Dr Abolfazl Zaraki
Lecturer
- zarakia@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0) 29 2087 4278
- Room C1.08, Queen's Buildings, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Dr. Abolfazl Zaraki is Lecturer at the School of Engineering and a member of the Research Centre in AI, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS) at Cardiff University, Cardiff. He is the Co-chair of Human-Like Artificial Intelligence (AI) working group and a member of IROHMS leadership team.
He received a master’s degree in mechatronics and automatic control engineering from University Technology Malaysia, Malaysia in 2010, and a Ph.D. degree in automatic robotic and bioengineering from University of Pisa, Italy in 2014. Between 2014 and 2019, he worked as Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow at different research institutions in Italy and the UK.
In the past, Abolfazl worked on European projects EASEL (Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning), BabyRobot - NextGen Social Robotics, JAMES (Joint Action for Multimodal Embodied Social Systems) and an Innovate UK funded project Piglet – Snake Robot Solution for Inspection in collaboration with industry.
Before joining the Cardiff University, Abolfazl pursued his career at different institutes including University Technology Malaysia, University of Pisa, fortiss GmbH in Germany, University of Hertfordshire, and University of Reading, in the UK.
Abolfazl’s research interests include the development of autonomous systems for social and industrial robotic platforms, trusted autonomy, closed-loop Human-Robot Interaction studies, and brain-computer interface (BCI) for research and assistive applications.
Biography
Dr. Abolfazl Zaraki received a master’s degree in mechatronics and automatic control engineering in 2010, and a Ph.D. degree in automatic robotic and bioengineering in 2014. Between 2014 and 2019, he worked as Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow at different research institutions in Italy and the UK.
Education
PhD in Automatic Robotic and Bioengineering (Jan. 2011– Jan. 2014) Engineering Department of University of Pisa, Italy
Master of Mechatronics and Automatic Control (Dec. 2007 – March. 2010) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Visiting Researcher (PhD internship) Fortiss GmbH – An - Institut Technische Universität München Germany
Past projects involved
- EASEL (Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning) - European project
- BabyRobot - NextGen Social Robotics - European project
- JAMES (Joint Action for Multimodal Embodied Social Systems) - European project
- Piglet – Snake Robot Solution for Inspection in collaboration with industry -Innovate UK funded project
Academic positions
- Jan. 2020 – Present: Lecturer (Teaching and Research), School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- Dec 2018 – Dec 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Reading
- July 2016 – April 2019: Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow, Computer Science Department of University of Hertfordshire
- Feb. 2015 – July 2016: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Centro di Ricerca “E. Piaggio”, Engineering Department of University of Pisa, Italy
- Jan. 2014 – Feb. 2015: Research Assistant, Engineering Department of University of Pisa, Italy
Publications
2022
- Zaraki, A. et al. 2022. Developing a leader-follower kinematic-based control system for a cable-driven hyper-redundant serial manipulator. Presented at: 2nd IMA Conference on Mathematics of Robotics, Manchester, UK, 9-11 Sept 2020IMA Conference on Mathematics of Robotics, Vol. 21. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics Springer pp. 1-12., (10.1007/978-3-030-91352-6_1)
2021
- Fahham, H., Zaraki, A., Tucker, G. and Spong, M. W. 2021. Time-optimal velocity tracking control for consensus formation of multiple nonholonomic mobile robots. Sensors 21(23), article number: 7997. (10.3390/s21237997)
- Banitalebi Dehkordi, M., Mansy, R., Zaraki, A., Singh, A. and Setchi, R. 2021. Explainability in human-robot teaming. Procedia Computer Science 192, pp. 3487-3496. (10.1016/j.procs.2021.09.122)
- Banitalebi Dehkordi, M., Zaraki, A. and Setchi, R. 2021. Optimal feature set for smartphone-based activity recognition. Procedia Computer Science 192, pp. 3497-3506. (10.1016/j.procs.2021.09.123)
