NCRA
National Centre of Robotics and Automation
Introduction:
The National Centre of Robotics and Automation, founded in 2018 is a PSDP funded project under the umbrella of Higher Education Commission. It is a consortium of 11 labs established at 13 universities across Pakistan with its central headquarters at NUST College of E&ME. The centre serves as a leading technological hub in the field of Robotics and Automation
NCRA Vision:
Enabling highly skilled experts to ensue an ecosystem focused towards indigenous technology development using Robotics & Automation in pursuance of making Pakistan one of the technologically advanced nations of the world.
NCRA Mission:
In fulfillment of NCRA vision, facilitate a consortium of experts, across the country to promote Research and Development in the fields of Robotics and Automation. Subsequently, promoting Knowledge-Economy, achieving Technology Indigenization, developing highly skilled HR, and fulfilling SDGs.
Scientific and Industrial Advisory Board (SIAB)
A Scientific and Industrial Advisory Board (SIAB) has constituted to help and oversee the development of a research agenda for the NCRA and the broader allied Robotics community in the country at large. SIAB ensures fresh ideas and inclusion of locally relevant research possibilities on NCRA’s research agenda. The Scientific Advisory Board is also responsible for organizing a formal anonymous International Peer Review of the Centre every 3-years. Each member of the Board has been selected for three (3) years. NSC can replace a member, whose tenure is ending or is not willing to continue as a member, through majority voting.
SIAB Members:
Dr. Keum Shik Hong South Korea |
Dr. Matthias Harders Austria
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Dr. Manoj Karkee USA
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Dr. Keum Shik Hong South Korea |
Dr. Takeo Kanade USA/Japan
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Dr. Karsten Berns Germany
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Mr. Imtiaz Rastgar Founder Rastgar Industries
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Mr. Nasir Javed USA
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Dr. Hui Xie China |
Dr. William Mel Canada
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Local Industrial Advisory Committee:
LIAC provides feedback on the products being developed at the NCRA labs. The committee comprises of leading Pakistani industrialists having vast experience in product development. Through the inputs of the committee the Labs are able to produce products having high commercialization potential.
Members of LIAC:
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| Mr. Imtiaz Rastgar
Founder Rastgar Industries
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Mr. Shoaib Farooqui
Managing Partner |
Mr Asad Ikram
Senior Consultant National Radio Telecom Corporation of Pakistan |
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| Mr. Sohail P. Ahmad
Advisor Bolan Casting Limited
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Mr. Zaafir Waheed
Chief Executive Officer AEDesign (Pvt) Ltd |
Mr Asad Ikram
Senior Consultant National Radio Telecom Corporation of Pakistan |
Introduction of Labs:
NCRA has 11 labs in 13 Universities of Pakistan, each lab is working on a specific domain as follows:
- Robot Maker Lab | NUST college of E&ME
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The Robot Maker Lab is equipped with the state-of-the-art rapid prototyping, machining and fabrication facilities for robot parts. It is a shared facility between all NCRA Labs and acts as a centralized robot manufacturing facility to support NCRA Labs, startups, academia and industry. |
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2. Robot Design & Development Lab | NUST College of E&ME
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Robot Design & Development Lab provides a fusion Centre where real-world problems are analyzed by a multidisciplinary team, and lead till commercialization. Secondary objectives include, but not limited to, human resource development and providing a platform where industry, startups, and academia can collaborate. |
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3. Human Centered Robotics Lab | UET Lahore & UCP Lahore
| This is a joint Lab of UET & UCP Lahore. Human Centered Robotics Lab aims to indigenously design and develop integrated robotic systems, based on smart sensing and actuation, to seamlessly interact with humans, actively learn from them and eventually create an effective collaborative environment. The lab is working on the development of following application domains,
Collaborative Robots, Exoskeletons, Active Prostheses and Active Orthoses |
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4. Industrial Monitoring and Automation Lab | Information Technology University
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The industrial monitoring and automation laboratory has been established to solve the commercial and public sector industrial problems. The scope is to develop real-time health monitoring of induction motors which are the workhorse of industrial units. Real-time monitoring and analysis of effective power consumption, identify the performance and recommend design improvements in induction motors, and finally developing capability to perform industrial energy audit. |
