Research

 

 

Download the Lab Brochure for DFCS and NAV Labs;   Poster presented at IFAC Safeprocess2015

 

Media News/Reports on Our Research Work:

Ø  Two Gina Cody School faculty become fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (French Version here)

Concordia’s Amir Aghdam and Youmin Zhang are recognized for their innovative ideas and research

February 1, 2023 | By Samantha Hanley

Ø  Post by CRIAQ for the “Projet du CRIAQ – AVITAGS” (2023-01-27)

Project Title (French): « Système de Guidage par Vision Intelligente de Poursuite de Trajectoire sur Aéronefs Bombardiers d'Eau »

Project Title (English): AVITAGS – Airtanker Visual Intelligent Tracking & Airborne Guidance System

Ø  News by Canadian Science Publishing Blog (http://blog.cdnsciencepub.com): Artificial intelligence takes to the sky above Canada’s forests (Posted on March 29, 2021)

Ø  Concordia News: Drones could be the new first line of defence against forest fires, says Concordia researcher (2020-06-30)

Ø  News on Radio-Canada International: Looking for a lift in the fight against forest fires (2019-10-28)

Ø  News on CTV News Channel (during 37:15-40:00 min): Concordia’s research work for forest fires monitoring (2019-10-26)

Ø  News on La Presse: Des drones pour lutter contre les incendies de forêt (2019-10-23)

Ø  CTV News Montreal: Drones should be the future of forest fire-fighting: Concordia study (by Daniel J. Rowe, CTVNewsMontreal.ca Digital Reporter 2019-10-22; Published Tuesday, October 22, 2019 3:19PM EDT; Last Updated Tuesday, October 22, 2019 3:22PM EDT)

Ø  Concordia News: Drones could be the new first line of defence against forest fires, says Concordia researcher (2019-10-22)

Ø  Amtek Company Blog: Drones on the Rise in Education, by Christine Archer (August 7, 2019)

Ø  Autonomous Systems Blog | Quanser: From QBall to QDrone, by Gilbert Lai | Systems, Control & Software Engineer (Mar 14, 2018)

Ø  News on Ville.Montreal: From wireless connectivity to future of insurance: Montréal gains a reputation for expertise in the fast-growing autonomous vehicle market (2017-05-15)

Ø  Concordia News: Intelligent machines to converge on campus (2014-09-24)

Ø  Concordia News: Four times the fun (Concordia Journal) (2011-03-21)

General Research Interests

  • Avionics and Flight Control for Manned and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Spacecrafts/Satellites
  • Monitoring, Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD), and Fault Tolerant (Flight) Control Systems (FTCS)
  • FDD and FTCS Applied to Renewable Energy Systems and Smart Grids/Microgrids
  • FDD and FTCS Applied to Machining Processes and Machining Tools
  • UAVs and Remote Sensing Techniques Applied to Forest Fires, Pipelines, Power Lines, Environment, Natural Resources and Disasters Monitoring, Detection, and Protection
  • Icing Monitoring and Detection and De-Icing Techniques Applied to Aerospace (Aircraft) and Renewable Energy Systems (Wind Turbines, Power Lines etc.)
  • Reliability and Fault Tolerance Techniques for Safety-critical Engineering Systems
  • Modeling, Simulation, Control, and Diagnosis for Engineering Applications
  • Filtering, Estimation, Identification and Information Fusion Techniques with Engineering Applications
  • Advanced Signal Processing Techniques for Diagnosis and Control of Machines and Mechatronic Systems
  • Advanced Control Algorithms and Implementation
  • Intelligent and Hybrid Control Systems
  • Real-time, Distributed and Embedded Systems

Current Research Interests

Download the Lab Brochure here for DFCS and NAV Labs

  • Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Fault Tolerant Control System Design with Applications to Some of the Following Safety-Critical Engineering Systems

·   Avionics and Fly-By-Wire (FBW) Aircraft/Spacecraft/Satellite/UAV Flight Guidance, Navigation, and Control *

·   CNC Machining Monitoring and Control *

·   Drive-By-Wire (DBW) Automobiles and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs)

·   Gas Turbine Engine Monitoring, Diagnosis and Control

·   Railway Systems

·   Robots

·   Ship Propulsion Systems

·   Nuclear Power Plants

·   (Petro-)Chemical, Oil and Gas, and Wastewater Treatment Plants

·   Others

  • Fault Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Multiple UAVs/UGVs/UUVs and Spacecrafts/Satellites in Formation Flight
  • Machining Monitoring, Diagnosis and Prognosis in CNC Machines
  • Estimation and Signal Processing Techniques for Target Tracking, Navigation, and Sensor Data Fusion and Networked Control Systems

·   New development on variable-structure IMM (Interacting Multiple Model) algorithms and their applications to target tracking, sensor data fusion and networked control systems

·   Estimation, signal processing as well as control techniques for robot navigation and control with multiple sensor sources, including vision sensors

·   Integration of target tracking with situation awareness and danger diagnosis, and reconfigurable control techniques

Current Research Projects

·       Participating organizations:

·       Concordia University

·       DRDC

·       Laval University

·       Industrial supporting organizations:

·       Quanser Inc.

