Dr Erfu Yang
Reader
Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management
Personal statement
Dr Erfu Yang is a Reader in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Group within the Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) at the University of Strathclyde. He is the Co-lead of the RAS Group, program lead of MSc in Mechatronics and Automation, Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) champion, Mechatronics theme champion of both UG and MSc. In 2008, he received his Ph.D. degree in robotics from the University of Essex, Colchester, UK, within the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering. Before joining the DMEM in May 2014, he was a research fellow in the Cognitive Signal Image and Control Processing Research (COSIPRA) Laboratory at the University of Stirling, UK. Previously, as a research fellow he also worked in the Department of Mechanical and Control Systems Engineering (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan) and School of Engineering (University of Edinburgh, UK). His main research interests include robotics, autonomous systems, human-robot collaborations, computer vision, image/signal processing, mechatronics, manufacturing automation, and applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence. He has over 200 publications in these areas, including more than 100 journal papers and 10 book chapters. He is Stanford’s Top 2% Scientist for 2024 & 2025. Dr Yang has been awarded over 15 research grants as PI (principal investigator) or CI (co-investigator). He is the Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Member of the UK Engineering Professors’ Council, Senior Member of the IEEE Society of Robotics and Automation, IEEE Control Systems Society, IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society, Publicity Co-Chair (pre-April 2024) and now Engagement Chair of the IEEE UK and Ireland Industry Applications Chapter. Dr Yang serves as an associate editor, and editorial board member for many international journals, including Cognitive Computation (Springer), Sensors, Manufacturing Review, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, etc.
Prize And Awards
- Best Conference Paper Award
- Recipient
- 2/7/2025
- TOP CITED ARTICLE 2023-2024
- Recipient
- 8/4/2025
- Top 2% Scientists
- Recipient
- 16/9/2024
- IEEE Outstanding Service Award
- Recipient
- 30/8/2023
- Best Poster for RoVER VIP Project at the ESD@Strath Conference 2023
- Recipient
- 30/3/2023
- TOP CITED ARTICLE 2021-2022
- Recipient
- 21/2/2023
Publications
- A neural field approach to robot navigation with brain-inspired goal-directed cognitive maps
- Hicks Matthew, Lei Tingjun, Sellers Timothy, Luo Chaomin, Yang Erfu
- 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), pp. 269-276 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/robio66223.2025.11377267
- Human-autonomy teaming in robot navigation using bioinspired approach for search and rescue
- Sellers Timothy, Lei Tingjun, Luo Chaomin, Yang Erfu, Bi Zhuming
- IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, pp. 1-10 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/thms.2026.3651248
- Human-robot collaboration in healthcare : a comprehensive review of key components, applications, and future research
- Ameur Mohamed Adlan Ait, Yang Erfu, Zhang Yin-Ping
- IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics Vol 8, pp. 127-139 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/tmrb.2026.3654137
- KMPS : a reinforcement learning scheduler for Kubernetes edge-cloud systems
- Huang Congyue, Tan Wei, Ou Miaohua, Yang Erfu, Li Yun
- IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/jiot.2026.3658608
- A Modular Teleoperation System for Reliable and Safer Robotic Manipulation with Integrated Force and Visual Feedback
- Khedr Mohamed, Yang Erfu
- The 7th UK Robot Manipulation Workshop (2026)
- A neural network approach to image-based navigation and localization
- Short Daniel L, Lei Tingjun, Liu Lantao, Luo Chaomin, Yang Erfu
- 2025 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) International Joint Conference on Neural Networks 2025 2025 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/IJCNN64981.2025.11227291
Professional Activities
- Game Changers Technology Talk: Micro UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)
- Participant
- 17/7/2025
- David Duncan
- Host
- 16/7/2025
- Manufacturing Review (Journal)
- Editorial board member
- 8/7/2025
- Connected Robotics
- Participant
- 30/6/2025
- BridgeAI Annual Showcase 2025
- Participant
- 15/6/2025
- Hyperion Course on Proposal Writing for Pillar II (Horizon Europe)
- Participant
- 11/6/2025
Projects
- Cobot-enabled Nondestructive Quality Control in Production Lines with Advanced Vision and Machine Learning for Smart Manufacturing
- Yang, Erfu (Principal Investigator) Millar, Richard (Co-investigator)
- The overall research aim of this project is to fundamentally investigate the novel Cobot-enabled nondestructive quality control strategies by enabling holistic control and interactions of collaborative robots in complex human-robot collaborative manufacturing environments such that safety and interaction of nearby humans/operators can be maintained while the in-process inspection and quality control are being done. It is also critical to understand how to ensure the efficiency and flexibility of the manufacturing process can be achieved when process variations or environmental changes occur in advanced manufacturing systems. It is important that the Cobot-enabled nondestructive quality control is able to work collaboratively in a safe manner around a designated area of production lines, such as automated egg packaging stations. In a busy manufacturing environment, there can be no errors leading to production down.
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2028
- Barista Robot
- Mehnen, Jorn (Principal Investigator) Yang, Erfu (Co-investigator) Buchanan, Sarah (Fellow)
- Internal project with the catering department to develop the code and specify the right size of collaborative robot to work with a coffee machine.
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2025
- Bio-Inspired Robotics Design and Development (BioRobotics)
- Yang, Erfu (Principal Investigator)
- The Bio-Inspired Robotics Design and Development (BioRobotics) is led by Queen's University Belfast in collaboration with University of Liverpool and Strathclyde to explore the fundamental science (low TRL:1-2) and to develop a standard framework that facilitate the transformation from biological mechanisms to robotics design and operation, especially forced on new sciences of robotics assembly, navigation in fluid environment, and multi-agent collaboration.
- 06-Jan-2024 - 14-Jan-2025
- KTP - Glenrath Farms Ltd. Development of an intelligent collaborative robot system for smart farm manufacturing (iCoBOTS).
- Yang, Erfu (Principal Investigator) Maier, Anja (Co-investigator) Masood, Tariq (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2026
- Intelligent Human-Robot Collaboration for Future Advanced Healthcare Applications
- Yang, Erfu (Principal Investigator) Liang, Sha (Co-investigator) Ait Ameur, Mohamed Adlan (Researcher)
- The aim of this project is to investigate an intelligent human-robot interaction for advanced healthcare applications, which will leverage advanced computer vision, robotics, artificial intelligence to enable patent-oriented medical and health functions. Together with the cutting-edge human friendly robot system such as cobots to form a new advanced intelligent human-robot system, realise the robot healthcare applied in patients’ home, hospitals and other complex environments to achieve autonomous activities, active identification, assistance and emergency treatment, and alarm functions of sudden diseases, and remote coordination with caregivers and doctors to provide accurate support and assistance for their care, and complete the care and treatment of the elderly and patients.
- 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2026
- Adaptive Path Planning and Visual Navigation of Autonomous Inspection Robots in Challenging Environments
- Yang, Erfu (Principal Investigator) Dobie, Gordon (Co-investigator) Jiang, Meiling (Researcher)
- This project aims to fundamentally investigate the novel adaptive path planning and visual navigation of robots (such as an industrial robot manipulator, Cobot, UAV etc.) for autonomous inspection by enabling holistic control and interactions of robots in complex, dynamic and changing environments such that safety and interaction of nearby humans/operators/other objects etc. can be maintained while the inspection tasks are taking place. At the same time, the efficiency and flexibility of the inspection process is also achieved when process variations or environmental changes take place.
- 01-Jan-2022 - 30-Jan-2025
Contact
Dr
Erfu
Yang
Reader
Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management
Email: erfu.yang@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 574 5279