Muhammad Aitsam Ms
PhD Candidate
Summary
I am currently a PhD candidate and a full-time researcher at the Smart Interactive Technologies Lab at Sheffield Hallam University. My work is primarily focused on the MSCA Horizon 2020-funded project, PERSEO-ESR9, which aims to enhance robot autonomy and cognitive functions through advanced neuromorphic technologies.
About
My research explores the use of event cameras and neuromorphic computing to estimate cognitive load, thereby improving real-time human-robot interactions. This work extensively involves pioneering applications of event cameras in contexts where minimizing power consumption is essential.
Throughout my PhD, I have developed expertise in working with state-of-the-art neuromorphic hardware such as SpiNNaker, Loihi, BrainScale, and Synsens, implementing practical applications like gesture classification. These projects underscore the potential of neuromorphic technologies in achieving high computational efficiency with low power usage.
Currently, I am leading a cutting-edge project focused on real-time cognitive load estimation using multiple parameters. Simultaneously, I am also working on integrating the ARI Robot with SpiNNaker neuromorphic hardware and event cameras, to push forward the capabilities of autonomous systems in speed and efficiency.
My research propels theoretical advancements in cognitive science and robotics and has significant practical implications for the design of intuitive and sustainable human-robot interfaces.
Teaching
School of Computing and Digital Technologies
College of Business, Technology and Engineering
Efficient Data Processing Pipeline for Event-Based Vision Datasets
Spiky Piano
Human Pose Response to Cognitive Load
Event-Based Hand Gesture Dataset for Robotic Control
SpiNNaker Enabled Event-Based Vision for Social Robotics Applications
Neuromorphic Computing and Event-Driven Perception for Robotics
Research
Muhammad Aitsam, Sergio Davies, and Alessandro Di Nuovo, "Neuromorphic Computing for Interactive
Robotics: A Systematic Review," in IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 122261-122279, 2022, doi:
10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3219440, (2022).
Muhammad Aitsam, Sergio Davies, and Alessandro Di Nuovo. “Event Camera-Based Real-Time Gesture
Recognition for Improved Robotic Guidance”. In: 2024 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks
(IJCNN 2024). Yokohama, Japan, (2024).
Muhammad Aitsam, and Alessandro Di Nuovo. "Energy Efficient Personalized Hand-Gesture Recognition
with Neuromorphic Computing." CONCATENATE Workshop, ACM/IEEE International Conference on
Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), (2023).
Mahboobeh Dorafshanian, Muhammad Aitsam, Mohamed Mejri, Alessandro Di Nuovo. "Beyond Data
Collection: Safeguarding User Privacy in Social Robotics”. SS01: Security and Privacy in Assistive
Autonomous and Robotic Systems, IEEE ICIT, (2024).
Muhammad Aitsam. "Differential Privacy Made Easy”. IEEE International Conference on Emerging Trends
in Electrical, Control, and Telecommunication Engineering (ETECTE), doi:
10.1109/ETECTE55893.2022.10007322. (2022)
Gonzalo Munilla Garrido, Joseph Near, Muhammad Aitsam, Warren He, Roman Matzutt, Florian Matthes.
"Do I get the privacy I need? Benchmarking utility in differential privacy libraries”. ArXiv:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.10789 (2021)
Muhammad Aitsam, Soamsiri Chantaraskul. "Blockchain Technology, Technical Challenges,
Countermeasures for Illegal Data Insertion”. Engineering Journal, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4186/ej.2020.24.1.65 (2020)
Publications
Journal articles
Aitsam, M., Davies, S., & Di Nuovo, A. (2022). Neuromorphic Computing for Interactive Robotics: A Systematic Review. IEEE Access, 10. http://doi.org/10.1109/access.2022.3219440
Conference papers
Aitsam, M., Davies, S., & Di Nuovo, A. (2024). Event Camera-Based Real-Time Gesture Recognition for Improved Robotic Guidance. In The International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN), Japan, 30 June 2024 - 5 July 2024. IEEE: http://doi.org/10.1109/IJCNN60899.2024.10650870
Dorafshanian, M., Aitsam, M., Mejri, M., & Di Nuovo, A. (2024). Beyond Data Collection: Safeguarding User Privacy in Social Robotics. 2024 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT). http://doi.org/10.1109/icit58233.2024.10540743
Other activities
Reviewer:
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2024
IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) 2024, 2023
Neuromorphic Computing and Journal (NCE) 2024, 2023
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2023
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2023
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) 2023
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) 2023
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR) 2022, 2023
Postgraduate supervision
Olubunmi Onwuemene (Master Thesis)
Performance Analysis of ANN-to-SNN Conversion Algorithms
Javeria Munir (Master Thesis)
Real-Time Cognitive Load Estimation during HRI
Samiulhaq Chardiwall (Semester Project)
Privacy-Preserving Spiking Neural Network
Jules Lebouvier (Bachelors Project)
Power Analysis of Neuromorphic Architectures for Edge Computing
James Alexander (Master Thesis)
Enhancing Live Performances: Integrating Audio Effects and Audio-Visualisation
Akshika Jain (Master Thesis)
Investigate the Ability of Different Machine Learning Algorithms to Detect Dust on Solar Panel