·       Opal-RT Technologies Inc.

·       Numerica Inc.

 

  • NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) Project: “Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis and Reliable Flight Envelope Assessment” (International Cooperative Research Project with New York State University at Binghamton, University of Minnesota and National Institute of Aerospace in USA)

 

  • An European project sponsored by GARTEUR (Group for Aeronautical Research and Technology in EURope) Action Group (AG16) in Flight Mechanics, Systems and Integration (FM) technical programme: FM (AG16) Fault Tolerant Control (2005-2007);

·       The objective of the AG16 project is to conduct a leading research activity in Europe for developing Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) techniques with application to aircraft, which includes Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) and reconfigurable flight control in the presence of malfunctions in actuators, control surfaces and sensors.

·       The project has been participated by 8 universities, 5 research institutes, and an aerospace industry from 6 countries in Europe. Aalborg University is the only one group member from non-GARTEUR countries.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Diagnosis, Fault Tolerant Control and Cooperative Control with CSA (Canadian Space Agency), Canada.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Diagnosis, Fault Tolerant Control and Cooperative Control with DRDC (Defense Research & Development Center), Canada.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Tolerant Control with CRAN (Centre de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy), Universite Henri Poincare, Nancy 1, France.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Tolerant Flight Control with Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, Shaanxi, P. R. China.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Diagnosis and Fault Tolerant Control of Spacecrafts/Satellites with Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Helongjiang, P. R. China.

 

  • Collaborated research on Fault Diagnosis and Fault Tolerant Flight Control with Nanjing Aeronautical and Astronautical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China.

 

  • Other research topics associated with student semester/thesis projects on the general areas of modelling, simulation, control, fault detection and diagnosis, fault tolerant control, reliability and fault tolerance with applications to different safety-critical systems.

