Motion Metrics International and ICICS have recently created the Motion Metrics/ICICS Graduate Scholarship. The $5,000 annual award will be granted to a Masters or PhD student who is supervised by an ICICS member, with preference given to students who have demonstrated excellence in multidisciplinary, application-oriented research. Students do not apply for the award, it is made on the recommendation of ICICS and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
ECE doctoral student Caitlin Schneider is the 2012 recipient of the scholarship. In her research, Caitlin is developing ultrasound techniques to incorporate into the guidance system of the da Vinci surgical robot, under the supervision of Drs. Tim Salcudean (ECE), Rob Rohling (ECE/MECH), and Chris Nguan (Urologic Sciences). Her goal is to improve the results of kidney cancer surgical treatment performed with the da Vinci robot.
President and CEO of Motion Metrics, Shahram Tafazoli, has good reason to place his confidence in students at ICICS: he was once a student here himself. He completed his PhD under Professor Emeritus Peter Lawrence and Professor Clarence de Silva, and later built on that work to develop Motion Metrics’ first product, LoadMetrics™, a dynamic payload measurement system for hydraulic mining shovels.
Motion Metrics International was founded by Tafazoli after his graduation in January 1997. The company’s goal was to apply advanced technologies such as robotics, estimation, image processing, and embedded machine vision to the heavy-equipment industries. One of the company’s first products addressed design issues in mining equipment. ToothMetrics™ allows operators of large digging machinery in mines to know if a tooth has been broken from their shovels. While a missing tooth may seem trivial to the logistics of machines the size of those in mining operations around the world, missing teeth can end up jamming and seriously damaging other equipment—and mining personnel have been seriously injured trying to fix affected machines.
Fourteen years after his graduation, Tafazoli is CEO of a very successful company, with several more products available and others in development. He credits ICICS with much of his success, saying “ICICS played a key role in the early stages when Motion Metrics International was a start-up company, by providing space and other facilities.” Motion Metrics maintains its relationship with ICICS, through research partnerships and hiring of new graduates. In addition to being an ICICS member, Dr. Tafazoli is also an Adjunct Professor with the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and has co-supervised several Ph.D. and M.A.Sc. students.
We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Motion Metrics for supporting ICICS-affiliated graduate students, and for continued partnership in developing innovative products for Canadian industries.