"False"
Skip to content
printicon
Main menu hidden.
Staff photo Thomas Hellström

Thomas Hellström

I do research on robotics and artificial intelligence, AI.

Research qualifications: Docent

Contact

Works at

Affiliation
Location
MIT-huset, Umeå universitet, MIT.E.227 Umeå universitet, 901 87 Umeå
Affiliation
Affiliated as professor at Centre for Transdiciplinary AI

Research 

I  lead the Intelligent Robotics group at the Department of Computing Science at Umeå University. The general research focuses on the use of AI for the development of robots for social and industrial applications. Our current main track of research is Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Between 2010 and 2014 I coordinated the EU project INTRO (FP7/ITN), with six international partners working on intelligent robots operating in close interaction with humans. In our lab, work focused on cognitive architectures and robot learning. Between 2016 and 2020 I coordinated SOCRATES, an H2020-financed project with seven international partners and 15 PhD students. The overall research topic was Social Robotics with applications in eldercare. In our group we developed solutions for understandability issues for robots, natural language solutions, and interaction in human-robot teams.  We applied deep learning techniques for object detection and natural language processing.

A second focus in the Intelligent Robotics Group is Field Robotics. We have done a lot of research on unmanned forest vehicles, such as autonomous navigation, simulator-based path planning, and simulation of system configurations. In the EU projects CROPS and SWEEPER, we worked on developing robots for sweet pepper harvesting, and on sensor solutions for the detection of humans, neural network classification of objects, and tree diameter estimation.

I have also published work on robot ethics, bias in machine learning, and occasionally contribute to the public debate on Artificial Intelligence.

Between 2014 and 2016, I lead a project in collaboration with CMTS, MT-FoU, and Umeå Stroke Center at the University Hospital of Umeå, Sweden. In this project, we developed an intelligent rollator, with improved usability for people with cognitive limitations, e.g. after a stroke.

In my earlier research, leading up to my PhD degree in 2001, I worked with machine learning for financial modeling and prediction. A complete description of my research profile has to include my industrial work with the development of nautical control systems. For several years I worked as a self-employed with the development of the Seapacer system, with advanced functions for propeller pitch optimization, route planning, and dynamic speed and fuel consumption control. Besides the engineering and commercial endeavor, I published a few scientific papers on the project.

Funding

 

  • 2023  3700 TSEK  ROCC - Vetenskapsrådet
  • 2022  3700 TSEK  SCAI - Vetenskapsrådet (co-applicant)
  • 2019  3470 KSEK  VINNOVA (co-applicant)
  • 2016  3875 K€      EC  SOCRATES  
  • 2014    200 KSEK  Promobilia
  • 2014    811 K€      EC SWEEPER
  • 2013  1900 KSEK  Kamprad foundation
  • 2011    200 KSEK  KSLA  (co-applicant)
  • 2010    782 K€      EC CROPS
  • 2010    100 KSEK  Innovationsbron
  • 2009  2083 K€      EC INTRO  
  • 2006    325 KSEK  Process-IT
  • 2005  4000 KSEK  Kempestiftelserna
  • 2004    177 KSEK  Carl Tryggers stiftelse
  • 2004    250 KSEK  Alvis Hägglunds
  • 2004    286 KSEK  LKAB
  • 2003    372 KSEK  VINNOVA
  • 2002  3000 KSEK  Kempestiftelserna

PhD student supervision

I was the main supervisor for

  • Michele Persiani - PhD degree September 2022
  • Ahmad Ostovar - PhD December 2019
  • Benjamin Fonooni - PhD January 2015
  • Mostafa Pordel - PhLic, May 2013
  • Ola Ringdahl - PhD May 2010 

I was co-supervisor for

  • Jussi Manner - PhD December 2015 (SLU, Umeå)
  • Efi Vitzrabin - PhD February 2015 (Ben Gurion University, Israel)
  • Erik Billing - PhD January 2012

Some presentations

Media

Ohh right, I am proud holder of an Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number≤ 13

Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, Frontiers Media S.A. 2024, Vol. 6
Hellström, Thomas
AI & Society: The Journal of Human-Centred Systems and Machine Intelligence, Springer 2024, Vol. 39 : 811-813
Hellström, Thomas; Bensch, Suna
WARN workshop at the 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, RO-MAN, Busan, Korea, August 28-31, 2023
Bensch, Suna; Sun, Jiangeng; Bandera Rubio, Juan Pedro; et al.
2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE 2023 : 1731-1736
Edström, Filip; Hellström, Thomas; de Luna, Xavier
Neural Computing & Applications, Springer 2023, Vol. 35, (23) : 16781-16790
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
Proceedings of Cultu-Ro 2022, Workshop on Cultural Influences in Human-Robot Interaction: Today and Tomorrow: 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (Ro-Man 22)
Bensch, Suna; Dignum, Frank; Hellström, Thomas
Explainable and transparent AI and multi-agent systems: 4th international workshop, EXTRAMAAS 2022, virtual event, may 9–10, 2022, revised selected papers, Springer Nature 2022 : 111-123
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
Advances in practical applications of agents, multi-agent systems, and complex systems simulation: the PAAMS collection, Springer 2022 : 332-344
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
Paladyn - Journal of Behavioral Robotics, De Gruyter Open 2021, Vol. 12, (1) : 238-255
Hellström, Thomas
Acta Informatica, Springer 2021, Vol. 58 : 243-261
Ostovar, Ahmad; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Social Good. The PAAMS Collection, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2021 : 188-200
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Frontiers Media S.A. 2021, Vol. 8
Rietz, Finn; Sutherland, Alexander; Bensch, Suna; et al.
Paladyn - Journal of Behavioral Robotics, De Gruyter Open 2021, Vol. 12, (1) : 47-57
Singh, Avinash; Baranwal, Neha; Richter, Kai-Florian; et al.
Journal of Field Robotics, John Wiley & Sons 2020, Vol. 37, (6) : 1027-1039
Arad, Boaz; Balendonck, Jos; Barth, Ruud; et al.
2020 29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE 2020 : 96-103
Bliek, Adna; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
2020 29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE 2020 : 96-103
Bliek, Adna; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
NeHuAI 2020 : First International Workshop on New Foundations for Human-Centered AI: Proceedings of the First International Workshop on New Foundations for Human-Centered AI (NeHuAI) co-located with 24th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2020), RWTH Aachen University 2020 : 3-10
Hellström, Thomas; Dignum, Virginia; Bensch, Suna
52nd International Symposium on Robotics, ISR 2020, VDE Verlag GmbH 2020 : 31-36
Persiani, Michele; Cagatay, Odabasi; Graf, Florenz; et al.
Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Trustworthiness: The PAAMS Collection, Springer 2020 : 212-223
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
Highlights in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Trust-worthiness: The PAAMS Collection, Springer Nature 2020 : 168-178
Singh, Avinash; Baranwal, Neha; Richter, Kai-Florian; et al.
Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Trustworthiness: The PAAMS Collection, Springer Nature 2020 : 439-442
Singh, Avinash; Baranwal, Neha; Richter, Kai-Florian; et al.
Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Learning – ICANN 2020 : 660-671
Sutherland, Alexander; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas; et al.
ICLLL 2020 : The 10th International Conference in Languages, Literature, and Linguistics, Japan, November 6-8, 2020
Tewari, Maitreyee; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas; et al.
2019 24th International Conference on Methods and Models in Automation and Robotics (MMAR), IEEE 2019 : 139-144
Baranwal, Neha; Singh, Avinash; Hellström, Thomas
Report / UMINF, 19.02
Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
Proceedings of the 22nd Nordic Conference on Computational Linguistics
Persiani, Michele; Hellström, Thomas
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR’19), Workshop Quality of Interaction in Socially Assistive Robots, Madrid, Spain, November 26-29, 2019
Singh, Avinash; Baranwal, Neha; Richter, Kai-Florian; et al.
Report / UMINF, 18.1
Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
Proceedings of Explainable Robotic Systems Workshop at HRI 2018, Chicago, USA, March 2018, 2018
Hellström, Thomas; Bensch, Suna
Paladyn - Journal of Behavioral Robotics, Warsaw, Poland: De Gruyter Open 2018, Vol. 9, (1) : 110-123
Hellström, Thomas; Bensch, Suna
Proceedings of Explainable Robotic Systems Workshop at HRI 2018, Chicago, USA, March 2018
Hellström, Thomas; Bensch, Suna
Robotics, MDPI 2018, Vol. 7, (1)
Ostovar, Ahmad; Ringdahl, Ola; Hellström, Thomas
Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Recognition and Action for Scene Understanding (REACTS2017), Málaga: REACTS 2017 : 71-83
Abedin, Md Reaz Ashraful; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
Report / UMINF, 17.1
Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, Setúbal: SciTePress 2017 : 182-189
Bensch, Suna; Jevtic, Aleksandar; Hellström, Thomas
UMINF, 16.02
Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
International Journal of Social Robotics, Dordrecht: Springer 2016, Vol. 8, (1) : 5-19
Fonooni, Benjamin; Thomas, Hellström; Janlert, Lars-Erik
Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, Taylor & Francis 2016, Vol. 40, (5) : 270-279
Hellström, Thomas; Lindahl, Olof; Bäcklund, Tomas; et al.
Image Analysis and Recognition (ICIAR 2016): 13th International Conference, ICIAR 2016, in Memory of Mohamed Kamel, Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, July 13-15, 2016, Proceedings : 175-182
Ostovar, Ahmad; Hellström, Thomas; Ringdahl, Ola
Proceedings of the 7th Workshop on Non-Classical Modelsof Automata and Applications (NCMA 2015), Austrian Computer Society 2015 : 73-90
Bensch, Suna; Drewes, Frank; Hellström, Thomas
Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures, Vol. 12 : 43-53
Billing, Erik; Hellström, Thomas; Janlert, Lars-Erik
Engineering & Technology Reference, Vol. 1, (1)
Bontsema, Jan; Hemming, Jochen; Pekkeriet, Erik; et al.
Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Elsevier 2015, Vol. 65 : 24-39
Fonooni, Benjamin; Jevtić, Aleksandar; Hellström, Thomas; et al.
Proceedings of the 30th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 2015 : 320-326
Fonooni, Benjamin; Thomas, Hellström
2015 IEEE international multi-disciplinary conference on cognitive methods in situation awareness and decision support (CogSIMA), IEEE 2015 : 35-41
Fonooni, Benjamin; Thomas, Hellström
Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering, Zagreb: University of Zagreb 2015, Vol. 36, (2) : 147-164
Lindroos, Ola; Ringdahl, Ola; Pedro, La Hera; et al.
Computers, Vol. 4, (2) : 142-154
Pordel, Mostafa; Hellström, Thomas
ICAI 2015: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence : 28-34
Sutherland, Alexander; Bensch, Suna; Hellström, Thomas
RHEA-2014 : 509-518
Barth, Ruud; Baur, Jörg; Buschmann, Thomas; et al.

Research groups

Research leader
Intelligent Robotics

Research projects

1 January 2023 until 31 December 2026
1 November 2016 until 30 October 2020
1 January 2015 until 31 December 2018
1 January 2014
1 October 2010 until 30 September 2014
1 January 2010 until 31 December 2013
1 January 2002 until 31 December 2011