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Click here to view the current attendee list (as of 23 October 2022).
 

Speakers:

Jan-Erik Kallhammer ​Director of Visual Enhancement and Cognitive Systems Veoneer LinkedIn Profile	Zach Bonefas Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomous and Perception Systems John Deere LinkedIn Profile	Pierre Olivier Chief Technology Officer LeddarTech Inc. LinkedIn Profile
Sabbir Rangwala President Patience Consulting LLC LinkedIn Profile	Robert W. Sadowski Army Chief Roboticist U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center	Stefan Heinemann TLM Opto-Mechanics Aurora LinkedIn Profile

Biographies: 
 

Zach Bonefas

Zach Bonefas has 22 years of perception sensing experience at John Deere.  He started his career at the Moline Technology Innovation Center where he worked on advanced R&D projects applying autonomy to several John Deere machine forms.  In 2008, he moved to the Intelligent Solutions Group where he has played an integral role in the development of perception sensing hardware and software infrastructure and numerous applications involving computer vision and machine learning.

Stefan Heinemann

Stefan Heinemann is the TLM – Photonic Modules at Aurora. He joined from TRUMPF Photonics, a subsidiary of TRUMPF, a world renown manufacturer of machine tools and lasers. He managed the development of a high-power diode laser product line and the technology development team at TRUMPF Photonics. Prior to his appointment at TRUMPF, he served as the director at Fraunhofer USA, Center for Laser Technology, where he developed and commercialized novel production technologies with light serving academia, federal agencies and industry. He started his professional carrier at JENOPTIK in Jena, Germany. He co-founded four companies in the fields of lasers and renewable energy holding positions as CEO and CTO. He initiated the alliance for Clean Transportation, a private public partnership of the University of Michigan, Fraunhofer and industry. He earned a diploma in physics from the Technical University of Munich and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. He holds 70 patents and has more than 150 published works.

Jan-Erik Kallhammer

Dr. Jan-Erik Källhammer is a director of visual enhancement and cognitive systems at Veoneer, a spin-off from Tier 1 auto supplier Autoliv.  Jan-Erik started 30 years ago with machine vision in automotive manufacturing at Borg Warner Corporation in Des Plaines, Illinois. In 1995 he joined Autoliv, in Sweden, the world’s largest supplier of airbag and seat-belt systems, responsible for corporate funded R&D.  While there, he was responsible for the inception and development of a Night Vision Drivers Vision Enhancement based on an uncooled long-wave infrared camera. The system is now on the market in Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes, Peugeot, and some luxury cars.  In 2018, Autoliv created an electronics spin-off called Veoneer.  Jan-Erik is now with Veoneer. His current work focuses on visual enhancement in darkness and inclement weather, including night vision, LIDAR,and gated imaging. Jan-Erik has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Systems from Linköping University, Sweden, an M.S. in E.E. from Duke University.  He has co-authored 29 articles and conference papers and has 19 patent proposals or granted patents.

Pierre Olivier

Pierre Olivier is recognized for his technical expertise as well as his vision; Pierre has decades of experience in the development of high-tech products and is a well-known industry speaker at ADAS and AD technology events and conferences throughout North America and Europe. Pierre has designed a high number of innovative, adaptable, practical and robust products used worldwide in strategic applications such as emergency dispatch and air traffic control. Before joining LeddarTech in 2010, Pierre worked at DAP Technologies, Adept Technology Canada and CML Technologies. Pierre holds several patents. Pierre holds a degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

Sabbir Rangwala

Dr. Rangwala has a distinguished career in optics that spans over 30 years, with ground-breaking achievements in diverse applications like communications, sensors, imaging, LiDAR and autonomy.  He currently heads Patience Consulting LLC which specializes in market, management, strategic and technology analyses in the LiDAR and autonomy areas.  He also serves on the boards of multiple companies that develop and/or use optical sensing and is a regular Forbes contributor in the smart transportation vertical.  These experiences enable deep insights into the LiDAR landscape from a competitive, architecture and operational perspective – for automotive and trucking applications, smart cities/infrastructure, logistics and autonomy of things (AoT™). Dr. Rangwala has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Robert W. Sadowski

Dr. Robert W. Sadowski serves as the United States Army’s Senior Scientist for Robotics within the Research, Technology and Integration Directorate at the United States Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center in Warren, MI.  Dr. Sadowski previously served 29 years of active United States Army duty culminating as the Electrical Engineering Program Director and Academy Professor at the United States Military Academy in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science where he continues working with the faculty. He currently chairs the OSD Autonomy Community of Interest and is guiding development of robotics and autonomous systems technology as part of the Army Modernization Enterprise. Dr. Sadowski is a graduate of the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) and received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.