MAE Seminar – The REEF Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory: Enabling the next generation of guidance, navigation, a

Details

The REEF Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory: Enabling the next generation of guidance, navigation, and control systems for the US Department of Defense
August 22, 2024 at 12:50pm
Location: MAE-A 303

Humberto Ramos, Ph.D.
Autonomous Vehicle Laboratory (AVL) REEF/
Air Force Research Laboratory
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
University of Florida REEF – Shalimar, FL

Abstract
In this talk, I will present the capabilities of the Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory and its strong alignment with the ongoing research at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate. I will discuss the environment it offers for personnel and technical development, particularly for early-phase proof-of-concept projects that interest AFRL and other Department of Defense (DoD) entities. Additionally, I will outline how achieving graduate faculty status and assembling a team of students can accelerate our research efforts, enhance the visibility of UF’s graduate programs through collaborations with the DoD, and open up new funding opportunities. Lastly, I will provide an overview of our relevant research on GPS-denied navigation, which we are advancing in partnership with Eglin Air Force Base.

Biography
Humberto Ramos is a Research Assistant Scientist in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University in 2020 and holds a bachelors in Mechatronics. During his graduate studies, he specialized in methods for space proximity operations and visual-aided inertial navigation systems tailored for GPS-denied environments. Joining the University of Florida’s Mechanical and Aerospace Department in 2020 as a postdoctoral researcher sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, he advanced Kalman filter algorithms for navigation. In 2023, he assumed the manager role at the Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory at REEF in Shalimar, Florida. He collaborates with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, and various universities nationwide on GPS-denied navigation for Guidance, Navigation, and Control applications.

MAE Faculty Host: Dr. Yu Wang