William S. Yerazunis
- Phone: 617-621-7530
- Email:
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Position:
Research / Technical Staff
Senior Principal Research Scientist -
Education:
Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1987 -
Research Areas:
External Links:
Bill's Quick Links
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Biography
Bill has worked in numerous fields, including parallel computation, SETI, jet engine production, real-time signal processing, expert systems, pattern recognition, text classification, wireless power, and meta-materials. He is the author of the CRM114 spam filter, has appeared as a continuing character in educational science television, and was voted one of the 50 most important people in computer network security by Network World magazine.
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Recent News & Events
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NEWS MERL at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2024 Date: May 13, 2024 - May 17, 2024
Where: Yokohama, Japan
MERL Contacts: Anoop Cherian; Radu Corcodel; Stefano Di Cairano; Chiori Hori; Siddarth Jain; Devesh K. Jha; Jonathan Le Roux; Diego Romeres; William S. Yerazunis
Research Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Optimization, Robotics, Speech & AudioBrief- MERL made significant contributions to both the organization and the technical program of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2024, which was held in Yokohama, Japan from May 13th to May 17th.
MERL was a Bronze sponsor of the conference, and exhibited a live robotic demonstration, which attracted a large audience. The demonstration showcased an Autonomous Robotic Assembly technology executed on MELCO's Assista robot arm and was the collaborative effort of the Optimization and Robotics Team together with the Advanced Technology department at Mitsubishi Electric.
MERL researchers from the Optimization and Robotics, Speech & Audio, and Control for Autonomy teams also presented 8 papers and 2 invited talks covering topics on robotic assembly, applications of LLMs to robotics, human robot interaction, safe and robust path planning for autonomous drones, transfer learning, perception and tactile sensing.
- MERL made significant contributions to both the organization and the technical program of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2024, which was held in Yokohama, Japan from May 13th to May 17th.
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NEWS MERL work on 3D Printing in Orbit featured in IEEE Spectrum Date: June 3, 2022
Where: IEEE Spectrum
MERL Contacts: Avishai Weiss; William S. Yerazunis
Research Areas: Applied Physics, Communications, RoboticsBrief- MERL's research on on-orbit manufacturing was recently featured in an IEEE Spectrum article. The article, titled How Satellites Will 3D Print Their Own Antennas in Space gives an overview of MERL's efforts towards developing a system that construct spacecraft parts in their natural environment-- that is, in space. The technology, called OOM for On-Orbit Manufacturing, provides a way to manufacture not just antenna dishes, but general freeform sturctures on orbit and in a vacuum, using an solar-hardened resin based approach. This technology includes both a special high performance liquid resin, as well as a 3D freeform printer capable of building objects far larger than the as-launched satellite.
An important aspect of the special resin is that all components have extremely low vapor pressures and do not boil away even in a vacuum. When exposed to solar ultraviolet, the resin hardens by polymerization crosslinking, forming a tough, rigid solid in a few seconds of exposure. No separate UV source is needed, making the entire process very energy efficient. Additionally, the crosslinking resin is heat resistant, and is unaffected to at least 400 degrees C. The 3D printer needed to print the resin is unlike common liquid-resin SLA printers- there is no vat of liquid resin, instead a shielded nozzle delivers the liquid resin directly to where the resin is needed. The result is the ability to construct large and very large structures, not just parabolic dishes, but also solar panel supports and structural trusswork, while in orbit. The system could even construct parts that were unanticipated during mission design and launch.
MERL's On-Orbit Manufacturing Technology had previously been featured in a Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Press Release and was recently on display at a recent press exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.
IEEE Spectrum is the flagship magazine and website of the IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and the applied sciences. IEEE Spectrum has a circulation of over 400,000 engineers worldwide, making it one of the leading science and engineering magazines.
- MERL's research on on-orbit manufacturing was recently featured in an IEEE Spectrum article. The article, titled How Satellites Will 3D Print Their Own Antennas in Space gives an overview of MERL's efforts towards developing a system that construct spacecraft parts in their natural environment-- that is, in space. The technology, called OOM for On-Orbit Manufacturing, provides a way to manufacture not just antenna dishes, but general freeform sturctures on orbit and in a vacuum, using an solar-hardened resin based approach. This technology includes both a special high performance liquid resin, as well as a 3D freeform printer capable of building objects far larger than the as-launched satellite.
See All News & Events for Bill -
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Awards
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AWARD Mitsubishi Electric US Receives a 2022 CES Innovation Award for Touchless Elevator Control Jointly Developed with MERL Date: November 17, 2021
Awarded to: Elevators and Escalators Division of Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc.
MERL Contacts: Daniel N. Nikovski; William S. Yerazunis
Research Areas: Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Signal ProcessingBrief- The Elevators and Escalators Division of Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc. has been recognized as a 2022 CES® Innovation Awards honoree for its new PureRide™ Touchless Control for elevators, jointly developed with MERL. Sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the CES Innovation Awards is the largest and most influential technology event in the world. PureRide™ Touchless Control provides a simple, no-touch product that enables users to call an elevator and designate a destination floor by placing a hand or finger over a sensor. MERL initiated the development of PureRide™ in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic by proposing the use of infra-red sensors for operating elevator call buttons, and participated actively in its rapid implementation and commercialization, resulting in a first customer installation in October of 2020.
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AWARD DEIM 2010 Best Paper Award Date: February 1, 2010
Awarded to: Hideya Shibata, Mamoru Kato, Mitsunori Kori and William Yerazunis
Awarded for: "An Automatic Training Data Collection Method for Confidential E-mail Detection"
Awarded by: The Forum on Data Engineering and Information Management (DEIM)
MERL Contact: William S. Yerazunis
Research Area: Data Analytics
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MERL Publications
- "Memory-Based Learning of Global Control Policies from Local Controllers", 21st International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO'24), November 2024.BibTeX TR2024-158 PDF
- @inproceedings{Nikovski2024nov,
- author = {{Nikovski, Daniel N. and Zhong, Junmin and Yerazunis, William S.}},
- title = {Memory-Based Learning of Global Control Policies from Local Controllers},
- booktitle = {21st International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO'24)},
- year = 2024,
- month = nov,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-158}
- }
, - "Autonomous Robotic Assembly: From Part Singulation to Precise Assembly", IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems., October 2024.BibTeX TR2024-133 PDF
- @inproceedings{Ota2024oct,
- author = {Ota, Kei and Jha, Devesh K. and Jain, Siddarth and Yerazunis, William S. and Corcodel, Radu and Shukla, Yash and Bronars, Antonia and Romeres, Diego}},
- title = {Autonomous Robotic Assembly: From Part Singulation to Precise Assembly},
- booktitle = {IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.},
- year = 2024,
- month = oct,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-133}
- }
, - "Memory-Based Global Iterative Linear Quadratic Control", International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT), July 2024.BibTeX TR2024-089 PDF
- @inproceedings{Nikovski2024jul2,
- author = {{Nikovski, Daniel and Zhong, Junmin and Yerazunis, William S.}},
- title = {Memory-Based Global Iterative Linear Quadratic Control},
- booktitle = {International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT)},
- year = 2024,
- month = jul,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-089}
- }
, - "Adaptive Velocity Estimators for Learning Control", International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT), July 2024.BibTeX TR2024-088 PDF
- @inproceedings{Nikovski2024jul,
- author = {{Nikovski, Daniel and Yerazunis, William S.}},
- title = {Adaptive Velocity Estimators for Learning Control},
- booktitle = {International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT)},
- year = 2024,
- month = jul,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-088}
- }
, - "Stochastic Learning Manipulation of Object Pose With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays", International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA), DOI: 10.1109/ICMLA58977.2023.00024, December 2023, pp. 112-119.BibTeX TR2023-151 PDF
- @inproceedings{Kong2023dec,
- author = {{Kong, Chuizheng and Yerazunis, William S. and Nikovski, Daniel}},
- title = {Stochastic Learning Manipulation of Object Pose With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays},
- booktitle = {International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA)},
- year = 2023,
- pages = {112--119},
- month = dec,
- doi = {10.1109/ICMLA58977.2023.00024},
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-151}
- }
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- "Memory-Based Learning of Global Control Policies from Local Controllers", 21st International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO'24), November 2024.
