Nima Najmaei
101 Charles St E, Toronto ON M4Y0A9, Canada
Phone: 647 637 8460 E-Mail: nima.najmaei@gmail.com, Wesbite: http://www.nimanajmaei.com
Citizenship: Canadian Citizen
Summary
I am an Electrical and Control Engineer, specialized in Robotics, Telerobotics, and Control Systems. I have a strong research
background in Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering with solid technical experience in mechanical design, development, and
control of mechatronics and robotic systems. I have great experience in sensors integration and data fusion. In addition, I have a
solid experience in programming with C++ and Matlab.
Skills
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Computer Programming: Strong knowledge of C/C++ with over 10 years of experience in Object-Oriented Design and C++ Development.
Solid experience in modeling and simulating robotics and control systems using Matlab and Simulink. Intermediate knowledge of
programming with Python.
Robotics and Control: Over 7 years of experience in design and implementation of real-time software and controllers for different robot
manipulators such as Mitsubishi PA10, Haptic Wand, Phantom Omni, Thermo CRS-F3, etc.. Deep knowledge of robotics, including motion
and navigation.
Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation: Over five years of experience in Computer Aided Design Systems and related software such as
SolidWorks. Solid experience in mechanical design and analysis of mechatronics and robotic systems, with hand-on experience in
prototyping of devices and development and integration of the required electrical and control equipment. Great knowledge and experience in
performance evaluation and stability analysis of the developed devices.
Machine Learning: Great knowledge and experience in machine learning.
Experience
Robotics Research Fellow (Rehabilitation Technologies)
September 2015 – Present
AIRR (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Research), Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, UHN
Toronto ON, Canada
Working toward commercialization of a robotics-assisted rehabilitation platform for stroke therapy of upper limb.
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Modification of mechanical, electrical, and software design of the existing system for commercialization of the product
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Involved in clinical trials of the robot
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Developing new algorithms for enabling tele-rehabiliation using the developed product
Graduate/Doctoral Researcher
September 2009 – February 2015
CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics), LHSC
London ON, Canada
By applying my knowledge of electrical, mechanical, and robotics engineering fundamentals, I successfully designed, developed, and
evaluated the prototype of a novel haptic device based on new smart (Magneto-Rheological) actuators.
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Simulation and analysis on the application of MR fluid in a bilateral teleoperation system and stability analysis. Experimental
proof of concept using an existing large-scale industrial MR actuator.
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Design and analysis of a new small-scale design of MR clutches. Performed FEM and optimization on the proposed design.
Validation of design in Matlab, Solidworks, and FEMM software.
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Mechanical design of the MR actuator based on the proposed design. Selection of all the required mechanical parts, including
belts, pulleys, cables, sealing, O-rings, etc.
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Design and selection of the required electrical circuitry and embedded sensors for the designed actuator.
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Construction, machining, and assembly of four prototype MR clutches based on the proposed design.
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Identification and Modeling of the developed clutches. Use of Artificial Neural Networks to model the nonlinear behavior of
these systems. Controller Design for accurate torque control of the clutches.
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Mechanical Design of a 2-DOF prototype haptic device based on the developed actuators using a distributed antagonistic
configuration in Solidworks. Design and optimization of power transmission system. Deriving Kinematics and Dynamics of the
device. Designed a force controller for the device.
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Design and Programming of required hardware, i.e., current drivers and controller, DAQ card, etc. Programming of the device
using C++ and Quarc Controller.
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Experimental evaluation using phantom and ex-vivo tests in a medical teleoperation system.
Graduate Researcher
September 2007 – August 2009
Faculty of Engineering, University of Western Ontario
London ON, Canada
By applying my knowledge of robotics and programming fundamentals, I successfully developed safety strategies, including path
planning, collision avoidance, and reactive control, for industrial robots to have a safe operation in the vicinity of the human coworkers.
The developed algorithms were implemented and tested on Thermo CRS-F3 robot.
