Dr Joel Ferguson
Lecturer
School of Engineering
- Email:joel.ferguson@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 7848
Career Summary
Biography
Dr Joel Ferguson is a lecturer in mechatronics within the School of Engineering. He received his bachelor's degree in mechatronic engineering and PhD in nonlinear control theory from the University of Newcastle in 2013 and 2018, respectively.
Throughout his time at the university, Joel has been engaged with local industry, providing consultancy on automation projects within the coal, rail and defence industries. This has provided a wealth of experience in all areas of automation, including control, estimation and object recognition.
Joel's research interests are centred around developing energy-based methods for modelling and nonlinear control. This is primarily done within the port-Hamiltonian framework where he is developing methods of controlling physical systems that are robust against parametric uncertainty. His thesis, which was based on this topic, explored methods for applying integral action to pH systems, achieving exponential stability of mechanical systems and set-point regulation of nonholonomic systems with drift.
Research interests:
- Port-Hamiltonian systems
- Nonlinear control
- Field robotics
Teaching:
Joel currently teaches into the 3rd year of the mechatronics program.
- MCHA3400 (Embedded systems engineers)
- MCHA3500 (Mechatronics design 1)
Administration:
Since March 2020, Joel has been the industrial experience coordinator for the mechanical, mechatronics and aerospace engineering programs.
Qualifications
- PhD, University of Newcastle
- Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics), University of Newcastle
Keywords
- control theory
- nonholonomic systems
- port-Hamiltonian systems
- robotics
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 400705 | Control engineering | 60 |
| 400706 | Field robotics | 20 |
| 400711 | Simulation, modelling, and programming of mechatronics systems | 20 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
| Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|
| Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Engineering Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (7 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |
Ferguson J, Cucuzzella M, Scherpen JMA, 'Exponential Stability and Local ISS for DC Networks', IEEE Control Systems Letters, 5 893-898 (2021) [C1]
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| 2021 |
Fujimoto K, Sakata N, Maruta I, Ferguson J, 'A Passivity Based Sliding Mode Controller for Simple Port-Hamiltonian Systems', IEEE Control Systems Letters, 5 839-844 (2021) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Del-Rio-Rivera F, Ramirez-Rivera VM, Donaire A, Ferguson J, 'Robust Trajectory Tracking Control for Fully Actuated Marine Surface Vehicle', IEEE ACCESS, 8 223897-223904 (2020) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Ortega R, Middleton RH, 'Matched Disturbance Rejection for a Class of Nonlinear Systems', IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 65 1710-1715 (2020) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Ferguson J, Wu D, Ortega R, 'On Matched Disturbance Suppression for Port-Hamiltonian Systems', IEEE Control Systems Letters, 4 892-897 (2020) [C1]
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| 2019 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Middleton RH, 'Kinetic-Potential Energy Shaping for Mechanical Systems With Applications to Tracking', IEEE Control Systems Letters, 3 960-965 (2019) [C1]
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| 2017 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Middleton RH, 'Integral Control of Port-Hamiltonian Systems: Nonpassive Outputs Without Coordinate Transformation', IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUTOMATIC CONTROL, 62 5947-5953 (2017) [C1]
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Conference (9 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |
Ferguson J, Shima R, Fujimoto K, 'Path following via kinetic-potential energy shaping', Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (2020) In this paper we consider the problem of path following control for fully-actuated mechanical systems using the technique of kinetic-potential energy shaping (KPES). By using KPES... [more] In this paper we consider the problem of path following control for fully-actuated mechanical systems using the technique of kinetic-potential energy shaping (KPES). By using KPES, damping is injected into the position error coordinates of the closed-loop systems, resulting in exponential convergence to the desired path. It is shown that the technique can be interpreted as a generalised canonical transformation and the results are demonstrated on a simple mechanical system following a unit circle with a non-constant velocity.