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5. MEMs Sensor Design and Testing Lab | Air University
| The lab develops skilled manpower through scientific research to produce world class MEMS experts having expertise in design and testing to produce world class R&D in MEMS and initiate commercial activities in this area in Pakistan. Moreover, it will support the local needs of the academic institutions, strategic organizations especially the research groups working in the field of robotics and automation. Design, simulation and testing of MEMS based devices including MEMS physical sensors, microrobotic actuators, RF-MEMS and energy harvesters at the micro scale will be carried at the lab. |  |
6. Agricultural Robotics Lab | LUMS
| The lab aims to setup a state-of-the-art national precision agriculture facility, with a focus on agricultural robotics and automation, and a clear path from scientific problem solving to technology roll-out for each theme. The goal is to promote and demonstrate the use of automation driven technologies to assist Pakistani farmers in improving production process and increasing efficiency by efficient utilization of water, enhancing the crop monitoring and yield prediction capabilities and reducing the harmful impacts of agricultural inputs. |  |
7. UAV Dependability Lab | FAST NUCES
| Automated UAV testing is an emerging and active area of research with a number of works recently published. The lab focuses on three application areas, SiL(Software-in-loop), HiL(Hardware-in-the-loop) and adaption of these technologies to civil domains. Most of the research produced at the proposed lab will be applicable to both military and civil UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System). The Lab is also working in close collaboration with Aviation Design Institute at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra. The lab will also establish research collaborations with leading international academic organizations. |  |
8. Swarm Robotics Lab | UET Taxila
| Swarm Robotics Lab at UET Taxila is working on to develop scalable and application-agnostic solutions supported by the multi-agent robotic system optimally. The lab aims to achieve this using state-of-the-art swarm intelligence algorithms. Swarm Robotics Lab consists of three core areas of expertise, i.e., Swarm Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer Vision, and Decentralized Communication. The Swarm Robotics Lab has each one of these core areas as sub-labs |  |
9. Haptics, Human-Robotics and Condition Monitoring (HHRCM) Lab | NED Karachi & MUET
| This lab is the joint lab of NEDUET and MUET, Haptics & Human- Robotics Lab (HHR) at NED University and Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS) at Mehran University. HHR will specifically deal with the design and development of Haptic/Tele-robotic interfaces (for Disaster Management and Medical Applications) and STEM-based Education/Assistive Robots.
CMS (MUET) develops national level predictive maintenance prototype solutions that can monitor different parameters of the plant for possible maintenance before going into worst condition (i.e., shut down). Scope of the CMS is transport infrastructure i.e., Railway and Road. These works will culminate with high quality research, innovation, commercialization and consultation. |
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10. Control Automotive and Robotics Lab (CARL) | BUITEM & MUST
| It is a joint Lab of BUITEMS & MUST, CARL aims to solve pressing problems of Pakistan using Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. BUITEMS AI & Robotics Research team has been working on Evolutionary Robotics, Artificially Intelligent Robotics, Deep Learning, Search & Rescue Robotics, Social Robotics, Textile based Robotic Sensors, Data Mining & Analytics.
While MUST is working to develop autonomy level 4 autonomous vehicle and autonomous industrial loader for the transportation of freight from one point to another |
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11. Advanced Robotics and Automation | UET Peshawar
Advanced Robotics & Automation Lab is working on two key research areas
The lab will make significant impact on Pakistan’s GDP by developing indigenous solutions in the field of prosthetic and orthotic devices and automated/intelligent agricultural machinery& robotics.
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Activities & Events:
NCRA Research Fund
NCRA research fund has been established to cater for conducting research activities in the field of Robotics and automation. This funding opportunity aims at fostering the transition from research and technology to integration and business. The successful outcome of this fund shall put in place a combination of market oriented technological research and development of integration solutions. This shall help new robotics applications to reach the market.
