Research

My research interests include smart mobility, connected vehicles, assisted and automated vehicles, algorithmic robotics, humanitarian robotics, intelligent data processing and analysis, machine learning and combinatorial optimization.

Smart mobility is a disruptive technology that aims at providing safer, greener, and more efficient mobility modes. This revolutionary technology is built on five principles, namely, safety, flexibility, efficiency, integration and clean technology. The ultimate goal of smart mobility is zero crashes, zero emission and zero congestion. There are several ill-structured problems in smart mobility systems and services that cannot be solved using traditional algorithms. My current research focuses on studying different challenging problems of smart mobility systems and services such as situation awanress, learning from observation, adaptive planning, conext-aware coordination, complex task allocation, multimodal data fusion and self-organization.

In my role as AI & Smart Technical Leader in Canadian Technical Centre at General Motors of Canada, I lead AI and smart mobility projetcs related to connected mobility, HMI, active safety, prognostics and automated driving.

As a Senior Research Scientist at Vestec, Inc., I applied intelligent data analysis techniques in speech signal processing and recognition systems. I co-invented and filed several US patents about speaker adaptation, noise type identification, SNR estimation and smart speech enhancement.

I founded and coordinated the GUC Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) research group. GUC RAS undertakes inter-disciplinary research in areas like intelligent automated systems, industrial automation, industrial robotics and mobile robotics.

I wrote a proposal for the establishment of University of Waterloo Center of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (CPAMI). CPAMI started officially on March 1, 2011 and I currently serve as an affiliated member of this center. I coordinated several focus groups in CPAMI such as Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Autonomous Systems and Real Time Distributed Design, Machine Perception and Sensors, Smart Mobility and domain adaptation group.

I wrote a number of winning research grant proposals for Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Strategic Project Grant, NSERC Research Tools and Instruments and NSERC–Collaborative Research and Development Grant), Public Security Technical Program (PSTP), Microsoft, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PW&GSC), European Commission and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) for Canada Revenue Agency (total obtained funding is $2,681,636)

Rersearch Projects

  • Upgrading Egyptian Manufacturing from Embedded Systems to Cyber-physical Systems (Smart Factory EG-KTA), Knowledge & Technology Alliance , Academy Of Scientific Research & Technology, 2016-2018. Co-PI: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • MineProbe: A Distributed Mobile Sensor System for Minefield Reconnaissance and Mapping in Egypt. Research, Development and Innovation Programme (RDI-2), Scheme 1, EuropeAid/132-715/M/ACT/EG, Ministry of Scientific Research (MSR). PI: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • Recovering the Sight to Blind People in Indoor Environments with Smart Technologies. The Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Italian Republic and the Arab Republic of Egypt. October 2012. Co-PI: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • Join Research Grant under the South Africa/Egypt – Research Partnership Programme Bilateral Agreement 2012. Co-PI: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • Multiagent Planning and Exceution using a Holonic Architecture. Professional Service Agreement Menya Solutions Inc. 2012. Principle Investigator: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • DIScrimination of Critical Objects and EVents in PErvasive Multimodal SuRveillance Systems (DISCOVER)
    Funding Agency: NSERC-Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) CA$ 945,400)
    Research Consortium: PAMI Group at University of Waterloo, University of Sherbrooke, Defence R&D Canada - Valcartier, Thales Canada Inc. and Menya Solutions Inc.
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Mohamed Kamel
    Local Coordinator at University of Waterloo: Dr. Alaa Khamis
  • Conceptual Foundations of Cooperation in Distributed Surveillance. Professional Service Agreement PSA.AGR.1303.1904, Thales Canada, Inc. 2010. Pricinple Investigator: Dr. Alaa Khamis.
  • MUSES_SECRET: Multimodal SurvEillance System for SECurity-RElaTed Applications
    Funding Agency: The Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence (ORF-RE) Program, 2008-2011 ($6,409,000)
    Principal Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Emil M. Petriu, University of Ottawa, Canada
    PI at University of Waterloo: Prof. Dr. Mohamed Kamel
    Local Coordinator at University of Waterloo: Dr. Alaa Khamis
  • Automation towards Global Standards: Upgrading of Egyptian Factories with Automation Technologies
    Funding Agency: Industrial Modernization Center of Egypt and Siemens AG, 2008-2010
    Principal Coordinator: Dr. Hisham El-Sherif, German University in Cairo.
  • Service Robots Upgrading Urban Standards of Living (RoboCity2030)
    Funding Agency: Madrid Community, 2006-2008
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Carlos Balaguer, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Learning Objects Repositories Network (LORENT)
    Funding Agency: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2004-2008 ($7,500,000)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Mohamed Kamel, PAMI Lab, University of Waterloo, Canada.
  • Service Robots in Metropolitan Areas
    Funding Agency: Madrid Community and Ministry of Education, 2006-2009, S-0505/DPI/0176 (302,594 Euros)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Miguel Angel Salichs, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Peer to Peer Robot-Human Interaction (R2H)
    Funding Agency: Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, 2005-2008
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Miguel Angel Salichs, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Capture of Satellites by Robotics Manipulators using Computer Vision (ASIROV)
    Funding Agency: Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, 2005-2008, DIPI2005-04302 (51,527 Euros)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Mohamed Fichouche, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Personal Robotic Assistant (PRA)
    Funding Agency: Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (MCyT), 2002-2006, DPI2002-00188 (218,020 Euros)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Miguel Angel Salichs, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Application of Advanced Design Methodology in Assistive Personal Robots
    Funding Agency: Madrid Community and Carlos III University of Madrid, 2006, UC3M-IEL-05-051 (14,500 Euros)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Miguel Angel Salichs, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • MATS (Flexible MechATronic aSsistive technology system to support persons with special needs)
    Funding Agency: European Union, 2001-2004, EU (IST-2001-32080)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Carlos Balaguer, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Topological Navigation of Mobile Robots (TOPO)
    Funding Agency: Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (MCyT), 2000-2002
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Miguel Angel Salichs, RoboticsLab, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.
  • Innovative Educational Concepts for Autonomous and Tele-Operated Systems (IECAT)
    Funding Agency: Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission under the EC/USA Program for Cooperation in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training, 1999-2003, (254800 Euro)
    Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Klaus Schilling, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.