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Development of a danger assessment method for industrial robots and design of an optimized path planning strategy, which
minimizes the danger of the robot in a shared workspace with humans.
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Development of a superquadratic model of the human as an obstacle based on the data fusion of a floor-mounted sensor and
imaging techniques.
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For a complete list of projects, publications, awards, etc. please refer to www.nimanajmaei.com and ca.linkedin.com/pub/nima-najmaei/31/a6b/882.
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Use of artificial intelligence for estimating the position and pose of the human based on sensory data.
Design of a reactive robot control in order to place an industrial robot in a safe position with respect to its human coworkers
during operation.
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Using Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Learning to enable the industrial robot to predict some human behavior, such as
direction of motion.
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Simulation and Analysis of the developed safety strategies in Matlab and Simulink using SimMechanics (platform for multi-body
mechanical systems modeling and simulation).
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Kinematic and Dynamic Modeling of Thermo CRS-F3 Industrial Robot.
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Implementation of the developed algorithm and reactive control on a Thermo CRS-F3 Industrial Robot using object-oriented
C++ Programming and CRS classes in CRS Robcomm3 PC based development Software.
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Integration of position and imaging sensors data with the reactive control implemented on the Thermo CRS-F3 Industrial
Robot.
 Evaluation of the developed algorithms on CRS-F3 Robot in different real world scenarios.
Teaching Assistant
September 2007 – August 2014
Faculty of Engineering, University of Western Ontario
London ON, Canada
Acted as a teaching assistant for undergraduate course at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
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Conducted tutorial sessions and lab instructions. Explained technical and theoretical concepts to students.
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Lab Coordinator and designer of lab manuals and experiments for Control Theory Course.
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Courses: Control Theory, Applied Control Systems, PLC, Signal Processing, Circuits and Systems, etc.
Junior Automation Engineer
January 2006 – April 2007
Homayoun Electric Ltd.
Shiraz Fars, Iran
Involved in designing and execution of the automation line in Homayoun Electric Ltd., producer of home appliances.
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Design and test of the automation line for molding the plastic parts of the products.
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Design, write, implement, test and document PLC devices.
Computer Networking Consultant
Pourab Co.
Involved in installation, maintenance, and upgrade of LANs for small companies and firms.
January 2005 – December 2005
Shiraz Fars, Iran
Database Administrator
September 2004 – August 2005
AsiaMehrKav Co.
Shiraz Fars, Iran
Developed the database for the AsiaMehrKav Co., producer of gas pressure control stations.
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Implemented the database, which included the part and price information for different types of gas pressure control stations.
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Maintenance and upgrading of the database based on the customer and market needs.
Education
PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering
September 2009 – December 2014
University of Western Ontario
London ON, Canada
Thesis: Design of a Haptic Interface for Medical Applications using Magneto-Rheological Fluid Based Actuators
MESc, Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Western Ontario
Thesis Title: Pre-Collision Safety Strategies for Safe Industrial Robot Interaction with Humans
BASc, Electrical and Control Engineering
Shiraz University
Final Project: Design & Construction of a Sonar-based Mobile Robot
September 2007 – August 2009
London ON, Canada
September 2002 – December 2006
Shiraz, Iran
Selected Recognitions and Awards
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Mitacs Accelerate Program (held at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and Quanser Co., $55K), 2015-2016
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS, $15K), 2012-13
Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship in Science and Technology (Declined, $15K), 2012-13
NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship ($105K), 2009-12
Outstanding Presentation Award in Western ECE Graduate Symposium, 2013
NSERC CREATE Program in Computer-Aided Medical Interventions, stipend Scholarship ($15K), 2012-13
Western GTA Union Academic Achievement Scholarship ($500), 2012
Western Engineering Stipend Scholarship ($10.2K/y), 2009-12
For a complete list of projects, publications, awards, etc. please refer to www.nimanajmaei.com and ca.linkedin.com/pub/nima-najmaei/31/a6b/882.