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| 2018 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Ortega R, Middleton RH, 'Robust integral action of port-Hamiltonian systems', IFAC-PapersOnLine, Valparaíso, Chile (2018) [E1]
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| 2018 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Middleton RH, 'Discontinuous energy shaping control of the Chaplygin sleigh', IFAC-PapersOnLine, Valparaíso, Chile (2018) [E1]
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| 2018 |
Serra D, Ferguson J, Ruggiero F, Siniscalco A, Petit A, Lippiello V, Siciliano B, 'On the Experiments about the Nonprehensile Reconfiguration of a Rolling Sphere on a Plate', MED 2018 - 26th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, Zadar, Croatia (2018) [E1]
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| 2017 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Ortega R, Middleton RH, 'Matched disturbance rejection for energy-shaping controlled underactuated mechanical systems', 2017 IEEE 56TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON DECISION AND CONTROL (CDC), Melbourne, AUSTRALIA (2017) [E1]
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| 2017 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Knorn S, Middleton RH, 'Decentralized control for l(2) weak string stability of vehicle platoon', IFAC PAPERSONLINE, Toulouse, FRANCE (2017) [E1]
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| 2016 |
Ferguson J, Donaire A, Middleton RH, 'Switched Passivity Based Control of the Chaplygin Sleigh', IFAC-PapersOnLine (2016) [E1] In this paper, a switched controller for the Chaplygin Sleigh system based on passivity and energy shaping is presented. The Chaplygin sleigh cannot be asymptotically stabilised w... [more] In this paper, a switched controller for the Chaplygin Sleigh system based on passivity and energy shaping is presented. The Chaplygin sleigh cannot be asymptotically stabilised with a smooth control law, since Brockett's necessary conditions for smooth stabilisation is not satisfied. To asymptotically stabilise the origin, two potential energy shaping control laws are developed that render the system asymptotically stable to two equilibrium manifolds, which intersect at the origin. A switching strategy between the energy shaping controllers is derived that ensures the system converges to the intersection of the equilibrium manifolds.
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| 2015 |
Ferguson J, Middleton RH, Donaire A, 'Disturbance rejection via control by interconnection of port-Hamiltonian systems', 2015 54TH IEEE CONFERENCE ON DECISION AND CONTROL (CDC), Osaka, JAPAN (2015) [E1]
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Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 3 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $484,412 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20211 grants / $20,000
CESE Equipment and Infrastructure Investment Scheme$20,000
Funding body: College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle
| Funding body | College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Joel Ferguson, Doctor Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor Adrian Wills, Doctor Christopher Renton, Associate Professor Stephan Chalup |
| Scheme | Equipment and Infrastructure Investment Scheme |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2021 |
| Funding Finish | 2021 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
20202 grants / $464,412
Robotic rail isolation device$314,412
Funding body: Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation
| Funding body | Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Joel Ferguson, Professor Craig Wheeler, Associate Professor Adrian Wills, Doctor Michael Carr, Doctor Nathan Bartlett |
| Scheme | PF34 - Trackside Robotic Devices |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2020 |
| Funding Finish | 2021 |
| GNo | G1901599 |
| Type Of Funding | C2100 - Aust Commonwealth – Own Purpose |
| Category | 2100 |
| UON | Y |
Robo-Laser: A Novel System for Remediation of Marine Corrosion in Confined Spaces Within Naval Platforms Using Laser Carrying Spider Robots$150,000
Funding body: NSW Department of Industry
| Funding body | NSW Department of Industry |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Professor Behdad Moghtaderi, Doctor Jafar Zanganeh, Professor Robert Melchers, Associate Professor Adrian Wills, Doctor Joel Ferguson, Professor Assaad Masri, Dr Matthew Dunn, Dr Shima Taheri |
| Scheme | Defence Innovation Network Pilot Project |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2020 |
| Funding Finish | 2020 |
| GNo | G1901315 |
| Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
| Category | 2300 |
| UON | Y |
Dr Joel Ferguson
Position
Lecturer
School of Engineering
College of Engineering, Science and Environment
Contact Details
| joel.ferguson@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Phone | (02) 4921 7848 |
Office
| Room | ES432 |
|---|---|
| Building | ES |
| Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |
