Emmanouil (Manos) Tsardoulias

Post-Doc researcher in robotics
Dr.Eng. in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Education

Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering, AUTH, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2007.

Thesis title: Emerging robot behaviors using genetic procedures

PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, AUTH, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2013.

Dissertation title: Artificial collective intelligence among a team of rescue robots

Currently occupied

Technical Leader of R4A team

http://r4a.issel.ee.auth.gr/

2015 - Present

R4A (Robotics For All) is a robotics team focused on delivering enhanced functionality in/with robots, in a fast and easy manner. The team is manned from Faculty members and Researchers at the Electrical and Computer Engineering School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece that have been extensively working on middleware/software robotics. The RAPP EU and the PANDORA projects are two of the main assets of the R4A members' portfolio.

Technical Leader of PANDORA team

http://pandora.ee.auth.gr/

2008 - Present

PANDORA is a robotics team in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, AUTH, Thessaloniki, as well as an IEEE branch. Team PANDORA has participated in the national RoboCup-RoboRescue competitions in China (2008-Suzhou, Hefei-2015), Austria (2009-Graz), Turkey (2011-Istanbul) and Netherlands (2013-Eindhoven), achieving the 2nd place in the Autonomy finals twice (2013 & 2015).

Temporary teaching staff, ECE, AUTH

2015 - Present

Technical coordination of TekTrain project

2018 - Present

The constant evolution in several state-of-the-art technological fields such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and computer science in general, has led into the adoption of complex smart devices in our everyday lives or houses. The current project proposes a novel architecture, based on which a software framework and specialized smart devices will be built, offering the necessary tools and APIs towards making the educational programming process easy and fast

Robotics coordination and research in RELIEF project

2018 - Present

This proposal belongs to the area of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Robotics. The objectives of the project are: a) to construct original robotic devices, capable of continuous inventory and accurate localization (precision of centimeters) and b) to construct prototype low cost devices capable of expanding the read-range of passive (battery-less) UHF RFID systems. The proposed prototype devices can be used in logistics, warehouse and retail management, libraries, hospitals, security applications (e.g. airports) and in conjunction with sensor networks in precision agriculture.

Previously occupied

Robotics researcher at RAPP project, CERTH / ITI, Thessaloniki

https://rapp-project.github.io/

2013 - 2016

RAPP is a 3-year research project funded by the European Commission through its FP7 programme. The RAPP Project provides an open-source software platform to support the creation and delivery of robotic applications, which in turn are expected to increase the versatility and utility of service and assistive robots. The emphasis of this project is on applications targeted at elders in danger of social exclusion.

Developer at the Eudoxus project, GRNET, Athens

http://eudoxus.gr/

2010 - 2013

Developer at the Eudoxus project, performed in colaboration with the Ministry of Education, Greece. Participation in I) the implementation of a web application for connecting the universities departments' secretaries in a unified system for manipulation of the books' distribution to university students and II) the implementation of a web application for the on-line payment of the publishing houses, according to their books' distribution in Greece's Universities.

Administrator & developer of the ΣE∆∆ιΣ project

2008 - 2010

ΣE∆∆ιΣ was an on-line system enabling the University departments' secretaries to organize the specific of the book distribution, as well as the students to make selection. This tool was utilized in many departments of the Aristotle University, before Eudoxus.

Administrator of e-thmmy project

2007 - 2009

Administrator of the e-thmmy project. E-thmmy is an educational platform assisting students of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering to get on-line aids for courses, applying for laboratory courses etc.

Academic experience

Intelligent and autonomous systems

2015 - 2018

AUTH University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Thessaloniki (Postgraduate)

Intelligent robot systems

2016 - 2017

AUTH University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Thessaloniki (Undergraduate)

Microprocessor systems

Teaching assistant

2007 - 2012

AUTH University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Thessaloniki (Undergraduate)

Microprocessors & Peripherals

Teaching assistant

2007 - 2012

AUTH University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Thessaloniki (Undergraduate)

Research interests

  • ▸ Autonomous Robots
  • ▸ Navigation
  • ▸ SLAM
  • ▸ Path planning
  • ▸ Multi robot systems
  • ▸ Full exploration/coverage
  • ▸ Robotic architectures & middleware
  • ▸ Robot agnostic APIs & applications
  • ▸ Cloud robotics
  • ▸ Robotics & IoT

Technical skills

Programming languages / tools

  • ▸ C/C++
  • ▸ Python
  • ▸ Bash
  • ▸ AVR assembly
  • ▸ HTML
  • ▸ CSS
  • ▸ PHP
  • ▸ JS/JQuery
  • ▸ Angular
  • ▸ SQL, MongoDb
  • ▸ Multithreading programming

Robotic tools

  • ▸ Robot Operating System (ROS)
  • ▸ Player / Stage / Gazebo
  • ▸ USARSim
  • ▸ Webots
  • ▸ STDR Simulator
  • ▸ OpenCV

Robotic technologies

  • ▸ SLAM
  • ▸ Localization
  • ▸ Path planning
  • ▸ Navigation
  • ▸ Exploration
  • ▸ Coverage
  • ▸ Target selection
  • ▸ Multi-robot collaboration / communication
  • ▸ Genetic algorithms
  • ▸ Neural networks
  • ▸ Image processing

