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Philip Sammons

Current Project
Development of a UAV Swarm Control Environment

Research interests

* Simulation Techniques for Autonomous Systems
* Autonomous Robotic Systems
* LED lighting Technologies
* Use of LEDs as a Efficient form of Artificial Lighting for Plant Growth

Publications

  • Philip Sammons and John Page, Experimentation and Validation of Vehicle Cluster Simulator Using NetLogo, SimTecT2009 Simulation Conference: Simulation - Concepts, Capability and Technology, 2009, Adelaide.
  • Philip Sammons and John Page, University of New South Wales Cluster Vehicle Simulator, AIAC 13 - Australian International Aerospace Conference 13, 2009, Melbourne.
  • Philip Sammons and John Page, System in the Loop Control of Multiple Autonomous UAVs, SimTecT2008 Simulation Conference: Simulation - Maximising Organisational Benefits, 2008, Melbourne.
  • Philip J. Sammons, Tomonari Furukawa and Andrew Bulgin, “Autonomous Pesticide Spraying Robot for Use in a Greenhouse,” 2005 Australian Conference on Robotics and Automation (CD-ROM), December 5-7, 2005, Sydney, pp. 1-8, 2005.



    • Qualifications
    * Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic) - University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
    * Senior First aid certificate 2007
    * OHS Consultation Course 2007
    * OHS General Induction for Construction work in NSW (White Card)
    * OHS Construction Safety Awareness for Construction Work in WA (Blue Card)

    Skills and Experience

    Since 1999 I have been working with computers. Through University I worked for a Computer Support Technician and Coordinator at "The Kensington Colleges". I played the major support role for the three computer labs and was the computer technician for hundreds of students. This type of work continued when I started work for "PeaCe of Mind", where I was the PC Technician of the company which served residential homes across Sydney. I still work for PeaCe of Mind on a casual basis as a computer Technician. I spent some time in London working for LONRES and working casually installing and servicing residential PC's under my own company "Puzzled". I have good working knowledge of Linux, Mac OS and Windows PC's. My experience with Linux has been specifically with Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora. I have also good experience with Mac and FreeBSD operating systems. I have good experience with Server and Database administration where I worked for a database services company (LONRES.com) doing IT support and a little Network Administration and website programming. From this I have had good programming experience with PHP and MySQL which I continue to learn. My engineering and research experience has helped me learn a great deal of Matlab and the many aspects of the program and language. I have also since gained extensive experience with programming in Java, C and C++ including programming with OpenGL.

    From a young age I have always been interested in electronics and robotics. In yrs 11 and 12 at school I studied Electronics and Engineering Science in which I excelled. This love for electronics drove me to complete my Undergraduate Degree at The University of New South Wales in Sydney studying Mechatronic Engineering. Although I have good experience with computers and programming, I still mostly enjoy hands on work with electronics and the interactions of computers with electronics. My undergraduate thesis in which I received a High Distinction, involved the Design and Construction of a robot to autonomously spray pesticides on greenhouse plants. The project was very successful and I was able to demonstrate a working prototype of my robot in the greenhouses of the NSW Agriculture Research Centre in Gosford.

    Starting in 2006 I Worked as a Research Assistant at The University of NSW and in 2007 started a Masters of Engineering (Mechatronic). This research focused of the development of a simulation environment enabling the control of a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles. During this study I helped start the MAVSTAR project and learned a great deal in programming and robotic interfacing. During 2008 I was asked to sit in as Electronics and UAV adviser for the 4th year Aerospace Engineering advanced project design group. I learned about the aircraft design process as well as being able to share my electronics expertise with the undergraduate students.

    Hobbies and Interests

    I enjoy life and I enjoy living in Australia. Summer is my preferred time of year and I love going to the beach for a swim or surf. I enjoy cycling which I do everyday on the way to and from work. I enjoy playing snooker and golf, I often play snooker, however do not get around to playing much golf. During the winter months I tend to spend more time indoors and focusing on electronics projects and building things.

    Associations and Societies

    * 2003 - Present - Engineers Australia
    * 2006 - Present - Centre for Autonomous Systems (CAS)
    * 2006 - Present - Computational Mechanics and Robotics (CMR) Group, UNSW
    * 2007 - 2009 - Mechanical Engineering OH&S Committee. (Postgraduate Representative)

    Contact Details
    Email:
    Mobile: (+61) 410 575 272
    Laboratory: L205, The Willis Annexe