Recent Research Seminars/Plenary Lectures in Conferences

  1. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Development on Advanced Fault Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control with Applications to Autonomous Unmanned Systems, Invited seminar presented in Xi’an Jiao Tong University, Xi’an, P. R. China, July 26, 2012 (Invited by Professor J.Y. Cao).
  2. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Development on Fault-tolerant Control with Applications to Autonomous Unmanned Systems, Invited seminar presented in Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P. R. China, July 20, 2012 (Invited by Professor Q. L. Hu).
  3. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Challenges on Autonomy and Fault Tolerance, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai University, Shanghai, P. R. China, July 13, 2012 (Invited by Professor J. Luo).
  4. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Challenges on Autonomy and Fault Tolerance, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China, July 11, 2012 (Invited by Professor Z.-L. Jing).
  5. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Fault-tolerant Control: Concept and Applications, Invited Seminar given at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico, April 20, 2012 (Invited by Professor Luis E. Garza C).
  6. Y. M. Zhang (2012), Autonomous Aircraft Systems, Invited Plenary Talk given at the International Congress of Mechatronics Engineering, Monterrey, Mexico, April 18-21, 2012.
  7. Youmin Zhang (2012), Fault Diagnosis, Fault-tolerant and Cooperative Control Techniques with Application to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Current and Future Work at Concordia University, Invited talk given at Research Institute on Modern Control Technology, Xian, China, Feb. 22, 2012 (Invited by Dr. S.-J. Ye).
  8. Youmin Zhang (2012), Fault Diagnosis, Fault-tolerant and Cooperative Control Techniques for Aerospace Systems Application: Current and Future Work at Concordia University, Invited talk given at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, Shaanxi, P. R. China, Feb. 21, 2012 (Invited by Professor Y. H. Qu).
  9. Y. M. Zhang (2011), Development of Fault Diagnosis, Fault-tolerant and Cooperative Control Techniques for UAVs: Current and Future Work at Concordia University, Presented in the Centre de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy (CRAN), Universite Henri Poincare, Nancy 1, France, June 20, 2011 (Invited by Professors Didier Theilliol and Christophe Aubrun).
  10. Y. M. Zhang (2011), Fault Diagnosis, Fault-tolerant and Cooperative Control with Applications to Aerospace Systems: Current and Future Research Work at MIE of Concordia University, A Mini-Workshop on "Development and Challenges in Spacecrafts/Satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Guidance, Navigation, and Control in Formation Flight", Concordia University, Feb. 10, 2011.
  11. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control with Applications to Aerospace Systems: Current and Future Research Work at Concordia University, Invited talk given at Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Saint-Hubert, Québec, Sept. 2, 2010 (Invited by Drs. A. Ng and J. Lee).
  12. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control with Applications to Aerospace Systems: Current and Future Research Work at Concordia University, Invited talk given in the International Workshop of Future Aerospace Systems (FAS), Ryerson University, Toronto, Aug. 6, 2010 (Invited by Professor K. D. Kumar).
  13. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented at Qingan Inc., Xi’an, China, July 22, 2010 (Invited by Mr. A. M. Gao).
  14. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, July 21, 2010 (Invited by Professors C. F. Wu, Y. Li, and X. M. Wang).
  15. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented in Tsinghua University, Beijing, P. R. China, July 12, 2010 (Invited by Professor D. H. Zhou).
  16. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented in Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P. R. China, July 9, 2010 (Invited by Professor J. D. Han and Dr. J. T. Qi).
  17. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented in Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, July 6, 2010 (Invited by Professor T. Y. Chai).
  18. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Tolerant and Cooperative Control of Aircrafts/UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar at Nanjing Aeronautical and Astronautical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China, June 25, 2010 (Invited by Professor B. Jiang).
  19. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault Diagnosis, Fault-Tolerant and Cooperative Control of UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar at Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, P. R. China, June 23, 2010 (Invited by Professor W. Ding).
  20. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Introduction to Flight Deck, Avionics Systems and Flight Control Systems with Real-life Examples, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China, June 18, 2010 (Invited by Professor Z.-L. Jing).
  21. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault-Tolerant and Cooperative Control of UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China, June 17, 2010 (Invited by Professor Z.-L. Jing).
  22. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault-Tolerant and Cooperative Control of UAVs: Current Research Work at Concordia University, Invited seminar presented in University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, June 09, 2010 (Invited by Professor Y. Shi).
  23. Y. M. Zhang (2010), Fault-Tolerant and Cooperative Control of UAVs: Research Work at Concordia University, Invited presentation for a workshop held at DRDC, Valcartier, Canada, May 27, 2010 (Invited by Dr. C.-A. Rabbath)
  24. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Reliability and Redundancy Considerations in Large Civilian Airplanes, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China, Dec. 17, 2009 (Invited by Professor Z.-L. Jing).
  25. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: History, Methodologies, and Challenges, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China, Dec. 16, 2009 (Invited by Professor Z.-L. Jing).
  26. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault Diagnosis and Fault Tolerant Control with Application to UAVs, Invited seminar presented in Shanghai University, Shanghai, P. R. China, Dec. 14, 2009 (Invited by Professor Z. B. Gong).
  27. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Past, Present and Future, Invited seminar presented in Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, P. R. China, Dec. 12, 2009 (Invited by Professors J. Cao and L. P. Sun).
  28. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Past, Present and Future, Invited seminar presented in Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P. R. China, Dec. 12, 2009 (Invited by Professor Q. L. Hu).
  29. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control and UAV Applications, Invited seminar at Nanjing Aeronautical and Astronautical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China, Sept. 14, 2009 (Invited by Professor B. Jiang).
  30. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control with Applications to Aircraft and UAV, Invited seminar at South China University of Technology, Guanzhou, Zhejiang, P. R. China, Sept. 13, 2009 (Invited by Professor H.-L. Pei).
  31. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems and UAV Applications, Invited seminar at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, Shaanxi, P. R. China, Sept. 8, 2009 (Invited by Professors X. Wang and Y. Li).
  32. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Past, Present and Future, Invited plenary talk presented in the Workshop on Control for the Autonomy of Mobile Robots/Unmanned Systems, Dalian, P. R. China, Sept. 4-6, 2009 (Invited by Professors J. D. Han and J. T. Qi).
  33. Y. M. Zhang (2009), Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control with Applications to UAVs, Invited seminar presented in Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P. R. China, Sept. 1, 2009 (Invited by Professors J. D. Han and J. T. Qi).
  34. Y. M. Zhang (2007), Active Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Integration of Fault Diagnosis and Reconfigurable Control, Invited Plenary Talk in the 8th Conference on Diagnosis of Processes and Systems, Slubice, Poland, 10-12 September 2007 (Invited by Professor Jozef Korbicz).
  35. Y. M. Zhang (2006), Current Status and Future Trends in Fault Tolerant Control, Invited Plenary Lecture in the Workshop on Advanced Control and Diagnosis, Nancy, France, 16-17 Nov. 2006 (Invited by Professor Didier Theilliol).
  36. Y. M. Zhang (2006), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems, Presented at the Department of Automatic Control, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, Shaanxi, P. R. China, 29 August 2006 (Invited by Professor Quan Pan).
  37. Y. M. Zhang (2006), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Past, Current, and Future, Presented in the Institute of Control and Computation Engineering, University of Zielona Gora, Poland, 23 June 2006 (Invited by Professor Jozef Korbicz).
  38. Y. M. Zhang (2005), Fault-Tolerant Control Systems: Historical Review and Current Research, Presented in the Centre de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy (CRAN), Universite Henri Poincare, Nancy 1, France, 5 Dec. 2005 (Invited by Professors Didier Theilliol and Dominique Sauter).

Student or anyone who is interested in the above research topics for M.A.Sc. or Ph.D. thesis study, or for collaborated research is welcome to contact with Dr. Youmin Zhang at ymzhang@encs.concordia.ca.