- Wood, L. J., Zaraki, A., Robins, B. and Dautenhahn, K. 2021. Developing Kaspar: a humanoid robot for children with Autism. International Journal of Social Robotics 13, pp. 491-508. (10.1007/s12369-019-00563-6)
2020
- Lakatos, G., Wood, L. J., Syrdal, D. S., Robins, B., Zaraki, A. and Dautenhahn, K. 2020. Robot-mediated intervention can assist children with autism to develop visual perspective taking skills. Paladyn 12(1), pp. 87-101. (10.1515/pjbr-2021-0007)
- Zaraki, A. et al. 2020. A novel reinforcement-based paradigm for children to teach the humanoid Kaspar robot. International Journal of Social Robotics 12, pp. 709-720. (10.1007/s12369-019-00607-x)
- Banitalebi Dehkordi, M., Zaraki, A. and Setchi, R. 2020. Feature extraction and feature selection in smartphone-based activity recognition. Procedia Computer Science 176, pp. 2655-2664. (10.1016/j.procs.2020.09.301)
2019
- Wood, L. J., Robins, B., Lakatos, G., Syrdal, D. S., Zaraki, A. and Dautenhahn, K. 2019. Developing a protocol and experimental setup for using a humanoid robot to assist children with autism to develop visual perspective taking skills. Paladyn 10(1), pp. 167-179. (10.1515/pjbr-2019-0013)
- Lakatos, G., Wood, L. J., Zaraki, A., Robins, B., Dautenhahn, K. and Amirabdollahian, F. 2019. Effects of previous exposure on children's perception of a humanoid robot. Presented at: International Conference on Social Robotics, Madrid, Spain, 26-29 Nov 2019 Presented at Salichs, M. A. et al. eds.Social Robotics, Vol. 11876. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Verlag pp. 14-23., (10.1007/978-3-030-35888-4_2)
2018
- Zaraki, A., Wood, L., Robins, B. and Dautenhahn, K. 2018. Development of a semi-autonomous robotic system to assist children with autism in developing visual perspective taking skills. Presented at: 2018 27th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), Nanjing, China, 27-31 August 2018. pp. 969., (10.1109/ROMAN.2018.8525681)
- Wood, L. J., Robins, B., Lakatos, G., Syrdal, D. S., Zaraki, A. and Dautenhahn, K. 2018. Piloting scenarios for children with autism to learn about visual perspective taking. Presented at: Annual Conference Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems, Bristol, UK, 25-27 Jul 2018Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems, Vol. 10965. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence Cham, Switzerland: Springer Verlag pp. 260-270., (10.1007/978-3-319-96728-8_22)
- Zaraki, A., Khamassi, M., Wood, L. J., Lakatos, G., Tzafestas, C., Robins, B. and Dautenhahn, K. 2018. A novel paradigm for children as teachers to the Kaspar robot learner. Presented at: 3rd Workshop on Behavior Adaptation, Interaction and Learning for Assistive Robotics (BAILAR 2018), Nanjing, China, 30 August 2018. pp. -.
2017
- Wood, L., Dautenhahn, K., Robins, B. and Zaraki, A. 2017. Developing child-robot interaction scenarios with a humanoid robot to assist children with autism in developing visual perspective taking skills. Presented at: 26th International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), Lisbon, Portugal, 28 Aug- 1 Sep 2017International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). IEEE pp. 1055., (10.1109/ROMAN.2017.8172434)
- Zaraki, A., Pieroni, M., De Rossi, D., Mazzei, D., Garofalo, R., Cominelli, L. and Banitalebi Dehkordi, M. 2017. Design and evaluation of a unique social perception system for human–robot interaction. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems 9(4), pp. 341-355. (10.1109/TCDS.2016.2598423)
- Robins, B., Dautenhahn, K., Wood, L. and Zaraki, A. 2017. Developing interaction scenarios with a humanoid robot to encourage visual perspective taking skills in children with autism – preliminary proof of concept tests. Presented at: ICSR: International Conference on Social Robotics, 22 - 24 Nov 2017 Presented at Kheddar, A. et al. eds.Social Robotics, Vol. 10652. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Cham: Springer Verlag pp. 147-155., (10.1007/978-3-319-70022-9_15)
- Wood, L. J., Zaraki, A., Walters, M. L., Novanda, O., Robins, B. and Dautenhahn, K. 2017. The Iterative development of the humanoid robot Kaspar: An assistive robot for children with autism. Presented at: ICSR: International Conference on Social Robotics, 22 - 24 Nov 2017Social Robotics, Vol. 10652. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Cham: Springer Verlag pp. 53-63., (10.1007/978-3-319-70022-9_6)
