Houxiang Zhang
Houxiang Zhang
Professor, Institute leader for research
Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering Faculty of EngineeringBackground and activities
(M’04-SM'12) received Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Electronic Engineering in 2003. From 2004, he worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Technical Aspects of Multimodal Systems (TAMS), Department of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany. In Feb. 2011, he finished the Habilitation on Informatics at University of Hamburg.
Dr. Zhang joined the NTNU ( before 2016, Aalesund University College), Norway in April 2011 where he is a Professor on Robotics and Cybernetics. From 2011-2016, he hold a gift professorship on product and system design from the industry too. The focus of his research lies on two areas. One is on biological robots and modular robotics. The second focus is on virtual prototyping and maritime mechatronics. In these areas, he has published over 200 journal and conference papers and book chapters as author or co-author. Recently, he received four best paper awards at the Robotic conferences, and four finalist awards for best conference paper at IEEE Robotics and Automation conferences.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Biological robots and modular robotics, especially on system design and locomotion control
- Marine automation, digitalization and ship intelligence
- Artificial intelligence, machine learning and relate applications
- Hybrid modelling and co-simulation
ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP AND OTHER MEMBERSHIPS
2019 Member of Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences(NTVA)
2012 IEEE Senior member
2011-2016 Gift Professorship supported by Norwegian Centre of Expertise
2019-2022 Elected board member from NTNU for SFI Offshore Mechatronics
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (2000-Present)
01/2016-present, Professor, Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
04/2011-12/2015, Professor, Faculty of Maritime Technology and Operations, Aalesund University College, Norway
04/2011-03/2016, Gift Professorship, Norwegian Centre of Expertise
02/2004-3/2011, Postdoctoral research follow/ Lecturer at the Institute of Technical Aspects of Multimodal Systems, Department of Computer Science, University of Hamburg, Germany.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (2007-Present, partly)
2015-2022, Key applicant, Centers for Research-based Innovation (SFI) project, “Marine operations Centre for Research Based Innovation”, our department as the coordinator of this SFI. (Total budget: 190 Million NOK).
2015-2022, Key member in WP3 and WP4, Centers for Research-based Innovation (SFI) project “Offshore Mechatronics”. (Total budget:190 Million NOK).
2020-2023, PI of IKTPLUSS project “Remote Control Centre for Autonomous Ship Support (AuReCo)”, Project partners: Harbin Engineering University, Vard Electro AS, Offshore Simulation Centre, Ålesund Kunnskapspark. (Total budget: 9 M NOK).
2020-2023, Partner of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF IPN “Development of a Novel Process for the Application of Krill as Alternative protein Source in Human Nutrition”, Project partners: Møreforsking Ålesund AS, Rimfrost, Universitet i Bergen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Møreforsking Molde AS. (Total budget: 9 M NOK).
2018-2022, PI of Knowledge-building Project for Industry-MAROFF KPN “Digital Twins for Vessel Life Cycle Service (TwinShip)”, Project partners: DNV GL, NTNU, Rolls Royce Marine, Ålesund Kunnskapspark AS (ÅKP) and SINTEF Aalesund. (Total budget 32 M).
2019-2021, PI of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF IPN “Towards Ship Autonomy in Harbour Manoeuvring and Intelligent Docking”, Project partners: Offshore Simulation Centre, NTNU Aalesund, Rolls-Royce Marine AS.(Total budget 10M NOK).
2018-2020, Key member of Integrated Technologies Long-term Deployment of Robotic Underwater platforms (INTENDU) (EU MarTERA).
2018-2020, PI of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF IPN “Riser Operation Replacement Optimization (RORO)”, Project partners: Offshore Simulation Centre, NTNU Aalesund, Subsea 7 AS, AKER solution AS.(Total budget 9M NOK).
2018-2019, PI of RFFMIDT project “On-Board Augmented Simulator”, Project partners: Offshore Simulation Center. (Total budget 1.6 M NOK).
2016-2017, PI of GCE Blue Innovation grant project “Virtual prototyping system winch”, Project partners include Seaonics AS and Offshore Simulation Centre. (Budget: 800 K NOK).2017-2018, PI pf RFFMIDT project “An Integrated Sensor Fusion System for Fatigue and Awareness Assessment in Demanding Marine Operation”, Project partners: Offshore Simulation Center (Total budget: 1.6 M NOK).