Call for Proposals was published in renowned Urdu and English Newspapers on 31st May 2020. 40 x Proposals were received from researchers across the country.
A three-stage evaluation process was conducted in which all proposals went through strict scrutiny. Based on the overall scoring 9 x proposals were shortlisted for award of funds.
The list of successful awardees and their affiliation is as follows:
| Sr. No. | Proposal Info | PI Info and Affiliation |
| 1 | Sustainable Agricultural Production System in Urban Areas by using CNC Kitchen Gardening Robot | Dr. Saqib Ali University of Agriculture Faisalabad |
| 2 | Catalyzing Industry 4.0: Development of Framework and IIoT Test-bed for Providing Automation Roadmap to the Industries | Dr. Zubair Khalid Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore |
| 3 | Development of a comprehensive universal gun barrel Cleaning Mechanism | Dr. Imran Shafi National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad |
| 4 | BCI based Exoskeleton to Assist Elderly and Disabled People Stand and Walk | Dr. Noman Naseer Air University, Islamabad |
| 5 | RoboDoc: A Social Robot to Protect Healthcare Professionals dealing in contagious diseases | Dr. Hashim Raza Khan NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi |
| 6 | Indigenous Design and Manufacturing of Full Flight Motion Platform | Dr. Shahid Baqar PAF-KIET. Karachi |
| 7 | Indigenous Approach for Development of Piezoelectric Devices | Dr. Hamid Jabbar National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad |
| 8 | Biocompatible Shape Memory Polymer based Soft Actuator for Biomedical Applications with Dual Operation in Aquatic-Terrestrial Environments | Dr. Jahan Zeb Gul AIR University, Islamabad |
| 9 | Warehouse Automation of a Textile Factory using Industry 4.0 Technologies | Dr. Muhammad Gufran Khan FAST NUCES, LahoreDr. Uzair Khaleeq Uz ZamanNational University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad |
Robotics and Automation Startup Challenge
NCRA annually hosts the Robotics and Automation Startup Challenge with the purpose of encouraging young startups, professionals, and graduating students in the development of ground breaking ideas that can help the local industry in achieving standard of industrial revolution 4.0, solving societal problems, and creation of job opportunities.
NCRA has identified two broad themes to ensure that input from the applicants comes in the specific fields which are aligned with the objectives of the centre.
The themes are as follows:
- Indigenous Product Development to Provide Automation Solution to any Local Industry
- Indigenous Product Development for Solving Societal Problem(s) using Robotics & Automation
Two challenges have been so far conducted in December 2020 and December 2021. Pitching rounds of the Third startup challenge are scheduled to be held in July 2022.
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Industry (ICRAI)
The secretariat has organized 3rd and 4th International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Industry in October 2019 and October 2021 respectively (Conference website link: http://icrai.com/). The conferences not only attracted the research publications from around the globe but also brought together top keynote speakers in the field of robotics and automation. As per the rules of IEEE only 30% of papers were accepted. Many trainings and workshops were also conducted alongside the conference in the domains of robotics and automation. The labs of NCRA also displayed their products in front of industries and academics during the Lab2Market event.
The International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Industry (ICRAI) aims to bring together leading engineers, scientists, academics, researchers, policymakers, field and application engineers, industries, companies, startups, and scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results related to robotics and automation in industry. It also provides a forum for participants to present their latest research goals, design, developments, manufacturing and applications in all areas of robotics and automation in industry.
Keynote Speakers for ICRAI 2019:
- Prof Jun Ho Oh (South Korea)
- Professor Karsten Berns (Germany)
- Professor Peter Corke (Australia)
Keynote Speakers for ICRAI 2021:
- Prof Manoj Karkee (USA)
- Prof William Melek (Canada)
- Dr. Carl Diver (Manchester Metropolitan University UK)