- Zaraki, A., Dautenhahn, K., Wood, L., Novanda, O. and Robins, B. 2017. Toward autonomous child-robot interaction: development of an interactive architecture for the humanoid Kaspar robot. Presented at: 3rd Workshop on Child-Robot Interaction at HRI 2017, Vienna, Austria, 6 Mar 2017Proceedings of 3rd Workshop on Child-Robot Interaction at HRI 2017. ACM
2016
- Cominelli, L., Mazzei, D., Carbonaro, N., Garofalo, R., Zaraki, A., Tognetti, A. and De Rossi, D. 2016. A preliminary framework for a social robot “sixth sense”. Presented at: Living Machines: Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, 19 - 22 July 2016 Presented at Lepora, N. F. et al. eds.Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Vol. 9793. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Cham: Springer Verlag pp. 58-70., (10.1007/978-3-319-42417-0_6)
2015
- Zaraki, A., Ghalambaz, M., Chamkha, A. J., Ghalambaz, M. and De Rossi, D. 2015. Theoretical analysis of natural convection boundary layer heat and mass transfer of nanofluids: Effects of size, shape and type of nanoparticles, type of base fluid and working temperature. Advanced Powder Technology 26(3), pp. 935-946. (10.1016/j.apt.2015.03.012)
- Mazzei, D., Zaraki, A., Lazzeri, N. and De Rossi, D. 2015. Recognition and expression of emotions by a symbiotic android head. Presented at: Humanoids 2014 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoids Robots, Madrid, Spain, 18-20 November 20142014 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots. IEEE pp. 134-139., (10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2014.7041349)
- Cominelli, L., Mazzei, D., Pieroni, M., Zaraki, A., Garofalo, R. and De Rossi, D. 2015. Damasio’s somatic marker for social robotics: Preliminary implementation and test. Presented at: Living Machines: Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, 28 - 31 July 2015 Presented at Wilson, . ed.Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Vol. 9222. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Cham: Springer Verlag pp. 316-328., (10.1007/978-3-319-22979-9_31)
2014
- Zaraki, A., Giuliani, M., Banitalebi Dehkordi, M., Mazzei, D., D'ursi, A. and De Rossi, D. 2014. An RGB-D based social behavior interpretation system for a humanoid social robot. Presented at: ICRoM 2014 International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, Tehran, Iran, 15-17 October 20142014 Second RSI/ISM International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICRoM). IEEE pp. 185-190., (10.1109/ICRoM.2014.6990898)
- Zaraki, A., Mazzei, D., Giuliani, M. and De Rossi, D. 2014. Designing and evaluating a social gaze-control system for a humanoid robot. IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 44(2), pp. 157-168. (10.1109/THMS.2014.2303083)
- Mazzei, D., Cominelli, L., Lazzeri, N., Zaraki, A. and De Rossi, D. 2014. I-CLIPS brain: A hybrid cognitive system for social robots. Presented at: Living Machines: Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, 30 Jul - 1 Aug 2014Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Vol. 8608. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Cham: Springer Verlag pp. 213-224., (10.1007/978-3-319-09435-9_19)
- Zaraki, A., Banitalebi Dehkordi, M., Mazzei, D. and De Rossi, D. 2014. An experimental eye-tracking study for the design of a context-dependent social robot blinking model. Presented at: Living Machines 2014, Milan, Italy, 30 July - 1 August 2014 Presented at Duff, A. et al. eds.Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems: Third International Conference, Living Machines 2014, Milan, Italy, July 30 – August 1, 2014. Proceedings, Vol. 8608. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Springer Verlag pp. 356-366., (10.1007/978-3-319-09435-9_31)
2013
- Pasikowska, A., Zaraki, A. and Lazzeri, N. 2013. A dialogue with a virtual imaginary interlocutor as a form of a psychological support for well-being. Presented at: MIDI '13: MIDI - Multimedia Interaction, Design and Innovation, Warsaw, Poland, 24-25 June 2013MIDI '13: Proceedings of the International Conference on Multimedia, Interaction, Design and Innovation. ACM pp. 1-15., (10.1145/2500342.2500359)
- Mazzei, D. et al. 2013. Robotic social therapy on children with autism: preliminary evaluation through multi-parametric analysis. Presented at: 2012 International Conference on Social Computing (SocialCom), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 3-5 September 20122012 International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and 2012 International Confernece on Social Computing. IEEE pp. 766-771., (10.1109/SocialCom-PASSAT.2012.101)
