Mid-term meeting Feb 2018

The project mid-term meeting took place on 22 – 23 February 2018 and was hosted by project partner the Universität Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. The meeting was attended by 24 partner representatives either in person or via video conference.

The University of Hamburg

At this meeting, project partners discussed their research progress thus far as well as sharing their plans for their next steps to progress the work packages including training, transfer of knowlege and networking. Board members also discussed the project finances, secondment plans, and how to mitigate any deviations from the plan.

STEP2DYNA Mid-Term Meeting Agenda

22 February 2018

  • 11:30 – 12:00 Coffee and bites
  • 12:00 – 12:15 Round the table introductions. Professor Zhihua Wang, Dr Julieta Sztarker, Yoshifumi Yamawaki and Zhen Deng will be joining via Skype.
  • 12:15 – 13:45 General Status of the project and WP implementation
    • Coordinator’s summary of the general status of the project
    • Scientific Progress per WP & Link with the secondments – Presentations by WP Leads
    • WP1 – Collision detection visual neural systems modelling, Lead Beneficiary: UoL (15’)
    • WP2 – Multiple visual neural systems coordination for robust collision detection, Lead Beneficiary: UoL (15’)
    • WP3 – Robust neural vision chip design, Lead Beneficiary: UoL (15’)
    • WP4 – Collision detection and avoidance systems for mobile robots and unmanned aerial systems, Lead Beneficiary: UHAM (15’)
    • Secondments implementation vs Gantt chart planning – Discussions between all beneficiaries and partners (30’)
    • Secondments Implementation and Future secondments plans
    • Deviations from the initial work plan
    • Mitigation Measures
  • 13:45 – 14:30 Lunch at the Campus Cafeteria
  • 14:30 – 15:30 Training, Transfer of Knowledge & Networking – Discussions between all beneficiaries and partners
    • Secondments new knowledge acquisition, training activities, new soft skills acquisition and career development opportunities
    • Built-in return mechanism (return phase) for knowledge sharing and long-term collaboration
    • Events organised within the network and beyond
  • Secondees’ contribution to WP(s) – Presentations by:
    • Dr Claire Rind (15’)
    • Zhen Deng (via Skype) (15’)
    • Hongxin Wang (15’)

In the evening, the project group participated in some sightseeing before gathering for a project group dinner.

23 February 2018

  • 09:00 – 09:30 Coffee
  • 09:30 – 10:00 Management – Discussions between all beneficiaries and partners
    • Financial aspects
    • Any proposed re-orientations of the networks’ activities
    • PR (including how the open access obligation for publications has been complied with)
    • Ethics
    • IP or any other issue related to the management and the implementation of the project (e.g. Consortium agreement/ internal communication in the project, check the relationship among the different stakeholders)
  • 10:00 – 10:30 Impact – Discussions between all beneficiaries and partners
    • Dissemination of results and publications
    • Communication activities to reach the general public
    • Open access to scientific publications: how the contractual obligation has been complied with (Art.29.2 of GA)
  • 10:30 – 11:30 Meeting between seconded staff members and the REA Representative. This meeting is intended to allow the staff members in a group (or bilaterally) to discuss with the REA Representative possible critical issues about their experiences within the RISE network in a more restricted setting. The team leaders do not participate in this meeting.
  • 11:30 -12:30 Lab Visit to F326 (service robot PR2, dynamic walking robot) and to F329 (dextrous manipulation with Shadow Hand)
  • 12:30 – 13:30 Open discussion. This discussion will conclude the meeting by summarising the output of the network so far and recommendations for the continuation of the project.
  • 13:30 Lunch at the Campus Cafeteria
Attendees of the mid-term meeting