Spyros G. Tzafestas continues his research activity, as NTUA Emeritus Professor, within the framework of the Intelligent Automation Systems (IAS) Research Group, giving emphasis on the application of computational intelligence techniques to control, robotics and automation.

From 1996 up to his retirement in 2006 he was the Head of the Intelligent Robotics and Automation Laboratory (IRAL), originally founded in 1985 under the name Intelligent Robotics and Control Unit (IRCU). The research and development activity of IRCU/IRAL during the period 1985-2006 covered the following five areas:

• Robotics
• Automation
• Artificial intelligence – based systems
• Classical and modern control
• Knowledge based and intelligent control

and concentrated on the investigation, development and implementation of advanced techniques and tools for the analysis, fault diagnosis, supervision, optimization, and control of automated technological systems with emphasis on industrial and mobile service robots, and discrete manufacturing systems. Particular topics investigated include : neural, fuzzy and neurofuzzy systems, adaptive and robust control systems, robotic vision, and FMS / CIM scheduling and planning. IRAL had a continuous close cooperation with similar foreign laboratories, and participated in major national and European research projects in the field of control, robotics and automation. In IRAL 21 Ph.D. and 130 Master Diploma Theses were conducted during 1985-2010. Authoring and editing work is also carried out with emphasis on humanistic, societal, moral/ethical, and philosophical issues of information, communication, automation, and robotic systems and technologies.

Interview: IEEE Control Systems Magazine. To read it click here.