肉肉传媒

KENNESAW, Ga. | Jun 3, 2022

肉肉传媒 faculty member Yan Fang will examine the human brain鈥檚 capabilities as he and his students research ways to make drones and robots better at tracking fast-moving objects without exhausting their limited battery power.

Fang, an assistant professor in the , earned a prestigious grant for early-career researchers from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which will fund his .

The NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) award is highly competitive and provides resources to help new faculty members launch their research careers in computer science and engineering. Fang came to 肉肉传媒 State in the fall of 2021 after earning a doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh and working as a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech. 

鈥淚 am pleased that Dr. Fang鈥檚 work has been recognized with this NSF award,鈥� Turaj Ashuri, SPCEET鈥檚 interim assistant dean of research, said. 鈥淭his grant award demonstrates our commitments and efforts to give cutting-edge research opportunities to our students, which is a component of the University鈥檚 .鈥�

Fang will work with a Ph.D. student and a few undergraduate students on this project. They will use the nearly $174,000 in funding to research novel structures of computing systems, design course modules, and initiate K-12 education outreach for local minority high school students. 

鈥淒r. Fang鈥檚 research in neuromorphic processing of visual data mimics how the brain handles information from the eyes,鈥� chair of the Benjamin Klein said. 鈥淭his is a very exciting application of artificial intelligence that will help computers interpret what they see. We are delighted that NSF recognizes the importance of this work.鈥�

Small, battery-powered computing systems face a challenge handling complex visual data.

鈥淲e are trying to solve issues with visual tracking,鈥� Fang said. 鈥淥n small devices, like cell phones, wearable devices, and drones, the battery power and the computing abilities are limited and not very powerful. If your target is moving quickly, it is also difficult to recognize and track it.鈥� 

Fang explained the process of visual tracking by comparing a new dynamic vision camera that captures fast-moving objects to a frog鈥檚 vision, which recognizes flies as food when they are moving but does not associate them with food when they are motionless. 

Fang and his students will get inspiration from the human brain, which can quickly compute and process images to address the challenges that next-generation computer systems face.  

鈥淭his research is important because devices like cell phones and drones, are widely used in our daily life,鈥� Fang said. 鈥淩esearch that improves the computing capability and energy efficiency of these devices will make them more intelligent and powerful.鈥�

Visual processing tasks like detection, tracking, and navigation are essential to unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, surveillance, and defense systems. 

鈥淚 feel honored to be a recipient of this award,鈥� Fang said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to begin this research with more resources and undergraduate students who continuously impress me with their knowledge and ideas.鈥� 

鈥� Abbey O鈥橞rien Barrows
Photos by David Caselli

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 肉肉传媒 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. 肉肉传媒 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 肉肉传媒 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.