2014-2016, PI of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF “Next Generation Simulator for Marine Crane Design and Operations-Virtual Crane Prototyping System”, Project partners: Rolls-Royce Marine AS, Offshore Simulation Centre (Total budget: 5.4 M NOK).
2016-2017, Project coordinator, RFFMIDT project “An Approach toward Optimal Control of Ship Maneuvering in Offshore Operations”, Project partners: Rolls-Royce Marine AS, Offshore Simulation Center, (Total budget: 1.0 M NOK).
2014-2015, PI of RFFMIDT project “A UAV SAR System for Oil Spill Detection in the Arctic”, Project number: 235283 (Total budget: 1.0 M NOK).
2012-2013, PI of Regional pre-project (Forprosjekt-RFFMIDT), “A Novel Climbing Robot System for Ship Anti-fouling, Cleaning and Inspection”.
2012-2013, PI of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF, ES486092, “A Novel Integrated Anti-sway System for Rolls-Royce Marine Shipboard Cranes”.
2012-2013, PI of Innovation project in the business section-MAROFF, ES486092, “A Flexible and Common Control Architecture for Rolls-Royce Marine Cranes and Robotic Arms”.
2007-2010, PI of the project “Biologically Inspired Modular Climbing Caterpillar Robot Using Passive Adhesion” [Funded by Germany DFG, No.U4604-DFG-10-01]
HONOURS
- Finalist for Best Conference of 2020 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA 2020).
- Best Technical Paper of CLAWAR 2015, 18th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines, Hangzhou, China.
- Best Conference Paper in Information of 2014 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA2014).
- Best Student Paper of 2014 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA2014).
- Best Conference Paper of 2008 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Xi’an, China.
- Finalist for Best Student Paper of IEEE BioRob 2014 of 5th IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), São Paulo, Brazil. 2014
- Finalist for Best Student Conference Paper of ICIA2008, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China.
- Finalist for Best Conference Paper of 2007 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
- Finalist for Best Conference Paper of 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, Kunming, China.
SELECTED EDITORIAL WORK
- 2022- Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine
- 2022- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
- 2021- Technical Editor, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
- 2021- Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
- 2021- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems
- 2021- Guest Editor of “Special Issue on Intelligent Transportation Systems in Epidemic Areas” with IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
CURRENT PHD CANDIDATES
Tongtong Wang. Intelligent and flexible domain models for digital twins of maritime design and operation. Supervision with Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li and Prof. Vilmar Æsøy (NTNU Aalesund).
Qin Liang. Digital Twin driven Propulsion System Health Monitoring and Performance Optimization. Supervision with Prof. Vilmar Æsøy (NTNU Aalesund).
Maximiliano Crescitell. Multisensor Fusion for Modelling Dynamic Marine Operation Environment. Supervision with Associate Prof. Lars Christian Gansel (NTNU Aalesund).
Peihua Han. Data-based maintenance for prediction of ship propulsion performance and reliability. Supervision with Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li (NTNU Aalesund) and Dr. Stian Skjong(SINTEF OCEAN).
Baiheng Wu. Synthesis of Human-in-the-Loop Control in Ship Intelligence. Main supervisor Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li (Mechatronics lab, NTNU Aalesund), co supervisors: Prof. Houxiang Zhang and Prof. Hans Petter Hildre.
Motoyasu Kanazawa. Model-based Control and Optimization for Ship Maneuvering in Complex Spatial environments. Co-supervision Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li (NTNU).
Chunlin Wang. Data Analysis and Modelling for On-board Support of Marine Operations. Main supervisor Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li, co-supervision: Prof. Houxiang Zhang, Associate Prof. Ottar Osen (NTNU), and Associate Prof. Torodd Skjerve Nord (NTNU).
Lene Æsøy. Hybrid Energy Systems for Ocean Farming Value Chain Optimization, Associate Prof. Ann Rigmor Nerheim (NTNU), Associate Prof. Henry Piehl (NTNU), Prof. Houxiang Zhang
Zizheng Liu, Anti-swing Control of Ship-mounted Crane, Co-supervision Prof. Hans Petter Hildre, Prof. Guoyuan Li (NTNU).
Sihan Gao. Modelling and simulation of the farm environment in sea-based salmon production, Associate Prof. Lars Christian Gansel (NTNU), Associate Prof. Guoyuan Li (NTNU), and Prof. Houxiang Zhang.