- Zaraki, A., Mazzei, D., Lazzeri, N., Pieroni, M. and De Rossi, D. 2013. Preliminary implementation of context-aware attention system for humanoid robots. Presented at: Living Machines: Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, London, 29 Jul - 2 Aug 2013 Presented at Lepora, N. F. et al. eds.Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Vol. 8064. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag pp. 457-459., (10.1007/978-3-642-39802-5_65)
- Lazzeri, N., Mazzei, D., Zaraki, A. and De Rossi, D. 2013. Towards a believable social robot. Presented at: Living Machines: Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, London, 29 Jul - 2 Aug 2013 Presented at Lepora, N. F. et al. eds.Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Vol. 8064. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag pp. 393-395., (10.1007/978-3-642-39802-5_45)
2009
- Zaraki, A. and Othman, M. F. B. 2009. Implementing particle swarm optimization to solve economic load dispatch problem. Presented at: International Conference of Soft Computing and Pattern Recognition 2009, Malacca, Malaysia, 4-9 December 20092009 International Conference of Soft Computing and Pattern Recognition. IEEE pp. 60-65., (10.1109/SoCPaR.2009.24)
Teaching
EN2037: Control and Instrumentation - Spring Semester
EN3062: Robotics and Image Processing - Autumn Semester
EN4062: Advanced Robotics - Spring Semester
Thanks to the recent advancement of robotic solutions and computational intelligence, autonomous robots that interact with humans are nowadays becoming more available to the public offering different benefits to support people in various organizational contexts such as education, assistive applications, customer service, home maintenance, etc. These robots are envisioned to deliver meaningful benefits through interaction with humans efficiently and effectively to fulfil our expectations. These beneficial effects, however, may not always be realised due to maladaptive forms of interaction. To establish a successful human-robot interaction (HRI), besides the perceptual and cognitive capabilities, an autonomous robot should be able to adapt its behaviour in real-time and often in partially unknown environments, to make necessary adjustments to the situation at hand which in turn leads to achieving the high-level goal, for example, assisting a person to solve a puzzle or a tricky math problem.
In contrast to automation that follows pre-programmed “rules” and limited to specific actions, autonomous robots are envisioned to have context-guided behaviour adaptation capability which would allow them to have a degree of self-governance to enable them to learn and respond actively to situations that were not pre-programmed by the developer. Although this capability of the robot would potentially promote HRIs, it raises serious concerns regarding the impact of technology adaptation on human trust as the actions of robots involved in HRI will become less predictable. Thus, It is believed that a successful and trustworthy HRI must be a trade-off between the robot’s behaviour adaptation capability as well as the robot’s capability in measuring and manipulating other community and individual-relevant factors such as trust, where the human is the trustor and the robot is the trustee, with the final aim to maximise the outcomes of the HRI.
My research goal is to design and develop an innovative context-guided artificial cognition system (ACS) which enables robots to display adaptive behaviour in an HRI context to achieve predefined goals as well as to fulfil the expectation of the person who is interacting with, by measuring and manipulating human trust on the fly.
Supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD and MSc students in the following areas:
- Autonomous system development for Human-Robot Interaction
- AI and Robotics
- Computational semantics
- Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Mutual understanding and behavioural adaptation in closed-loop Human-Robot Interactions
- Non-verbal signals undrestanding
- Intention recognition based on the EEG data
- Safe and Trustworthy Human-Robot Interaction
Student Supervision
Supervised/Co-Supervised PhD Students: Current
- Tong Tong
Supervised Msc Student: Current
- Jakub Krakowski