Jane Jean Kiam promoted
12 December 2019
Jane Jean Kiam, MSc, is a doctor of engineering. And with what a brilliant colloquium: clear case, summa cum laude! The trained electrical engineer (Brest and Munich) has been working for a good four years on artificial intelligence (AI) for planning so-called HAPS missions. HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellite) are ultra-light, unmanned high-altitude aircraft which are used, for example, to obtain geoinformation and for communication. Thanks to their sustainable solar propulsion, they can remain in service for days or weeks. Automated mission planning that takes wind and weather into account is ideal for optimizing performance. The title of the thesis is "AI-Based Mission Planning for High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites in Time-Varying Environments". In addition to PDDL planners, genetic algorithms are also used for multi-vehicle planning.
The photo shows (from left to right) the newly graduated Dr. Kiam, the chairman of the commission, Prof. Gerdts, and the extremely satisfied PhD supervisor Prof. Axel Schulte being congratulated by the institute staff. The second report was given by Prof. Eva Besada Portas from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
The evening celebration, how could it be otherwise, will take place in a very, very authentic Asian restaurant.