Iman Awaad, doctoral student in computer science

Iman Awaad

is supervised as a doctoral student in computer science at H-BRS and ensures that robots overcome barriers.

“Robots are supposed to make life easier for us in the household – difficult when the domestic environment is constantly changing. Imagine you want a glass of milk brought to you. If there are no glasses because they’re all in the dishwasher, the robot encounters insurmountable barriers. My goal is to make robots more creative in their task implementation. Like humans, they should be able to adapt to changing conditions. It’s difficult to impart knowledge to robots. You try to model a complex world with the very simple representations used in automated planning. With so-called Semantic Web technology, I want to make the environment more readable for robots. I can program a substitute decision mechanism, for instance. Then, incomplete information no longer throws the robot off track. Instead the robot can independently work out an alternative solution. If there are no more glasses in the cupboard, it will take a cup.”

Double for the b-it-bots

German Champion and World Champion – these two titles were secured by the b-it-bots in 2019. The H-BRS RoboCup team was already able to win the RoboCup German Open in Magdeburg against the hosts. The b-it-bots continued their success at the World Champi- onship in Sydney where they once again relegated the team from Magdeburg to second place. The team achieved both titles in the @work league, in which the robots have to solve logistical tasks on their own, such as gripping, transport- ing and setting down objects undamaged. The b-it-bots are students of the Department of Computer Science. They were supervised by computer science professors Paul Plöger and Gerhard Kraetzschmar. Gerhard Kraetzschmar passed away in July 2019, and the department and the b-it-bots remember him with respect and friendship. Young students in the Department of Natural Sciences

Studying as a pupil already – since winter semester 2019/20, this is possible in the Department of Natural Sciences, too. Up to five particularly talented and motivated pupils from the Emil Fischer Second- ary School in Euskirchen are given this opportunity every year. The “young students” can participate in lectures as well as take examinations. All ECTS credits earned within the framework of this programme can be credited to later studies at H-BRS. Modules fully com- pleted by the young students are also recognised at other universities. First lecture slam

The presentation should be entertaining and no more than ten minutes long – these are the guidelines for a slam. Ten H-BRS lecturers met this challenge at the first Lecture Slam. Their declared goal is to give the audience a clear understanding of the content of scientific teaching through examples and everyday refer- ences. The audience decides who best succeeds in doing so – and Professor Paul Melch- er was chosen as the winner. He slammed about Barlow’s formula for pressure vessels in apparatus engineering, which he explained clearly through the example of a torn bratwurst skin. Initiator of the Lecture Slam – and participant herself – is Professor Irene Rothe.