Sunghun Hong, Dynamic Analysis of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Installation, Associate Prof. Karl Henning Halse (NTNU), Associate Prof. Torodd S. Nord (NTNU), Prof. Houxiang Zhang.
GRADUATED DOCTORAL CANDIDATES
Robert Skulstad. Data-based Ship Motion Prediction in Offshore Operations. Supervision with Thor I. Fossen (NTNU), Bjørnar Vik (Kongsberg Marine AS), 2021 (On time).
Pierre Major. Data-driven Models for Multipurpose Rapid Prototyping. Supervision with Prof. Hans Petter Hildre (NTNU Aalesund), 2021 (six months earlier than schedule).
Lars Ivar Hatledal. Protocols and Standard for Integration of Simulation Models and Co-simulation. Supervision with Geir Hovland (UiA), Arne Styve (NTNU Aalesund), 2021 (on time) .
Thiago Gabriel Monteiro. A Cross-modal Integrated Sensor Fusion System for Fatigue and Awareness Assessment in Demanding Marine Operations. Supervision with Charlotte Skourup (Head of R&D, ABB), 2021 (two months earlier than schedule).
Andre Ellefsen. Smart Marine Operation and Maintenance of Ships- Conditional based Decision Support. Supervision with Vilmar Æsøy (NTNU Aalesund), Sergey Ushakov (NTNU Trondheim), 2020 (two months earlier than schedule) .
Xu Cheng. Sensitivity analysis and quality assessment of ANN models for ship motion prediction. Supervision with Hans Petter Hildre, Guoyuan Li (NTNU Aalesund), 2020 (three months earlier than schedule).
Yingguang Chu. Virtual prototyping simulator for marine operation systems – product and system design and operational applications. Supervision with Vilmar Æsøy (NTNU Aalesund), Sören Ehlers (TUHH), 2018 (on time).
Cong Liu. Multimodal Product Design-A Development of Engineering Design Models in Systematic Approach. Supervision with Hans Petter Hildre (NTNU Aalesund), Terje Rølvåg (NTNU), 2016 (on time).
Filippo Sanfilippo. Alternative and Flexible Control Methods for Robotic Manipulators. main supervisor Kristin Y. Pettersen (NTNU), 2015 (on time).
Guoyuan Li. Hierarchical Control of Limbless Locomotion Using a Bio-inspired CPG Model, main supervisor Jianwei Zhang (UHH), 2013 (on time).
Junhao Xiao. Planar Segments Based Three-dimensional Robotic Mapping in Outdoor Environments. main supervisor Jianwei Zhang (UHH), 2013 (on time).
Detail information could be found from Intelligent Systems Lab.
https://www.ntnu.edu/ihb/intelligent-systems-lab
http://org.ntnu.no/intelligentsystemslab/index.html
Courses
- IP506821 - Design Project
- IPEV6006 - Service and Maintenance I
- IP500817 - Scientific theory and methods
- IP501909 - MSc thesis, discipline oriented
- TS8002 - Advanced topics in simulation and analysis of maritime operations
- IP304814 - Introduction to Mechatronics
- IP501508 - Robotics
- MASA2352 - Mechatronics
Scientific, academic and artistic work
Displaying a selection of activities. See all publications in the database
Journal publications
- (2021) Temporal Attention Convolutional Neural Network for Estimation of Icing Probability on Wind Turbine Blades. IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982. Print). vol. 69 (6).
- (2021) Coupling of dynamic reaction forces of a heavy load crane and ship motion responses in waves. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 16.
- (2021) NorFisk: fish image dataset from Norwegian fish farms for species recognition using deep neural networks. Modeling, Identification and Control. vol. 42 (1).
- (2021) Fault Detection with LSTM-Based Variational Autoencoder for Maritime Components. IEEE Sensors Journal. vol. 21 (19).
- (2021) Fault Prognostics Using LSTM Networks: Application to Marine Diesel Engine. IEEE Sensors Journal. vol. 21 (22).
- (2021) An Uncertainty-aware Hybrid Approach for Sea State Estimation Using Ship Motion Responses. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. vol. 18 (2).
- (2021) A Deep Learning Approach to Detect and Isolate Thruster Failures for Dynamically Positioned Vessels Using Motion Data. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. vol. 70.
- (2021) Vico: An entity-component-system based co-simulation framework. Simulation modelling practice and theory. vol. 108.
- (2021) A multiple-output hybrid ship trajectory predictor with consideration for future command assumption. IEEE Sensors Journal.
- (2021) The Use of a Data-Driven Digital Twin of a Smart City: A Case Study of Ålesund, Norway. IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine. vol. 24 (7).
- (2021) A framework for rapid virtual prototyping: a case study with the Gunnerus research vessel. Ship Technology Research.
- (2021) Virtual prototyping of offshore operations: a review. Ship Technology Research. vol. 68 (2).
- (2021) A Survey of Eye Tracking in Automobile and Aviation Studies: Implications for Eye-Tracking Studies in Marine Operations. IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems. vol. 51 (2).
- (2021) A Co-operative Hybrid Model For Ship Motion Prediction. Modeling, Identification and Control. vol. 42 (1).
- (2021) A Multilevel Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network for Blade Icing Detection of Wind Turbine. IEEE Sensors Journal. vol. 21 (18).
- (2021) A sensitivity quantification approach to significance analysis of thrusters in dynamic positioning operations. Ocean Engineering. vol. 223.
- (2021) Incorporating Approximate Dynamics Into Data-Driven Calibrator: A Representative Model for Ship Maneuvering Prediction. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. vol. 18 (3).
- (2021) Parameter Identification of Ship Manoeuvring Model Under Disturbance Using Support Vector Machine Method. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 16.
- (2021) Sailing status recognition to enhance safety awareness and path routing for a commuter ferry. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 16.
- (2021) Navigating patterns analysis for on-board guidance support in crossing collision avoidance operations. IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine (ITSM).
- (2020) A Novel Densely Connected Convolutional Neural Network for Sea State Estimation Using Ship Motion Data. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. vol. 69 (9).
- (2020) A Neural Network-Based Sensitivity Analysis Approach for Data-Driven Modeling of Ship Motion. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. vol. 45 (2).
- (2020) Online Fault Detection in Autonomous Ferries: Using fault-type in-dependent spectral anomaly detection. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. vol. 69 (10).
- (2020) Co-simulation as a Fundamental Technology for Twin Ships. Modeling, Identification and Control. vol. 41 (4).
- (2020) Visual Attention Assessment for Expert-in-the-loop Training in a Maritime Operation Simulator. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. vol. 16 (1).
- (2020) Development of a vision-based target exploration system for snake-like robots in structured environments. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems (IJARS). vol. 17 (4).
- (2020) Optimizing CNN Hyperparameters for Mental Fatigue Assessment in Demanding Maritime Operations. IEEE Access. vol. 8.
- (2020) An effective ship control strategy for collision-free maneuver toward a dock. IEEE Access. vol. 8.
- (2020) A Hybrid Approach to Motion Prediction for Ship Docking— Integration of a Neural Network Model into the Ship Dynamic Model. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. vol. 70.
- (2020) A Novel Channel and Temporal-wise Attention in Convolutional Networks for Multivariate Time Series Classification. IEEE Access. vol. 8.
- (2020) Flexible riser replacement operation based on advanced virtual prototyping. Ocean Engineering. vol. 210.
- (2019) From Natural Complexity to Biomimetic Simplification: The Realization of Bionic Fish Inspired by the Cownose Ray. IEEE robotics & automation magazine. vol. 26 (3).
- (2019) Bionic Flapping Pectoral Fin with Controllable Spatial Deformation. Journal of Bionic Engineering (JBE). vol. 16 (5).
- (2019) Hydrodynamic development of a bionic pectoral fin for undersea monitoring platform. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 14.
- (2019) Data-driven uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for ship motion modeling in offshore operations. Ocean Engineering. vol. 179.
- (2019) Virtual Prototyping for Maritime Winch Design and Operations based on Functional Mock-up Interface Co-simulation. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 14.
- (2019) An Unsupervised Reconstruction-Based Fault Detection Algorithm for Maritime Components. IEEE Access. vol. 7.
- (2019) Remaining useful life predictions for turbofan engine degradation using semi-supervised deep architecture. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. vol. 183.
- (2019) Validation of Data-Driven Labeling Approaches Using a Novel Deep Network Structure for Remaining Useful Life Predictions. IEEE Access. vol. 7.
- (2019) A comprehensive survey of prognostics and health management based on deep learning for autonomous ships. IEEE Transactions on Reliability. vol. 68 (2).
