MSR Thesis Defense

Title: SuperLoop: a LIDAR-based SLAM Back-end for Underground Exploration Abstract: Robots deployed in underground scenarios require a SLAM system that can handle a variety of challenges, such as the absence of GPS, large scale maps, bad illumination, and geometrically degenerate environments. It is nearly impossible for any SLAM solution to handle all these challenges perfectly, specially [...]

Title: PyCubed-Mini: A Low-Cost, Open-Source Satellite Research Platform   Abstract: Satellite development has become more accessible with decreasing launch costs and shrinking hardware. However, the expenses associated with pre-built satellite kits remain high, making it difficult for student and hobbyist teams to participate. The lack of standardized satellite hardware and software further adds to the challenge, [...]

Abstract: We present a framework that acts as an "intuitive physics reasoner" which takes in strategies expressed in natural language (whether from a human or LLM), and assesses their validity based on a physics knowledge library. We believe the ability to quickly determine whether a strategy is worth considering and allocating further resources to planning [...]

Title: Multi-Robot Information Gathering for Spatiotemporal Environment Modelling Abstract: Learning to predict or forecast spatiotemporal (ST) environmental processes from a sparse set of samples collected autonomously is a difficult task from both a sampling perspective (collecting the best sparse samples) and from a learning perspective (predicting unseen locations or forecasting the next timestep). We investigate [...]

Title: Towards Mechanical Communication in Multi-Agent Locomotive Systems: Principally Kinematic Robots on a Shared Platform Abstract: Many biological multi-agent systems exhibit a mechanism for information exchange among individuals known as mechanical communication, which leads to the emergence of collective behavior within the group. One such example is the swarming behavior of bacteria, where they form rafts [...]

Abstract: Accurate satellite based positioning revolutionized several industries over the past two decades from agriculture to transportation. However, conventional GNSS receivers consume significant amounts of energy and are too large for many applications, including wildlife-tracking which is critical for conservation efforts and improving our understanding of the global climate. To address this capability gap, we [...]

Abstract: Traditional object detection methods are often confined to predefined object vocabularies, limiting their versatility in real-world scenarios where robots need to understand and execute diverse household tasks. Additionally, the 2D and 3D perception communities have typically pursued separate approaches tailored to their respective domains. In this thesis, we present a language-conditioned object detector with [...]

Abstract: Teaching sessions between humans and robots will need to be maximally informative for optimal robot learning and to ease the human’s teaching burden. However, the bulk of prior work considers one or two modalities through which a human can convey information to a robot—namely, kinesthetic demonstrations and preference queries. Moreover, people will teach robots [...]

Abstract: Our shared dream is to have robot humanoids with hands complete similar tasks that humans do. While there are a few robot hands available today, the popular opinion is that they are difficult to use, expensive, and hard to obtain which precludes their ubiquitous usage. We argue that this is not an inherent problem [...]

Abstract: Since 2003, the number of satellites launched into orbit has grown from 100 per year to over 2000 per year. Over that same timeframe, incredible advances have been made in control systems for terrestrial robotics and autonomy. Despite the increased quantity of satellites in orbit and the advances made in terrestrial control systems, satellite [...]

Abstract: Autonomous racing aims to replicate the human racecar driver with software and sensors. As in traditional motorsports, Autonomous Racing Vehicles (ARVs) are pushed to their dynamic limits in multi-agent scenarios at high (>= 100mph) speeds. This Operational Design Domain (ODD) presents unique challenges across the autonomy stack. The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) is an [...]

Abstract:  The vision of integrating a robot into the kitchen, capable of acting as a chef, remains a sought-after goal in robotics. Current robotic systems, mostly programmed for specific tasks, fall short in versatility and adaptability to a diverse culinary environment. While significant progress has been made in robotic learning, with advancements in behavior cloning, [...]