Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN, HQ: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Toru Nishikawa) agreed with Pieter Abbeel (Professor at University of California, Berkeley, and Research Scientist at OpenAI) that he will be appointed as a technical advisor at PFN as of August 1st, 2017.

Professor Abbeel is a pioneer in machine learning based optimization and automation in robotics. He has published many research papers on robot control using deep reinforcement learning. Recently he joined OpenAI, a non-profit AI research company as research scientist.

In this appointment as a technical advisor, Professor Abbeel will give technical advice and guidance on cutting-edge deep learning to robotics research in PFN, aiming to accelerate the development and practical use of PFN’s technology. 

For more information, please refer to the research blog: https://preferredresearch.jp/2017/07/22/abbeel/

Pieter Abbeel

• Biography

  He received a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering from KU Leuven (Belgium) and received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2008. He joined the faculty at UC Berkeley in Fall 2008, with an appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. His research focuses on robotics, machine learning and control. Professor Abbeel has won various awards, including IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career Award, Sloan Research Fellowship. His work has been featured in many popular press outlets, including BBC, New York Times, and MIT Technical Review.