his family background in Chronicle of the Heer family, published in English and German (Cronik der familie Heer).
Articles
- EarthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
analyses of high-rise buildings (1960) - DynamicDynamics (mechanics)In the field of physics, the study of the causes of motion and changes in motion is dynamics. In other words the study of forces and why objects are in motion. Dynamics includes the study of the effect of torques on motion...
analyses of large ground-based tracking antennas for the Bell LabsBell LabsBell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
(1961) - Underground wave propagationWave propagationWave propagation is any of the ways in which waves travel.With respect to the direction of the oscillation relative to the propagation direction, we can distinguish between longitudinal wave and transverse waves....
and their interaction with subterranean structures (1962) - Analysis of the resistance potential against nuclear weaponNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
explosions of the subway tunnels in Hamburg, Germany (1963) - Step load moving with low subseismic velocity on the surface of a half-space of granular material (with Hans H. Bleich) April 1963 94 pages WEIDLINGER ASSOCIATES NEW YORK
- Buffeting atmospheric flow analysis of the GeminiProject GeminiProject Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
spacecraft (1964) - Development of the theory for an arbitrary number of systems with loose couplingLoose couplingIn computing and systems design a loosely coupled system is one where each of its components has, or makes use of, little or no knowledge of the definitions of other separate components. The notion was introduced into organizational studies by Karl Weick...
subjected to determinate and random dynamic inputs (1967) - Development of the TheoryTheoryThe English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
of ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
SystemSystemSystem is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
with viscoelasticityViscoelasticityViscoelasticity is the property of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing deformation. Viscous materials, like honey, resist shear flow and strain linearly with time when a stress is applied. Elastic materials strain instantaneously when stretched and just...
and plasticPlasticA plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
material properties for Mars entry missions (1969) - Maximum Dynamic Response and Proof Testing (with Jann-Nan Yang) Vol. 97, No. 4, July/August 1971, pp. 1307-1313 Journal of the Engineering Mechanics Division
- Remotely Manned Systems. Exploration and Operation in Space: Proceedings of the First National Conference Held at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California September 13-15, 1972 published 1973
- Conceiving, developing and demonstrating with the cooperation of a patient with quadriplegiaQuadriplegiaTetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
the first robotic voice controlled wheelchair for quadriplegics to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Congressional Committee for Science and Technology in Washington DC chaired by Senator Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
(1975). - Ewald Heer, “Prospects for robotics in space,” Robotics Age vol. l(Winter 1979):20-28
- Nasa: Automated Decision Making and Problem Solving (Nasa Cp-2180) May 19-21, 1980 Proceedings of a conference held at NASA Langley Research Center (May 1921, 1980) 55 pages.
- Proceedings of the Pajaro Dunes Goal-Setting Workshop, unpublished draft notes, June 1980.
- “Robots in modern industry,” Astronautics and Aeronautics 19(September 1981):50-59
- Automated decision making and problem solving National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Technical Information Branch (for sale by the National Technical Information Service) 1981
- Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation and Learning co-author with Charles R. Weisbin, Gerard de Saussure, J. Ralph Einstein, and François G. Pin IEEE Computer 22(6): 29-35 (1989)
- Automation and Robotics for the Space Exploration Initiative: Results from Project Outreach - 1991
Books
- "Toward Intelligent Robot Systems in Aerospace" (with Henry Lum) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 1988
- Machine Intelligence and Autonomy for Aerospace Systems (with Henry Lum) 1989 ISBN:0930403487 355 pages American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics
- Operation systems, Humans-Intelligence-Machines 1998 HAI Publishers
- Machine Intelligence And Autonomy For Aerospace Systems (progress In Astronautics And Aeronautics) ISBN 0930403487
- Chronicle of the Heer family HRI Publishers, 1998