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Prof. Isack E. Bulugu

Prof. Isack E. Bulugu

Associate Professor

Computer vision; human computer interaction; digital image processing; machine learning; sign language recognition Academic Staff Full Time

bulugu@udsm.ac.tz 0753228445

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Biography

Prof. Isack Emmanuel Bulugu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering, College of Information and Communication Technologies, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He has more than 15 years of experience in higher education, research, artificial intelligence, computer vision, robotics, and intelligent sensing systems. He holds a PhD in Information and Communication Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China, a Master’s degree in Signal and Information Processing from Tianjin University of Technology and Education, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Science and Communication from the University of Dar es Salaam. He also undertook postdoctoral research at Chongqing Technology and Business University, China. His research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, sign language and hand gesture recognition, robotics, and IoT. He has led and participated in multidisciplinary research projects and supervises postgraduate research at Master’s and PhD levels. His research has resulted in publications in international peer-reviewed journals, with applications spanning human–robot interaction, assistive technologies, medical image processing, intelligent systems, and AI-based solutions.

Education

PhD in Information and Communication Engineering

University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, China | 2014–2018

Research focus: Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition, and Hand Gesture Recognition.

Master of Engineering in Signal and Information Processing

Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin, China | 2011–2014

Research focus: Image Processing, Pattern Recognition, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition.

Bachelor of Science in Electronic Science and Communication

University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania | 2005–2008

Focus: Electronics and Communication Engineering.

Research

My research focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition, and Signal Processing, with applications in human activity and gesture recognition, human–robot interaction, assistive technologies, IoT and intelligent systems. My work also explores AI-driven solutions for environmental monitoring, medical image processing, plant disease recognition, industrial anomaly detection, and time-series modelling.

Publications

Bulugu, I. (2025). Lightweight Graph Convolutional Hand Gesture Recognition Algorithm Based on Multistream Fusion. Journal of Signal Processing Systems, 98, Article 3. DOI: 10.1007/s11265-025-01970-x.
Bulugu, I. (2025). Bottleneck Multi-scale Graph Convolutional Network for Skeleton-Based Hand Gesture Recognition. SN Computer Science, 6, Article 973. DOI: 10.1007/s42979-025-04524-x.
Stephen, J. K., Kapyela, G. A., Msoka, V. C., et al., Bulugu, I. E., et al. (2025). Medical Image Fusion Under Diffusion-Inspired Multiframe Super-Resolution Framework. EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, 2025, Article 45. DOI: 10.1186/s13634-025-01230-x.
Wang, Y., Li, J., Xiao, P., Zhang, Z., Guo, Z., Bulugu, I., & Alblehai, F. (2025). Intelligent Fake News Detection for Consumer QoE via Semantic Spatiotemporal Fusion. IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals of Electronics, Communications and Computer Sciences, E108-A(11), 1471–1480. DOI: 10.1587/transfun.2025EAP1038.
Bulugu, I. (2025). Plant Leaf Disease Recognition Using Deep Dynamic Joint Adaptation Networks Based on Partially Labeled Data. Iran Journal of Computer Science, 8(4), 1503–1514. DOI: 10.1007/s42044-025-00274-4.
Bulugu, I. (2025). Tanzanian Sign Language Recognition System for an Assistive Communication Glove Sign Tutor Based on the Inertial Sensor Fusion Control Algorithm. Journal of Electrical Systems and Information Technology, 12, Article 8. DOI: 10.1186/s43067-025-00199-9.
Bulugu, I. (2024). Adaptive Shift Graph Convolutional Neural Network for Hand Gesture Recognition Based on 3D Skeletal Similarity. Signal, Image and Video Processing, 18(11), 7583–7595. DOI: 10.1007/s11760-024-03412-w.
Bulugu, I. (2024). Evaluation of the Quality of Online Education Based on a Learning Interactive Network. University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal, 19(1), 42–56.
Bulugu, I. (2025). Radio Frequency Fingerprinting Method Based on Squeeze-and-Excitation Attention Multisource Domain Adversarial Network. Cureus Journal of Computer Science.

Consultancy

Professional Membership

Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Membership No. 92642651.
Member, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS).
Registered Professional Engineer, Engineers Registration Board (ERB), Tanzania, Registration No. PE11598
Registered ICT Professional, Information and Communication Technologies Commission (ICTC), Tanzania, Registration No. P0205-SGP.
Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT), The Fiber Optic Association (FOA).

Appointments

2026 – Present: Convener, Committee for the Establishment of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT), University of Dar es Salaam.
2026/2027–2029/2030: External Examiner, Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (ETE), College of Informatics and Virtual Education (CIVE), University of Dodoma (UDOM), Tanzania.
2025: Unit-Level Judge, 10th University of Dar es Salaam Research and Innovation Week — Appointed by the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor–Research to serve as a judge for the Research and Innovation Week held 12–14 May 2025 at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS). The appointment recognized expertise and experience in research and innovation and involved evaluating research and innovation outputs.
2025: Member, Working Team for Preparation of a Concept Note and Action Plan Framework on Robotics — College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CoNAS), University of Dar es Salaam. Appointed to a multidisciplinary working team following engagement with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) on strengthening the integration of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Emerging Technologies in Tanzania's education system. The team was tasked with developing a national framework for expanding robotics education through Teachers’ Resource Centres (TRCs) as regional innovation and training hubs.

Awards & Achievements

2024–2026: Support Program to Foster Academic Relationships and eXchange (SPARX), Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
2024–2025: University Administration Support Program (UASP) Fellowship, Washington, D.C., USA.
2022–2023: Talented Young Scientist Program (TYSP) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Chongqing Technology and Business University, China.
2014–2018: CAS–TWAS President’s Scholarship, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China.
2011–2014: Chinese Government Scholarship, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, China.

Certifications

Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT) — The Fiber Optic Association (FOA), 2021-Present

Students

PhD Students

Goodluck Kapyela — Adaptive Diffusion-Inspired Energy Functionals for Effective Image Denoising Applications — PhD Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
Prisila Ishabakaki — Vehicular Visible Light Communications Channel Modelling Under Dynamic Weather Conditions — PhD Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.

Master’s Students

4. Ali Ramadhan Abass — Smart System for Fault Identification and Restoration in Fiber-To-The-Home — Master’s Dissertation.

5. Rashid Hamadi Mkawa — Assistive Technology Tools and E-Learning User Interface for Hearing Impaired Students for Primary and Secondary Schools in Tanzania — Master’s Dissertation.

6. Ashura Hassan Mlwilo — Light-Weight Multi-Stage Progressive Image Restoration Model — Master’s Dissertation.

7. David Mwara Anande — Multi-Human 3D Pose Estimation Model Based on Multiple Camera View — Master’s Dissertation.

8. Yohana Kitano — 3D Hand Pose Estimation Using Convolutional Neural Networks — Master’s Dissertation.