Early Beginnings and Academic Excellence
Hafeez's foray into the world of robotics was seeded during his undergraduate years at Obafemi Awolowo University, where he worked on developing a project on a gesture-controlled motorized wheelchair. This early project was not just a foray into assistive technology for the physically impaired but also a stepping stone towards a career in robotics and inspiring the next generation of robotics engineers.
His academic pursuits led him to further excellence, earning two master's degrees—one from Innopolis University in Russia with distinction and another from West Virginia University. He explored advanced robotics concepts such as compliant control of quadruped robots and imitation learning for swarm control, pushing the envelope in robotics agility and group coordination.
Teaching: Passing the Torch
As a Robotics Instructor at Lawrence Technological University, Hafeez is deeply involved in curriculum development and mentoring undergraduate students. He infuses the program with cutting-edge robotics tools, ensuring that the next wave of engineers is well-versed in not only the theory but also the practical, ethical, and social implications of robotics.
His dedication to education extends beyond university walls. Hafeez works actively with Black in Robotics, striving to make the field more inclusive and accessible. He believes that a more diverse group of minds in robotics will lead to innovative solutions that are considerate of a wider range of needs and perspectives.
Community Engagement and Advocacy
The commitment to robotics and education for Hafeez is evident in his extensive community service. He started one of the very first code club teams in Nigeria with his colleagues at the University. He has served as a VEX Robotics Competition Judge and has been a beacon of knowledge for aspiring through various organizations like Work Without Walls Academy and DbrownConsulting.
Tips for having a career in Robotics
Hafeez gave tips to have a career in Robotics. He mentioned you need to be an active member of a robotics club, compete in national competitions like RoboFest, FIRST Robotics, and VEX robotics, compete in robotics challenges, and learn robotics online through courses on Coursera, Udacity, and EDx. You can also follow tutorials online and build your own robot.
In your opinion, what is the current state of Robotics, and where do you think it is going?
Hafeez: There have been a lot of advancements in recent times. I, however, believe we are still scratching the surface in Robotics, especially when it comes to deploying them outside labs and test environments. There are certain things that are easy for humans to do and difficult for robots. What the future holds is that we will see robots working more collaboratively with human beings and not just replacing them. Robots can help with repetitive tasks, for instance, and human beings can help with making decisions in uncertain conditions. Eventually, we will see robots adapting to new situations, being creative and understanding, and responding to social cues from human beings. These are activities seemingly easy for human beings but challenging for robots.
Lastly, with all your achievements, what's next on the horizon for you?
Hafeez: "My plan and goal are to develop educational robots. These will be robots that we use to introduce young students—kids in K-12, high school, and middle school—to the field of robotics. This initiative is intended to drive their interest, and we plan to use it to encourage them. By teaching STEM subjects through robotics, students gain a great deal. It will enhance their skills, turning them into problem solvers and fostering creativity. These are the kinds of skills that will be developed in the process, so it's really going to be a game-changer for students, sparking their interest not only in robotics but also in engineering and the sciences. I look back at my prior education and ask myself, "How can we teach some concepts in physics, for example, as easily as possible?" By using robotics, students can learn faster, be more creative, and become adept problem solvers.
One of the challenges we currently have in robotics is that some of the educational robots we have are very expensive. So, we have one problem in that area: they are not low-cost, which means it's difficult for low-income individuals to acquire or buy these kinds of robots for learning purposes at home. There is a policy side to developing actual robots that are going to be as affordable as possible yet capable of teaching fundamental concepts related to sensors, actuation, and computing.
On the other hand, the educational robotics industry needs a very rich curriculum; we need content that can be online and very accessible. When you compare it to the fields of software engineering or machine learning, for example, we have a lot of content online that can be easily used to teach students. These contents are rich, and many complexities have been abstracted so that the big ideas are conveyed. The big ideas are sold to students, and they don't need to trouble themselves with a lot of technical details or advanced-level mathematics at this stage. We need something similar in robotics. These are the areas in which I'm well invested, actively working through research and collaboration and engaging with experts in the field through my professional memberships.
Lastly, I also want to educate students early on about issues of bias and ethical concerns in AI and robotics. Let's take, for example, if I put a camera on a robot and it's performing some object detection. I need my camera to be able to recognize a human. We've seen numerous instances where AI systems are unable to detect the face of a black person in an image, resulting in cases of misclassification or failure to identify that the image is a person due to skin color. This results from the fact that the data used to train these AI systems is biased, which means that the outcomes they provide in real-life applications are also biased. When we apply such systems to robotics, it means that my robot, if it's unable to detect that an obstacle it encounters is a human being and responds appropriately, could cause issues. The question is, how do we solve issues of bias in robotics? One approach is to bring more diverse people into the field—we need more females; we need underrepresented groups—so that everyone brings their ideas and data. This helps to address a significant problem, and in one way or another, we can begin to see the issue of bias being addressed. These are all ethical concerns that experts in the industry are looking to resolve."
In Hafeez Jimoh, the world of robotics and STEM education finds an indefatigable champion. His journey stands as a testament to the power of technological expertise when coupled with a passion for community upliftment and education.
Hafeez is active on Linkedin. Connect with him and check his latest career updates, and let us know if any of these pointers were helpful to you!
