About: Daniel M. Lofaro Ph.D

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at George Mason University. I am also the director of the laboratory Lofaro Labs Robotics which is apart of the international laboratory group called the DASL Autonomous Systems Lab Group (DASL Group). Additionally, am a affiliate faculty at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) within the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR). An NSF-EAPSI and ONR-SFRP Fellow, I received my doctorate from the ECE Department at Drexel University in 2013 under the guidance of Dr. Paul Oh. I was the Research Lead of the DARPA Robotics Challenge team DRC-Hubo from 2012 to 2014. My research focus is in the overarching field of real-world robotics. Within this my research interests include Swarm Robotics, Emergent Behaviors, Robot Design, Real-World Human/Robot Interaction, Humanoid Robotics, Complex Control Systems, Secure Robotics, Cloud Robotics, Unique Musical Instrument Design, and Real-Time Systems. Research interests include Complex Control Systems and Robotics with most recent ventures relating to Robot Design and Cloud Robotics. Daniel's dissertation title is Unified Algorithmic Framework for High Degree of Freedom Complex Systems and Humanoid Robots. Recent achievements include:

• Treasurer, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots,IEEE-Humanoids 2019
• Workshop Organizer, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots,IEEE-Humanoids 2019
• Lofaro Labs's Wiki reaches 2M+ hits, 2019
• Workshop Organizer, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots,IEEE-Humanoids 2018
• Chair - Travel, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems,IEEE-IROS 2017
• Workshop Organizer, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots,IEEE-Humanoids 2017
• Chair - Video, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots,IEEE-Humanoids 2016
• DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC): Team DRC-Hubo Research Lead, 2013
• Doctoral recipient, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Drexel University, 2013
• Designed Hubo to Throw First Pitch at Major League Baseball Game, 2012
  
• NSF-Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Honorable Mention, 2009
  
• NSF-East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) Fellow, 2008
  
• Lester Kraus Award, 2008
  
• Dean’s Fellowship, 2008
  
• Honors College - Graduated Honors with Distinction, 2008
  
• Drexel University, Cum Laude, BS/MS, 2008
  

About: Lofaro Labs Robotics

Lofaro Labs Robotics @ George Mason University (LLR@GMU) was formed in 2014 at George Mason University, within the Volgenau School of Engineering, as a part of my efforts to bring real-world robotics to the university. We focus on the design, creation, and autonomy of mechatronic systems (robotics) that operate outside of the lab (i.e. the real-world). We have a fully equipped machine shop with additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies. This includes multiple automated CNC machines, manual CN machines, lathes, welding equipment, 3D printers, etc. Within the broad field of “real-world” robotics we are currently focusing on Swarm Robotics, Emergent Behaviors, and Real-World Human/Robot Interaction with Humanoids. We are creating out own platforms to meet our needs, as well as using off the shelf platforms customized (hardware and software) when it is needed. We have been funded by NSF, Amazon Inc., and IEEE. Future funding is expected to originate from ONR and DARPA. Lofaro Labs Robotics is also focused on giving back to the community. We do this through STEM outreach events. At these events we bring out robots to the community (primarily K-12 students) and given them live demonstrations and one-on-one time for discussion and questions. We typically do this via participating in MakerFaires including the D.C. National MakerFaire, the NoVA MakerFaire, the HayMakerFaire, and others. We also give back to the armed services by regularly participating in outreach events at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle (near MCB Quantico). We have also presented, multiple times, at the kickoff event for National Robotics Week at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Lofaro Labs Robotics is proud founding member of the DASL Group and is referenced as DASL@GMU.

About: Lofaro Labs Robotics

The DASL Group is an international lab group with the goal of sharing tribal knowledge, confirming results, and creating an international collaborative research workflow. The DASL Group was formed in 2014 by Daniel M. Lofaro at George Mason University (DASL@GMU) and Paul Oh at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This group is an offshoot of Paul Oh's original lab. Current members include (in order of joining): Matko Orsag at the University of Zagreb, Croatia (DASL@UNIZG), Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Korpela at the United States Military Academy, West Point (DASL@WP), BaekKyu Cho at Kookmin University, S. Korea (DASL@KMU), and Kiwon Sohn at the University of Hartford (DASL@UH). Within the DASL Group we have common equipment, common software platforms, and shared tutorial pages. This allows us to share students for summer internships, workshops, and other events more senselessly.