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About

About

Luis Rocha received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering University of Porto in 2014. He has been a researcher at INESC TEC since 2010, and he currently oversees the industrial manipulator research area at the Center for Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems (CRIIS). Member of the iilab executive committee (Industry and Innovation Lab of INESC TEC), in charge of the lab's infrastructure. Supervisor of several Master's and PhD theses. He has over 50 publications in international scientific journals and conference proceedings, and he is now an Associate Editor for the Industrial Robot Journal. His primary research interests include developing agile and human-centered industrial robotic systems, as well as investigating novel human-robot interaction solutions, robot programming procedures, and advanced perception and manipulation systems. He led the INESC team on a number of national and European R&D projects. Luís has 5 years of experience as an entrepreneur (robotics startup).

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Details

Details

  • Name

    Luís Freitas Rocha
  • Role

    Centre Coordinator
  • Since

    01st September 2010
058
Publications

2026

Active learning for industrial defect detection: a study on hybrid sampling strategies

Authors
Gonzalez, DG; Nascimento, R; Rocha, CD; Silva, MF; Filipe, V; Rocha, LF; Magalhaes, LG; Cunha, A;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
In modern industrial environments, ensuring the quality of manufactured components is critical, particularly when dealing with reflective surfaces that hinder conventional inspection techniques. Although deep learning-based methods offer robust solutions for visual defect detection, their performance often hinges on the availability of substantial annotated datasets. In industrial scenarios, labeling such datasets is costly and time-consuming. This study investigates applying sample selection techniques to reduce annotation efforts for porosity detection on machined aluminium parts. Several selection strategies were evaluated using a real-world dataset composed of high-resolution images, including uncertainty, diversity, random-based criteria, and hybrid combinations. The best-performing strategy, which combined entropy-based uncertainty, spatial diversity, and random-based, achieved an F1-score of 86.70% and a recall of 82.99% after ten iterations using only 2,400 annotated images, corresponding to 66.67% of the active learning pool. Although the fully supervised model achieved an F1-score of 88.84% and a recall of 86.30%, the proposed approach proved a competitive alternative. These results demonstrate that selective data annotation can significantly reduce labeling effort while maintaining reliable performance in defect detection, even under the challenging conditions posed by reflective industrial parts.

2026

A review of visual perception for robotic bin-picking

Authors
Cordeiro, A; Rocha, LF; Boaventura-Cunha, J; Figueiredo, D; Souza, JP;

Publication
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Abstract
Robotic bin-picking is a critical operation in modern industry, which is characterised by the detection, selection, and placement of items from a disordered and cluttered environment, which can be boundary limited or not, e.g. bins, boxes or containers. In this context, perception systems are employed to localise, detect and estimate grasping points. Despite the considerable progress made, from analytical approaches to recent deep learning methods, challenges still remain. This is evidenced by the growing innovation proposing distinct solutions. This paper aims to review perception methodologies developed since 2009, providing detailed descriptions and discussions of their implementation. Additionally, it presents an extensive study, detailing each work, along with a comprehensive overview of the advancements in bin-picking perception.

2026

Augmented Reality and Deep Learning-Based Framework for Defect Detection in Reflective Parts

Authors
Nascimento, RC; Martins, JG; Gonzalez, DG; Silva, MF; Filipe, V; Petry, MR; Rocha, LF;

Publication
ICARA

Abstract
Inspecting reflective parts is challenging due to strong specular reflections that conceal small porosities and reduce defect visibility. This work presents a framework that combines augmented reality with a deep learning detector. An augmented reality headset is used to capture multi-view images under natural illumination, enabling the operator to adjust the viewpoint and obtain angles that reduce glare. The collected data form a 640 × 480 dataset used to train a yolov8 detection model, integrated into a Robot Operating System 2 architecture for real-time processing. Testing on an independent set of unseen parts yields a precision of 86.70 %, a recall of 87.26 %, and an F1-score of 86.97 %. Additional qualitative examples confirm that the model can identify low-contrast porosities despite reflective surfaces. The results demonstrate the feasibility of AR-assisted acquisition combined with deep learning for real-time inspection of machined aluminum components in a laboratory case study. © 2026 IEEE.

2026

Intelligent and Automated Technologies for Textile Recycling Pre-Processing: A Systematic Literature Review

Authors
Lopes, D; Pires, EJS; Filipe, V; Silva, MF; Rocha, LF;

Publication
TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract
Textile-to-textile recycling is strongly constrained by upstream pre-processing, where post-consumer clothing must be identified, separated, and prepared under high variability in materials, appearance, and contamination. This paper presents a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-guided systematic literature review of intelligent and automated technologies for textile recycling pre-processing covering the interval between 2015 to 2025. After screening and quality assessment, 21 primary studies published between 2020 and 2025 were included. The literature is synthesized across three task families: (i) identificationof fiber/material, composition, or color; (ii) sorting, considered only when explicit separation strategies are defined to operationalize identification outcomes into routing actions or output streams; and (iii) contaminant detection and/or removal, targeting non-recyclable items. Results show that identification dominates the field (19/21 studies), supported by Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and red-green-blue plus depth (RGB-D) imaging and material-signature sensing, including near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging (HSI), and Raman spectroscopy. In contrast, sorting as a defined separation stage is less frequent (4/21), and contaminant-related automation remains sparse (3/21). Most studies are validated in laboratory conditions, with limited semi-industrial evidence, highlighting a persistent perception-to-action gap. Overall, the review indicates that robust separation strategies, representative datasets, and end-to-end system integration remain key bottlenecks for scalable automated textile recycling pre-processing.

2026

Mimic Grasping: A Modular and Flexible Programming-by-Demonstration Robotic Grasping Solution

Authors
de Souza, JPC; Rocha, LF; Moreira, AP; Boaventura Cunha, J;

Publication
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS

Abstract
The Industry 5.0 concept guides the industry to the premise of sustainability, resilience and human-centric solutions. The last related pillar tries to create solutions to empower the people in production line processes since solutions should be designed to be easy to use and easy to learn without discarding the working people. In this regard, it's natural that robots become closer to humans in industrial applications where it is possible to absorb human-machine qualities. Robotic grasping has widespread application with a wide range of applicability. However, engineers and shop-floor operators spend time finding a fast response solution when the production demand changes. Aiming to create a tool to help this procedure in a human-centred fashion, the current paper proposes a programming-by-demonstration solution that is easy to use, reuse, adapt, and increment with its modular design.