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Videos
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MERL Issued Patents
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Title: "Contactless Elevator Service for an Elevator Based on Augmented Datasets"
Inventors: Sahinoglu, Zafer; Peng, Kuan-Chuan; Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 12,071,323
Issue Date: Aug 27, 2024 -
Title: "Soft Robotic Tentacle Gripper"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Solomon, Erin; McAleenan, James
Patent No.: 11,685,058
Issue Date: Jun 27, 2023 -
Title: "System and Method for Robotic Assembly Based on Adaptive Compliance"
Inventors: Nikovski, Daniel N.; Romeres, Diego; Jha, Devesh; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 11,673,264
Issue Date: Jun 13, 2023 -
Title: "Multi-Tentacular Soft Robotic Grippers"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Solomon, Erin
Patent No.: 11,565,406
Issue Date: Jan 31, 2023 -
Title: "Elastomeric Tactile Sensor"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Jordan, Scott
Patent No.: 11,548,165
Issue Date: Jan 10, 2023 -
Title: "Method and system for touchless elevator control"
Inventors: Nikovski, Daniel N.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 11,518,646
Issue Date: Dec 6, 2022 -
Title: "Tactile Sensor"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Jordan, Scott
Patent No.: 11,472,040
Issue Date: Oct 18, 2022 -
Title: "On-Orbit Additive Manufacturing of Parabolic Reflectors via Solar Photopolymerization"
Inventors: Weiss, Avishai; Yerazunis, William S.; Cottrell, Richard
Patent No.: 11,155,723
Issue Date: Oct 26, 2021 -
Title: "Dexterous Gripper for Robotic End-Effector Applications"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Ainampudi, Parthasarathi; Gopalan, Nakul
Patent No.: 11,104,008
Issue Date: Aug 31, 2021 -
Title: "System and Method for Depositing a Metal to form a Three-Dimensional Part"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Vetterling, William
Patent No.: 10,994,371
Issue Date: May 4, 2021 -
Title: "Systems and Methods for On-Orbit Fabrication of Structures by 3D Printing"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Weiss, Avishai; Wang, Bingnan
Patent No.: 10,906,290
Issue Date: Feb 2, 2021 -
Title: "Method and Apparatus for Printing 3D Objects Using Additive Manufacturing and Material Extruder with Translational and Rotational Axes"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Katz, Joseph; Brinkman, Dirk
Patent No.: 10,350,874
Issue Date: Jul 16, 2019 -
Title: "Artificial Magnetic Structures for Wireless Power Transfer"
Inventors: Wang, Bingnan; Yerazunis, William S.; Teo, Koon Hoo
Patent No.: 9,842,685
Issue Date: Dec 12, 2017 -
Title: "System and Method for Calibrating Laser Processing Machines"
Inventors: Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.
Patent No.: 9,718,146
Issue Date: Aug 1, 2017 -
Title: "Flat-Panel Acoustic Apparatus"
Inventors: Le Roux, Jonathan; Hershey, John R.; Yerazunis, William S.; Boufounos, Petros T.; Daudet, Laurent
Patent No.: 9,661,414
Issue Date: May 23, 2017 -
Title: "Method and Apparatus for Printing 3D Objects Using Additive Manufacturing and Material Extruder with Translational and Rotational Axes"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Katz, Joseph; Brinkman, Dirk
Patent No.: 9,481,131
Issue Date: Nov 1, 2016 -
Title: "System and Method for Automatically Optimizing Wireless Power"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Wang, Bingnan; Teo, Koon Hoo; Duan, Chunjie; Barnwell, III, John C.; Burns, Dan J.
Patent No.: 9,281,875
Issue Date: Mar 8, 2016 -
Title: "Cabling Configuration for Railless Elevators"
Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Katz, Joseph
Patent No.: 8,978,831
Issue Date: Mar 17, 2015 -
Title: "System and Method for Calibrating Laser Cutting Machines"
Inventors: Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 8,938,317
Issue Date: Jan 20, 2015 -
Title: "Laser Cutting Machine"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Goldsmith, Abraham M.
Patent No.: 8,921,734
Issue Date: Dec 30, 2014 -
Title: "System and Method for Optimizing Machining Simulation"
Inventors: Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 8,483,858
Issue Date: Jul 9, 2013 -
Title: "Wireless Energy Transfer to Moving Devices"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Vish, Iyer; Huang, Da; Duan, Chunjie; Teo, Koon Hoo
Patent No.: 8,384,247
Issue Date: Feb 26, 2013 -
Title: "Memory-Based High-Speed Interferometer"
Inventors: Brinkman, Dirk; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,990,542
Issue Date: Aug 2, 2011 -
Title: "Optical Fluid Level Encoder"
Inventors: Brinkman, Dirk; Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.; Reynolds, David C.; Westhues, Jonathan
Patent No.: 7,535,571
Issue Date: May 19, 2009 -
Title: "Fuel-Cell Actuated Mechanical Device"
Inventors: Shepherd, Roderick L.; Yerazunis, William S.; Lau, King-Tong
Patent No.: 7,409,830
Issue Date: Aug 12, 2008 -
Title: "Fast Switching Camera Aperture"
Inventors: Matusik, Wojciech; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,367,723
Issue Date: May 6, 2008 -
Title: "Low Bandwidth Zero Knowledge Authentication Protocol and Device"
Inventors: Sundaram, Ravi; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,245,718
Issue Date: Jul 17, 2007 -
Title: "Multi-Way LED-Based Surface Reflectance Sensor and Spectrophotometer"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,170,606
Issue Date: Jan 30, 2007 -
Title: "Privacy Enhanced Display Device"
Inventors: Carbone, Marco S.; Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,164,779
Issue Date: Jan 16, 2007 -
Title: "Video Recording Device for a Targetable Weapon"
Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,158,167
Issue Date: Jan 2, 2007 -
Title: "Video Recording Device Responsive to Triggering Event"
Inventors: Hiatt, Wally; Freeman, William T.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,088,387
Issue Date: Aug 8, 2006 -
Title: "Communication Using Bi-Directional LEDs"
Inventors: Vannucci, Giovanni; Dietz, Paul H.; Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
Patent No.: 7,072,587
Issue Date: Jul 4, 2006 -
Title: "DATA STORAGE WITH OVERWRITE"
Inventors: Freeman, William T.; Hiatt, Wally; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 7,012,632
Issue Date: Mar 14, 2006 -
Title: "Multi-Way LED-Based Chemochromic Sensor"
Inventors: Dietz, Paul H.; Yerazunis, William S.; Diamond, Dermot
Patent No.: 7,008,795
Issue Date: Mar 7, 2006 -
Title: "Electronic Display with Compensation for Shaking"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
Patent No.: 6,906,754
Issue Date: Jun 14, 2005 -
Title: "LED with Controlled Capacitive Discharge For Photo Sensing"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.; Migdal, Joshua N.
Patent No.: 6,870,148
Issue Date: Mar 22, 2005 -
Title: "Real-Time Audio Buffering for Telephone Handsets"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.
Patent No.: 6,771,768
Issue Date: Aug 3, 2004 -
Title: "Security-Enhanced Display Device"
Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 6,650,306
Issue Date: Nov 18, 2003 -
Title: "Accessory Adapted for Digital Personal Assistant"
Inventors: Carlson, Andrew H.; Wickman, Curtis A.; Yerazunis, William S.; Bajracharya, Max P.
Patent No.: 6,600,657
Issue Date: Jul 29, 2003 -
Title: "Land and Water Based Flash Flood Detection and Warning System"
Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: 6,558,216
Issue Date: May 6, 2003 -
Title: "Hyper-Dimensional Datascope"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Walterman, Michael
Patent No.: 6,492,988
Issue Date: Dec 10, 2002 -
Title: "Digital Personal Assistant Docking Station Camera"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
Patent No.: 6,477,588
Issue Date: Nov 5, 2002 -
Title: "Clip-on Accessory for Personal Digital Assistant"
Inventors: Carlson, Andrew H.; Yerazunis, William S.
Patent No.: D427,602
Issue Date: Jul 4, 2000 -
Title: "Method for Smooth Motion in a Distributed Virtual Reality Environment"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Waters, Richard C.
Patent No.: 5,793,382
Issue Date: Aug 11, 1998
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Title: "Contactless Elevator Service for an Elevator Based on Augmented Datasets"