William S. Yerazunis

William S. Yerazunis
  • Biography

    Bill has worked in numerous fields, including parallel computation, SETI, jet engine production, real-time signal processing, expert systems, pattern recognition, text classification, wireless power, and meta-materials. He is the author of the CRM114 spam filter, has appeared as a continuing character in educational science television, and was voted one of the 50 most important people in computer network security by Network World magazine.

  • Recent News & Events

    •  NEWS    MERL work on 3D Printing in Orbit featured in IEEE Spectrum
      Date: June 3, 2022
      Where: IEEE Spectrum
      MERL Contacts: Avishai Weiss; William S. Yerazunis
      Research Areas: Applied Physics, Communications, Robotics
      Brief
      • MERL's research on on-orbit manufacturing was recently featured in an IEEE Spectrum article. The article, titled How Satellites Will 3D Print Their Own Antennas in Space gives an overview of MERL's efforts towards developing a system that construct spacecraft parts in their natural environment-- that is, in space. The technology, called OOM for On-Orbit Manufacturing, provides a way to manufacture not just antenna dishes, but general freeform sturctures on orbit and in a vacuum, using an solar-hardened resin based approach. This technology includes both a special high performance liquid resin, as well as a 3D freeform printer capable of building objects far larger than the as-launched satellite.

        An important aspect of the special resin is that all components have extremely low vapor pressures and do not boil away even in a vacuum. When exposed to solar ultraviolet, the resin hardens by polymerization crosslinking, forming a tough, rigid solid in a few seconds of exposure. No separate UV source is needed, making the entire process very energy efficient. Additionally, the crosslinking resin is heat resistant, and is unaffected to at least 400 degrees C. The 3D printer needed to print the resin is unlike common liquid-resin SLA printers- there is no vat of liquid resin, instead a shielded nozzle delivers the liquid resin directly to where the resin is needed. The result is the ability to construct large and very large structures, not just parabolic dishes, but also solar panel supports and structural trusswork, while in orbit. The system could even construct parts that were unanticipated during mission design and launch.

        MERL's On-Orbit Manufacturing Technology had previously been featured in a Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Press Release and was recently on display at a recent press exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.

        IEEE Spectrum is the flagship magazine and website of the IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and the applied sciences. IEEE Spectrum has a circulation of over 400,000 engineers worldwide, making it one of the leading science and engineering magazines.
    •  
    •  NEWS    MERL's On-Orbit 3D Printing Technology Featured in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Press Release
      Date: May 17, 2022
      Where: Tokyo, Japan
      MERL Contacts: Avishai Weiss; William S. Yerazunis
      Research Areas: Applied Physics, Communications
      Brief
      • Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that the company has developed an on-orbit additive-manufacturing technology that uses photosensitive resin and solar ultraviolet light for the freeform printing of satellite antennas in the vacuum of outer space.

        The novel technology makes use of a newly developed liquid resin that was custom formulated for stability in vacuum. The resin enables structures to be fabricated in space using a low-power process that utilizes the sun’s ultraviolet rays for photopolymerization. The technology specifically addresses the challenge of equipping small, inexpensive spacecraft buses with large structures, such as high-gain antenna reflectors, and enables on-orbit fabrication of structures that greatly exceed the dimensions of launch vehicle fairings. Resin-based on-orbit manufacturing is expected to enable spacecraft structures to be made thinner and lighter than conventional designs, which must survive the stresses of launch and orbital insertion, thereby reducing both total satellite weight and launch costs.

        Mitsubishi Electric’s resin-based on-orbit manufacturing enables small satellites to have large satellite capability, which reduces launch costs and allows for satellite technology to be used more than ever in applications such as communication and Earth observation. The technology is based on recent research by MERL's Control for Autonomy and Data Analytics groups.

        Links:

        Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Press Release
        SatMagazine: UV In The Sky With Resin: A novel, on-orbit manufacturing technique

    •  

    See All News & Events for Bill
  • Awards

    •  AWARD    Mitsubishi Electric US Receives a 2022 CES Innovation Award for Touchless Elevator Control Jointly Developed with MERL
      Date: November 17, 2021
      Awarded to: Elevators and Escalators Division of Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc.
      MERL Contacts: Daniel N. Nikovski; William S. Yerazunis
      Research Areas: Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Signal Processing
      Brief
      • The Elevators and Escalators Division of Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc. has been recognized as a 2022 CES® Innovation Awards honoree for its new PureRide™ Touchless Control for elevators, jointly developed with MERL. Sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the CES Innovation Awards is the largest and most influential technology event in the world. PureRide™ Touchless Control provides a simple, no-touch product that enables users to call an elevator and designate a destination floor by placing a hand or finger over a sensor. MERL initiated the development of PureRide™ in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic by proposing the use of infra-red sensors for operating elevator call buttons, and participated actively in its rapid implementation and commercialization, resulting in a first customer installation in October of 2020.
    •  
    •  AWARD    DEIM 2010 Best Paper Award
      Date: February 1, 2010
      Awarded to: Hideya Shibata, Mamoru Kato, Mitsunori Kori and William Yerazunis
      Awarded for: "An Automatic Training Data Collection Method for Confidential E-mail Detection"
      Awarded by: The Forum on Data Engineering and Information Management (DEIM)
      MERL Contact: William S. Yerazunis
      Research Area: Data Analytics
    •  
    See All Awards for MERL
  • MERL Publications

    •  Kong, C., Yerazunis, W.S., Nikovski, D., "Stochastic Learning Manipulation of Object Pose With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays", International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA), DOI: 10.1109/​ICMLA58977.2023.00024, December 2023, pp. 112-119.
      BibTeX TR2023-151 PDF
      • @inproceedings{Kong2023dec,
      • author = {Kong, Chuizheng and Yerazunis, William S. and Nikovski, Daniel},
      • title = {Stochastic Learning Manipulation of Object Pose With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays},
      • booktitle = {International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA)},
      • year = 2023,
      • pages = {112--119},
      • month = dec,
      • doi = {10.1109/ICMLA58977.2023.00024},
      • url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-151}
      • }
    •  Nikovski, D., Yerazunis, W.S., Goldsmith, A., "Model-Based Learning Controller Design for a Furuta Pendulum", 9th International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT), DOI: 10.1109/​CoDIT58514.2023.10284465, July 2023, pp. 764-767.
      BibTeX TR2023-080 PDF
      • @inproceedings{Nikovski2023jul,
      • author = {Nikovski, Daniel and Yerazunis, William S. and Goldsmith, Abraham},
      • title = {Model-Based Learning Controller Design for a Furuta Pendulum},
      • booktitle = {9th International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT)},
      • year = 2023,
      • pages = {764--767},
      • month = jul,
      • doi = {10.1109/CoDIT58514.2023.10284465},
      • url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-080}
      • }
    •  Jha, D.K., Romeres, D., Jain, S., Yerazunis, W.S., Nikovski, D., "Design of Adaptive Compliance Controllers for Safe Robotic Assembly", European Control Conference (ECC), DOI: 10.23919/​ECC57647.2023.10178229, June 2023.
      BibTeX TR2023-070 PDF
      • @inproceedings{Jha2023jun,
      • author = {Jha, Devesh K. and Romeres, Diego and Jain, Siddarth and Yerazunis, William S. and Nikovski, Daniel},
      • title = {Design of Adaptive Compliance Controllers for Safe Robotic Assembly},
      • booktitle = {European Control Conference (ECC)},
      • year = 2023,
      • month = jun,
      • doi = {10.23919/ECC57647.2023.10178229},
      • url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-070}
      • }
    •  Jha, D.K., Jain, S., Romeres, D., Yerazunis, W.S., Nikovski, D., "Generalizable Human-Robot Collaborative Assembly Using Imitation Learning and Force Control", European Control Conference (ECC), DOI: 10.23919/​ECC57647.2023.10178330, May 2023, pp. 1-8.
      BibTeX TR2023-065 PDF
      • @inproceedings{Jha2023may,
      • author = {Jha, Devesh K. and Jain, Siddarth and Romeres, Diego and Yerazunis, William S. and Nikovski, Daniel},
      • title = {Generalizable Human-Robot Collaborative Assembly Using Imitation Learning and Force Control},
      • booktitle = {European Control Conference (ECC)},
      • year = 2023,
      • pages = {1--8},
      • month = may,
      • doi = {10.23919/ECC57647.2023.10178330},
      • url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-065}
      • }
    •  Kong, C., Yerazunis, W.S., Nikovski, D., "Learning Object Manipulation With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays", American Control Conference (ACC), DOI: 10.23919/​ACC55779.2023.10156322, May 2023, pp. 710-717.
      BibTeX TR2023-053 PDF
      • @inproceedings{Kong2023may,
      • author = {Kong, Chuizheng and Yerazunis, William S. and Nikovski, Daniel},
      • title = {Learning Object Manipulation With Under-Actuated Impulse Generator Arrays},
      • booktitle = {American Control Conference (ACC)},
      • year = 2023,
      • pages = {710--717},
      • month = may,
      • doi = {10.23919/ACC55779.2023.10156322},
      • url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-053}
      • }
    See All MERL Publications for Bill
  • Videos

  • MERL Issued Patents

    • Title: "Soft Robotic Tentacle Gripper"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Solomon, Erin; McAleenan, James
      Patent No.: 11,685,058
      Issue Date: Jun 27, 2023
    • Title: "System and Method for Robotic Assembly Based on Adaptive Compliance"
      Inventors: Nikovski, Daniel N.; Romeres, Diego; Jha, Devesh; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 11,673,264
      Issue Date: Jun 13, 2023
    • Title: "Multi-Tentacular Soft Robotic Grippers"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Solomon, Erin
      Patent No.: 11,565,406
      Issue Date: Jan 31, 2023
    • Title: "Elastomeric Tactile Sensor"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Jordan, Scott
      Patent No.: 11,548,165
      Issue Date: Jan 10, 2023
    • Title: "Method and system for touchless elevator control"
      Inventors: Nikovski, Daniel N.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 11,518,646
      Issue Date: Dec 6, 2022
    • Title: "Tactile Sensor"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Jordan, Scott
      Patent No.: 11,472,040
      Issue Date: Oct 18, 2022
    • Title: "On-Orbit Additive Manufacturing of Parabolic Reflectors via Solar Photopolymerization"
      Inventors: Weiss, Avishai; Yerazunis, William S.; Cottrell, Richard
      Patent No.: 11,155,723
      Issue Date: Oct 26, 2021
    • Title: "Dexterous Gripper for Robotic End-Effector Applications"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Ainampudi, Parthasarathi; Gopalan, Nakul
      Patent No.: 11,104,008
      Issue Date: Aug 31, 2021
    • Title: "System and Method for Depositing a Metal to form a Three-Dimensional Part"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Vetterling, William
      Patent No.: 10,994,371
      Issue Date: May 4, 2021
    • Title: "Systems and Methods for On-Orbit Fabrication of Structures by 3D Printing"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Weiss, Avishai; Wang, Bingnan
      Patent No.: 10,906,290
      Issue Date: Feb 2, 2021
    • Title: "Method and Apparatus for Printing 3D Objects Using Additive Manufacturing and Material Extruder with Translational and Rotational Axes"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Katz, Joseph; Brinkman, Dirk
      Patent No.: 10,350,874
      Issue Date: Jul 16, 2019
    • Title: "Artificial Magnetic Structures for Wireless Power Transfer"
      Inventors: Wang, Bingnan; Yerazunis, William S.; Teo, Koon Hoo
      Patent No.: 9,842,685
      Issue Date: Dec 12, 2017
    • Title: "System and Method for Calibrating Laser Processing Machines"
      Inventors: Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.
      Patent No.: 9,718,146
      Issue Date: Aug 1, 2017
    • Title: "Flat-Panel Acoustic Apparatus"
      Inventors: Le Roux, Jonathan; Hershey, John R.; Yerazunis, William S.; Boufounos, Petros T.; Daudet, Laurent
      Patent No.: 9,661,414
      Issue Date: May 23, 2017
    • Title: "Method and Apparatus for Printing 3D Objects Using Additive Manufacturing and Material Extruder with Translational and Rotational Axes"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.; Katz, Joseph; Brinkman, Dirk
      Patent No.: 9,481,131
      Issue Date: Nov 1, 2016
    • Title: "System and Method for Automatically Optimizing Wireless Power"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Wang, Bingnan; Teo, Koon Hoo; Duan, Chunjie; Barnwell, III, John C.; Burns, Dan J
      Patent No.: 9,281,875
      Issue Date: Mar 8, 2016
    • Title: "Cabling Configuration for Railless Elevators"
      Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Katz, Joseph
      Patent No.: 8,978,831
      Issue Date: Mar 17, 2015
    • Title: "System and Method for Calibrating Laser Cutting Machines"
      Inventors: Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 8,938,317
      Issue Date: Jan 20, 2015
    • Title: "Laser Cutting Machine"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Goldsmith, Abraham M.
      Patent No.: 8,921,734
      Issue Date: Dec 30, 2014
    • Title: "System and Method for Optimizing Machining Simulation"
      Inventors: Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 8,483,858
      Issue Date: Jul 9, 2013
    • Title: "Wireless Energy Transfer to Moving Devices"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Vish, Iyer; Huang, Da; Duan, Chunjie; Teo, Koon Hoo
      Patent No.: 8,384,247
      Issue Date: Feb 26, 2013
    • Title: "Memory-Based High-Speed Interferometer"
      Inventors: Brinkman, Dirk; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,990,542
      Issue Date: Aug 2, 2011
    • Title: "Optical Fluid Level Encoder"
      Inventors: Brinkman, Dirk; Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.; Reynolds, David C.; Westhues, Jonathan
      Patent No.: 7,535,571
      Issue Date: May 19, 2009
    • Title: "Fuel-Cell Actuated Mechanical Device"
      Inventors: Shepherd, Roderick L.; Yerazunis, William S.; Lau, King-Tong
      Patent No.: 7,409,830
      Issue Date: Aug 12, 2008
    • Title: "Fast Switching Camera Aperture"
      Inventors: Matusik, Wojciech; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,367,723
      Issue Date: May 6, 2008
    • Title: "Low Bandwidth Zero Knowledge Authentication Protocol and Device"
      Inventors: Sundaram, Ravi; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,245,718
      Issue Date: Jul 17, 2007
    • Title: "Multi-Way LED-Based Surface Reflectance Sensor and Spectrophotometer"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,170,606
      Issue Date: Jan 30, 2007
    • Title: "Privacy Enhanced Display Device"
      Inventors: Carbone, Marco S.; Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,164,779
      Issue Date: Jan 16, 2007
    • Title: "Video Recording Device for a Targetable Weapon"
      Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,158,167
      Issue Date: Jan 2, 2007
    • Title: "Video Recording Device Responsive to Triggering Event"
      Inventors: Hiatt, Wally; Freeman, William T.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,088,387
      Issue Date: Aug 8, 2006
    • Title: "Communication Using Bi-Directional LEDs"
      Inventors: Vannucci, Giovanni; Dietz, Paul H.; Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
      Patent No.: 7,072,587
      Issue Date: Jul 4, 2006
    • Title: "DATA STORAGE WITH OVERWRITE"
      Inventors: Freeman, William T.; Hiatt, Wally; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 7,012,632
      Issue Date: Mar 14, 2006
    • Title: "Multi-Way LED-Based Chemochromic Sensor"
      Inventors: Dietz, Paul H.; Yerazunis, William S.; Diamond, Dermot
      Patent No.: 7,008,795
      Issue Date: Mar 7, 2006
    • Title: "Electronic Display with Compensation for Shaking"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
      Patent No.: 6,906,754
      Issue Date: Jun 14, 2005
    • Title: "LED with Controlled Capacitive Discharge For Photo Sensing"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.; Migdal, Joshua N.
      Patent No.: 6,870,148
      Issue Date: Mar 22, 2005
    • Title: "Real-Time Audio Buffering for Telephone Handsets"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Dietz, Paul H.
      Patent No.: 6,771,768
      Issue Date: Aug 3, 2004
    • Title: "Security-Enhanced Display Device"
      Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 6,650,306
      Issue Date: Nov 18, 2003
    • Title: "Accessory Adapted for Digital Personal Assistant"
      Inventors: Carlson, Andrew H.; Wickman, Curtis A.; Yerazunis, William S.; Bajracharya, Max P.
      Patent No.: 6,600,657
      Issue Date: Jul 29, 2003
    • Title: "Land and Water Based Flash Flood Detection and Warning System"
      Inventors: Leigh, Darren L.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: 6,558,216
      Issue Date: May 6, 2003
    • Title: "Hyper-Dimensional Datascope"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Walterman, Michael
      Patent No.: 6,492,988
      Issue Date: Dec 10, 2002
    • Title: "Digital Personal Assistant Docking Station Camera"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Leigh, Darren L.
      Patent No.: 6,477,588
      Issue Date: Nov 5, 2002
    • Title: "Clip-on Accessory for Personal Digital Assistant"
      Inventors: Carlson, Andrew H.; Yerazunis, William S.
      Patent No.: D427,602
      Issue Date: Jul 4, 2000
    • Title: "Method for Smooth Motion in a Distributed Virtual Reality Environment"
      Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Waters, Richard C.
      Patent No.: 5,793,382
      Issue Date: Aug 11, 1998
    See All Patents for MERL