DALLAS, TX – April 18, 2018 – Motus Labs, LLC a manufacturer of robotic drives, is excited to announce the addition of two highly regarded robotic engineers and professors from the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington. The Company is honored to have the advisors as part of the Motus founding team and as investors.
“Dr. Spong and Dr. Smith are prominent and highly respected experts in the field of robotics and automation,” said Jim Fontaine, executive chairman/co-founder at Motus Labs. “Their support truly validates our mission to revolutionize the actuator/drive technology for the robotic industry,” added Fontaine.
Dr. Mark Spong is currently a Professor and Past Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. His career has been focused on transforming robotics from fiction to fact. Mark’s work has been instrumental in establishing the theoretical foundations of robot control. He has produced innovative solutions in robotics that have become now-classic results in robotic control.
His record of achievement earned him the 2011 Pioneer in Robotics and Automation Award from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Robotics and Automation Society, that organization’s highest honor. Mark is past president of the IEEE Control Systems Society, a Fellow of the IEEE, and has served as editor in chief of the IEEE Transactions on Control System Technology. His other notable honors include the first IROS (Intelligent Robotics and Systems) Fumio Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies. Mark also directs the Laboratory for Autonomous Robotics and Systems (LARS) at UTD.
Mark began his academic career at Lehigh University and from 1982 to 1984 taught at Cornell University. Mark received his BA magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in mathematics and physics from Hiram College, his MS in mathematics from New Mexico State University, and an MS and Ph.D. in systems science and mathematics.
Dr. Jeff Smith is currently Adjunct Robotics Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and CEO of QuantumIOT, an Internet-of-Things Systems Integrator. As a scientist for Motorola, The Robotics Institute, and the SuperCollider, he has worked on wireless sensor and control systems developed for the FBI, CIA, DOD, DOE, NASA, and USPS – from autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles to particle accelerators.
Until 2016, Jeff served as Chief Strategy and Technical Officer and on the Board of Numerex (NASDAQ: NMRX). In 1993, Jeff co-founded and served as President and CEO of OnRamp Technologies (acquired by Verio). During Jeff’s tenure at Verio, the company grew to be one of the largest web-hosting companies in the world. NTT acquired Verio for $5.5B. Jeff has also had executive leadership positions, board membership, or co-founded technology companies including MSensorLogic, Winning Habits, VIA, Vericenter, and Vaultnet. Jeff is a Distinguished Alumni at UTA and serves on the Development Board at UTA and Advisory Board at the UTA College of Engineering. He is a member of IEEE, Tau Beta Pi, Upsilon Pi Epsilon, EO, and YPO. Jeff has a BS in Engineering from Trinity University and an MS and Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington.