Ph.D. Thesis Defense in Electrical Engineering

On Thursday, March 9, 2017, a Ph.D. thesis defense was conducted for Mr. Firas Rasool Mehdi at the Electrical Engineering Department’s Al-Furat Hall. The thesis, titled “Implementation of Intelligent Control System Based on Robotics Using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA),” earned Mr. Mehdi a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering.

The examining committee included:

1. Prof. Dr. Nasr Nafeh Khamis (Chair)
2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Hamza Al-Mufriji (Member)
3. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuzhat Saeed Abdul-Razzaq (Member)
4. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alaa Hussein Ali (Member)
5. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Zaki Abdullah (Member)
6. Prof. Dr. Hanan Abdul-Ridha Akkar (Supervisor and Member)

The researcher developed a novel optimization algorithm inspired by the reproduction and growth of herbaceous plants, termed the Grass-Root Optimization Algorithm. This algorithm was integrated with artificial neural networks to train adaptive robotic systems for trajectory tracking. A dynamic and kinematic controller was proposed and successfully implemented using the Spartan-3A DSP 3400A FPGA device. Experimental results demonstrated improved efficiency compared to other widely used algorithms.

The thesis was accepted, and Mr. Mehdi was awarded a Ph.D. with distinction.