- (2019) Bio-Signal Analysis for Human Machine Interaction. International Journal of Humanoid Robotics (IJHR). vol. 16 (4).
- (2019) A Language and Platform Independent Co-Simulation Framework Based on the Functional Mock-Up Interface. IEEE Access. vol. 7.
- (2019) Toward Time-Optimal Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Ship Maneuvering in Close-Range Encounters. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.
- (2019) Virtual prototyping: a case study of positioning systems for drilling operations in the Barents Sea. Ships and Offshore Structures. vol. 14 (S1).
- (2019) Analysis and evaluation of eye behavior for marine operation training - A pilot study. Journal of Eye Movement Research. vol. 12 (3).
- (2019) Using EEG for Mental Fatigue Assessment: A Comprehensive Look Into the Current State of the Art. IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems. vol. 49 (6).
- (2019) An efficient neural-network based approach to automatic ship docking. Ocean Engineering. vol. 191.
- (2019) Dead reckoning of dynamically positioned ships: Using an efficient recurrent neural network. IEEE robotics & automation magazine. vol. 26 (3).
- (2018) Virtual prototyping for maritime crane design and operations. Journal of Marine Science and Technology. vol. 23 (4).
- (2018) An Object-Oriented Modeling Approach to Virtual Prototyping of Marine Operation Systems Based on Functional Mock-Up Interface Co-Simulation. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering. vol. 140 (2).
- (2018) A Neural Network Approach to Control Allocation of Ships for Dynamic Positioning. IFAC-PapersOnLine. vol. 51 (29).
- (2017) Neural-network-based modelling and analysis for time series prediction of ship motion. Ship Technology Research. vol. 64 (1).
- (2017) A Benchmarking Framework for Control Methods of Maritime Cranes Based on the Functional Mockup Interface. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. vol. 43 (2).
- (2016) Enhancement of virtual simulator for marine crane operations via haptic device with force feedback. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). vol. 9774.
- (2016) Product architecture design of multi-modal products. Research in Engineering Design. vol. 27 (4).
- (2016) Integrated Flexible Maritime Crane Architecture for the Offshore Simulation Centre AS (OSC): A Flexible Framework for Alternative Maritime Crane Control Algorithms. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. vol. 41 (2).
- (2015) An ultra-high-speed FPGA based digital correlation processor. IEICE Electronics Express. vol. 12 (8).
- (2015) Integrated multi-domain system modelling and simulation for offshore crane operations. Ship Technology Research. vol. 62 (1).
- (2015) Online learning control of surface vessels for fine trajectory tracking. Journal of Marine Science and Technology.
- (2015) Hierarchical control of marine vehicles for autonomous maneuvering in offshore operations. Ship Technology Research. vol. 62 (2).
- (2015) Analysis and Design of Asymmetric Oscillation for Caterpillar-Like Locomotion. Journal of Bionic Engineering (JBE). vol. 12 (2).
- (2015) Conceptual design of multi-modal products. Research in Engineering Design. vol. 26 (3).
- (2015) Controlling Kuka Industrial Robots : Flexible Communication Interface JOpenShowVar. IEEE robotics & automation magazine. vol. 22 (4).
- (2014) A waypoint-tracking controller for a bionic autonomous underwater vehicle with two pectoral fins. Advanced Robotics. vol. 28 (10).
- (2014) Development of adaptive locomotion of a caterpillar-like robot based on a sensory feedback CPG model. Advanced Robotics. vol. 28 (6).
- (2014) An approach for adaptive limbless locomotion using a CPG-based reflex mechanism. Journal of Bionic Engineering (JBE). vol. 11 (3).
- (2014) An FPGA-based real-time UAV SAR raw signal simulator. IEICE Electronics Express. vol. 11 (11).
- (2013) The Mechanical Properties of a Wall-Climbing Caterpillar Robot Analysis and Experiment. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems (IJARS). vol. 10 (34).
- (2013) Planar segment based three-dimensional point cloud registration in outdoor environments. Journal of Field Robotics (JFR). vol. 30 (4).
- (2013) Three-dimensional point cloud plane segmentation in both structured and unstructured environments. Robotics and Autonomous Systems. vol. 61 (12).
- (2012) Intelligent Lighting Control for Vision-Based Robotic Manipulation. IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982. Print). vol. 59 (8).