Others

  • ▸ Windows / Linux
  • ▸ Git, SVN
  • ▸ MS Office, Open Office
  • ▸ GIMP

Foreign languages

  • ▸ English: Excellent (Cambridge Proficiency)
  • ▸ Spanish: Elementary

Publications (Journals)

A Comparative Analysis of Pattern Matching Techniques Towards OGM Evaluation, E. G.Tsardoulias, M. Protopapas, A. L. Symeonidis, L. Petrou, Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (2019): 1-26

Topological based scan matching – odometry posterior sampling in RBPF under kinematic model failures, A. Thallas, E.G. Tsardoulias, L. Petrou, Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (2017): 1-26

Variable structure robot control systems - the RAPP aproach, Zieliński, Cezary, Maciej Stefańczyk,…, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Andreas Symeonidis et al. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Elsevier 94 (2017): 18

Towards an integrated robotics architecture for social inclusion - The RAPP paradigm, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Athanassios Kintsakis, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Aristeidis Thallas, Sofia Reppou, George Karagiannis, Miren Iturburu, Stratos Arampatzis, Cezary Zielinski, Vincent Prunet, Fotis Psomopoulos, Andreas Symeonidis, Pericles Mitkas Cognitive Systems Research 43 (2017): 157-173

RAPP: A Robotic-Oriented Ecosystem for Delivering Smart User Empowering Applications for Older People, Reppou, Sofia E., Emmanouil G. Tsardoulias, Athanassios M. Kintsakis, Andreas L. Symeonidis, Pericles A. Mitkas, Fotis E. Psomopoulos, George T. Karagiannis et al. International Journal of Social Robotics (2016): 1-14

Improving multilingual interaction for consumer robots through signal enhancement in multichannel speech, Tsardoulias, Emmanouil, Aristeidis G. Thallas, Andreas L. Symeonidis, and Pericles A. Mitkas Journal of Audio Engineering Society 64, no. 7-8 (2016): 514-524

Cost-based target selection techniques towards full space exploration and coverage for USAR applications in a priori unknown environments, E.G. Tsardoulias, A. Iliakopoulou, A. Kargakos, L. Petrou Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (2016): 1-28

A Review of Global Path Planning Methods for Occupancy Grid Maps Regardless of Obstacle Density, Tsardoulias, E. G., A. Iliakopoulou, A. Kargakos, and L. Petrou Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (2016): 1-30

Construction of Minimized Topological Graphs on Occupancy Grid Maps Based on GVD and Sensor Coverage Information, Tsardoulias, E. G., A. T. Serafi, M. N. Panourgia, A. Papazoglou, and L. Petrou Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems 75, no. 3-4 (2014): 457-474

Critical Rays Scan Match SLAM, Tsardoulias, Emmanouil, and Loukas Petrou Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems 72, no. 3-4 (2013): 441-462

An FPGA implementation of the SMG-SLAM algorithm, Mingas, Grigorios, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, and Loukas Petrou Microprocessors and Microsystems 36, no. 3 (2012): 190-204

Publications (Conferences)

REMEDES: Τεχνικά χαρακτηριστικά και προδιαγραφές συστήματος αποτίμησης κιναισθησίας προς διάγνωση της νόσου Alzheimer, Tsardoulias Emmanouil, Panayiotou Konstantinos, Symeonidis Andreas and Petrou Loukas, 11th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer's Disease & 3rd Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases PICAD & MeCoND, Thessaloniki, Greece, (2019)

Συστοιχία REMEDES: Ένα νέο ηλεκτρονικό εργαλείο αξιολόγησης ικανοτήτων νοητικού ελέγχου στη γήρανση, Eleni Poptsi, Despoina Moraitou, Tsardoulias Emmanouil, Panayiotou Konstantinos, Symeonidis Andreas, Petrou Loukas and Magda Tsolaki, 11th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer's Disease & 3rd Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases PICAD & MeCoND, Thessaloniki, Greece, (2019)

Αξιολόγηση του νοητικού ελέγχου στη γήρανση με τη χρήση ηλεκτρονικών εργαλείων μέσω του συστήματος αντανακλαστικών/αντίδρασης REMEDES4Alzheimer, Eleni Poptsi, Despoina Moraitou, Tsardoulias Emmanouil, Panayiotou Konstantinos, Symeonidis Andreas, Petrou Loukas and Magda Tsolaki, 11th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer's Disease & 3rd Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases PICAD & MeCoND, Thessaloniki, Greece, (2019)

3D Localization of RFID Tags with a Single Antenna by a Moving Robot and ”Phase ReLock”, Anastasios Tzitzis, Spyros Megalou, Stavroula Siachalou, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Traianos Yioultsis, Antonis G. Dimitriou, In 2019 IEEE International Conference on RFID Technology and Applications, September 2019, Pisa Italy

Robotic Inventorying and Localization of RFID Tags, Exploiting Phase-Fingerprinting, Stavroula Siachalou, Spyros Megalou, Anastasios Tzitzis, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, John Sahalos, Traianos Yioultsis, Antonis G. Dimitriou, In 2019 IEEE International Conference on RFID Technology and Applications, September 2019, Pisa Italy

