Wolfram Burgard
Encyclopedia
Wolfram Burgard is a German
roboticist
. He is a full professor at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg where he heads the Laboratory for Autonomous Intelligent Systems. He is known for his substantial contributions to the simultaneous localization and mapping
(SLAM
) problem as well as diverse other contributions to robotics.
in 1991. His thesis advisor was Armin B. Cremers.
, where he led the laboratory for Autonomous Mobile Systems. He was head of the research group which installed the mobile robot Rhino as the first interactive museum tour-guide robot in the Deutsches Museum Bonn
, Germany in 1997. In 1998, he and his colleagues deployed the mobile robot Minerva in the National Museum of American History
in Washington DC. In 1999, Wolfram Burgard became Professor for Autonomous Intelligent Systems at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.
, Dieter Fox
, Sebastian Thrun
, and Wolfram Burgard developed Monte Carlo localization
, a probabilistic approach to mobile robot localization that is based on particle filters.
Wolfram Burgard and his group has also made substantial contributions to the simultaneous localization and mapping
(SLAM
) problem, which is to determine the map of the environment and the position of the robot at the same time.
Wolfram Burgard together with his long-term collaborators Dieter Fox
and Sebastian Thrun
is a co-author of the book Probabilistic Robotics.
He also is a co-author of the book Principles of Robot Motion - Theory, Algorithms, and Implementations, together with
Howie Choset
, Kevin M. Lynch, Seth A. Hutchinson
, George Kantor, Lydia E. Kavraki and Sebastian Thrun
.
Wolfram Burgard has the 2009 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
, the most prestigious German research prize. He has furthermore received seven best paper awards from outstanding conferences. He also became a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
In 2008, Wolfram Burgard became a fellow of the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence. In 2009, Wolfram Burgard became fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
.
Maren Bennewitz (2004), Dirk Haehnel (2005), Cyrill Stachniss (2006), Rudolph Triebel (2007), Óscar Martínez Mozos (2008), Patrick Pfaff (2008), and Christian Plagemann (2008).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
roboticist
Roboticist
A roboticist designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Since robotics is a highly interdisciplinary field, roboticists often have backgrounds in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering...
. He is a full professor at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg where he heads the Laboratory for Autonomous Intelligent Systems. He is known for his substantial contributions to the simultaneous localization and mapping
Simultaneous localization and mapping
Simultaneous localization and mapping is a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles to build up a map within an unknown environment , or to update a map within a known environment , while at the same time keeping track of their current location.- Operational definition :Maps are used...
(SLAM
SLAM
Slam or SLAM may refer to:In computer science:* Simultaneous localization and mapping, a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles* SLAM project, a Microsoft Research project...
) problem as well as diverse other contributions to robotics.
Education
Wolfram Burgard received his Diploma degree from the University of Dortmund in 1987 and his Doctorate from the University of BonnUniversity of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
in 1991. His thesis advisor was Armin B. Cremers.
Career
In 1991 he became a research assistant at the University of BonnUniversity of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, where he led the laboratory for Autonomous Mobile Systems. He was head of the research group which installed the mobile robot Rhino as the first interactive museum tour-guide robot in the Deutsches Museum Bonn
Deutsches Museum Bonn
The Deutsches Museum Bonn is a museum with exhibits and experiments of famous scientists, engineers and inventors. Its central themes are research and technology in Germany after 1945.It is part of the Deutsches Museum in Munich...
, Germany in 1997. In 1998, he and his colleagues deployed the mobile robot Minerva in the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
in Washington DC. In 1999, Wolfram Burgard became Professor for Autonomous Intelligent Systems at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.
Research
Together with his colleagues, Wolfram Burgard developed numerous probabilistic approaches to mobile robot navigation. This includes Markov localization, a probabilistic approach to mobile localization which can robustly track the position of a mobile robot, estimate its global position when it starts without any prior knowledge about it, and can even recover from localization failures. In 1999, Frank DellaertFrank Dellaert
Frank Dellaert is an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also affiliated with the RIM@GT center and is well-known for contributions to Robotics and Computer Vision.-Early Education:...
, Dieter Fox
Dieter Fox
Dieter Fox is a German roboticist and a Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is most notable for his contributions to several fields including robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and ubiquitous computing...
, Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory . He led the development of the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which is exhibited in the Smithsonian...
, and Wolfram Burgard developed Monte Carlo localization
Monte Carlo localization
In robotics and sensors, Monte Carlo localization is a Monte Carlo method to determine the position of a robot given a map of its environment based on Markov localization. It is basically an implementation of the particle filter applied to robot localization, and has become very popular in the...
, a probabilistic approach to mobile robot localization that is based on particle filters.
Wolfram Burgard and his group has also made substantial contributions to the simultaneous localization and mapping
Simultaneous localization and mapping
Simultaneous localization and mapping is a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles to build up a map within an unknown environment , or to update a map within a known environment , while at the same time keeping track of their current location.- Operational definition :Maps are used...
(SLAM
SLAM
Slam or SLAM may refer to:In computer science:* Simultaneous localization and mapping, a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles* SLAM project, a Microsoft Research project...
) problem, which is to determine the map of the environment and the position of the robot at the same time.
Wolfram Burgard together with his long-term collaborators Dieter Fox
Dieter Fox
Dieter Fox is a German roboticist and a Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is most notable for his contributions to several fields including robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and ubiquitous computing...
and Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory . He led the development of the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which is exhibited in the Smithsonian...
is a co-author of the book Probabilistic Robotics.
He also is a co-author of the book Principles of Robot Motion - Theory, Algorithms, and Implementations, together with
Howie Choset
Howie Choset
Howie Choset is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. His research includes snakebots, or robots designed in a segmented fashion to mimic snake-like actuation and motion, demining, and coverage...
, Kevin M. Lynch, Seth A. Hutchinson
Seth A. Hutchinson
Seth A. Hutchinson is an American Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is best known for his book Principles of Robot Motion - Theory, Algorithms, and Implementations, co-authored with Howie Choset, Kevin M. Lynch, George Kantor,...
, George Kantor, Lydia E. Kavraki and Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory . He led the development of the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which is exhibited in the Smithsonian...
.
Wolfram Burgard has the 2009 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is a research prize awarded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft every year since 1985 to scientists working in Germany. This highest German research prize consists of a research grant of 2.5 million euro, to be used within seven years...
, the most prestigious German research prize. He has furthermore received seven best paper awards from outstanding conferences. He also became a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
In 2008, Wolfram Burgard became a fellow of the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence. In 2009, Wolfram Burgard became fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence or AAAI is an international, nonprofit, scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines...
.
Students
Wolfram Burgard supervised several PhD students in his lab for Autonomous Intelligent Systems, namelyMaren Bennewitz (2004), Dirk Haehnel (2005), Cyrill Stachniss (2006), Rudolph Triebel (2007), Óscar Martínez Mozos (2008), Patrick Pfaff (2008), and Christian Plagemann (2008).