Fingerprinting Localization of RFID tags with Real-Time Performance-Assessment, using a Moving Robot, Spyros Megalou, Anastasios Tzitzis, Stavroula Siachalou, Traianos Yioultsis, John Sahalos, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Alexandros Filotheou, Andreas Symeonidis, Loukas Petrou, Aggelos Bletsas, Antonis G. Dimitriou, In 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, Krakow, Poland 2019

Phase ReLock - Localization of RFID Tags by a Moving Robot, Anastasios Tzitzis, Spyros Megalou, Stavroula Siachalou, Traianos Yioultsis, John Sahalos, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Alexandros Filotheou, Andreas Symeonidis, Loukas Petrou, Aggelos Bletsas, Antonis G. Dimitriou, In 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, Krakow, Poland 2019

From classical to cloud robotics: Challenges and potential" (Keynote Speech), E.G. Tsardoulias, K.L. Panayiotou, C. Zolotas, A. Philotheou, A.L. Symeonidis, L. Petrou, In 3rd International Workshop on Microsystems, Sindos Campus, ATEI Thessaloniki 2018

Expanding a robots life: Low power object recognition via FPGA-based DCNN deployment, Panagiotis G. Mousouliotis, Konstantinos L. Panayiotou, Emmanouil G. Tsardoulias, Loukas P. Petrou, Andreas L. Symeonidis, In International Conference on Modern Circuits and Systems Technologies, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2018

SRCA - The Scalable Robotic Cloud Agents Architecture, Vasilis N. Remmas, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Andreas L. Symeonidis, In International Conference on Cloud and Robotics 2017, Saint Quentin, France, 2017 (Best Paper Award)

Creating an extrovert robotic assistant via IoT networking devices, Panagiotis Doxopoulos, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Andreas L. Symeonidis, In International Conference on Cloud and Robotics 2017, Saint Quentin, France, 2017 (Finalist for Best Paper Award)

Robotic applications towards an interactive alerting system for medical purposes, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Sofia E. Reppou, George Karagiannis, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Aristeidis G. Thallas, Andreas L. Symeonidis, In 30th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems - IEEE CBMS, Thessaloniki, 2017

Relieving robots from their burdens: The Cloud Agent concept, Aristeidis G. Thallas, Konstantinos Panayiotou, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Andreas L. Symeonidis, Pericles A. Mitkas, George G. Karagiannis, In 5th IEEE International Conference on Cloud Networking 3-5 October 2016, Pisa, Italy

Particle Filter - Scan Matching Hybrid SLAM Employing Topological Information, Aristeidis Thallas, Emmanouil Tsardoulias and Loukas Petrou, In 2016 24th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED), pp. 226-231. IEEE, 2016

Particle Filter - Scan Matching SLAM Recovery Under Kinematic Model Failures, Aristeidis Thallas, Emmanouil Tsardoulias and Loukas Petrou, In 2016 24th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED), pp. 232-237. IEEE, 2016

An automatic speech detection architecture for social robot oral interaction, Tsardoulias, E. G., A. L. Symeonidis, and P. A. Mitkas, In Proceedings of the Audio Mostly 2015 on Interaction With Sound, p. 33. ACM, 2015

Hive Collective Intelligence for Cloud Robotics: A Hybrid Distributed Robotic Controller Design for Learning and Adaptation, Gkiokas, Alexandros, Emmanouil G. Tsardoulias, and Pericles A. Mitkas, In Progress in Automation, Robotics and Measuring Techniques, pp. 65-78. Springer International Publishing, 2015

Merging Robotics and AAL Ontologies: The RAPP Methodology, Tsardoulias, Emmanouil G., Cezary Zieliński, Włodzimierz Kasprzak, Sofia Reppou, Andreas L. Symeonidis, Pericles A. Mitkas, and George Karagiannis, In Progress in Automation, Robotics and Measuring Techniques, pp. 285-297. Springer International Publishing, 2015

Rapp system architecture, Psomopoulos, Fotis, Emmanouil Tsardoulias, Alexandros Giokas, Cezary Zielinski, Vincent Prunet, Ilias Trochidis, David Daney et al, In Assistance and Service Robotics in a Human Environment, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 2014

On Global Path Planning for Occupancy Grid Maps, Tsardoulias, E. G., A. Iliakopoulou, A. Kargakos, and L. Petrou, 22nd International Workshop on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region RAAD2013

Other open source projects

CRSM SLAM (ROS Package)

http://wiki.ros.org/crsm_slam

CRSM SLAM stands for Critical Rays Scan Match SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping). Its main characteristics are: 1) Uses scan-to-map matching, instead for the usual scan-to-scan matching, aiming at noise accumulation reduction, 2) Scan matching is performed via a Random Restart Hill Climbing algorithm (RRHC), 3) Only the critical rays take part in the RRHC. As critical are denoted the rays which contain more spatial information than the others, 4) The map update is performed with dynamic intensity, depending on the current environmental structure.