MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Alan Zhao – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom Link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/98144379626   Title   Learning Precise and Task-oriented Grasps for Robotic Assembly   Abstract   Robust, precise, and task-oriented grasp planning is vital for autonomous robotic assembly. It requires reasoning about the object geometry and preconditions of a task so as to properly grasp an object and complete the down-stream tasks. However, achieving such [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Task-Driven Modular Networks for Zero-Shot Compositional Learning

Zoom Link Abstract: One of the hallmarks of human intelligence is the ability to compose learned knowledge into novel concepts which can be recognized without a single training example. In contrast, current state-of-the-art methods require hundreds of training examples for each possible category to build reliable and accurate classifiers. To alleviate this striking difference in [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Active Vision: Autonomous Aerial Cinematography with Learned Artistic Decision-Making

Zoom Link Abstract: Aerial cinematography is revolutionizing industries that require live and dynamic camera viewpoints such as entertainment, sports, and security. Fundamentally, it is a tool with immense potential to improve human creativity, expressiveness, and sharing of experiences. However, safely piloting a drone while filming a moving target in the presence of obstacles is immensely [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Efficient Robot Decision-Making for Achieving Multiple Independent Tasks

Zoom Link Abstract: We focus on robotics applications where a robot is required to accomplish a set of tasks that are partially observable and evolve independently of each other according to their dynamics. One such domain that we target in this work is decision-making for a robot waiter waiting tables at a restaurant. The robot [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Image to LiDAR Map Registration using Late Feature Projection

Zoom Link Abstract: Accurate localization is essential for autonomous operation in many problem domains. This is most often performed by comparing LiDAR scans collected in real-time to a HD point cloud based map. While this enables centimeter-level accuracy, it depends on an expensive LiDAR sensor at run time. Recently, efforts have been underway to reduce [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Vision with Small Baselines

Zoom Link Abstract: 3D sensing with portable imaging systems is becoming more and more popular in computer vision applications such as autonomous driving, virtual reality, robotics manipulation and surveillance, due to the decreasing expense and size of RGB cameras. Despite the compactness and portability of the small baseline vision systems, it is well-known that the [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Provably Constant-time Motion Planning

Zoom Link Abstract: In manufacturing and warehouse scenarios, robots often perform recurring manipulation tasks in structured environments. Fast and reliable motion planning is one of the key elements that ensure efficient operations in such environments. A very common example scenario is of manipulators working at conveyor belts, where they have limited time to pick moving [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Humans In Their Natural Habitat: Training AI to Understand People

Zoom Link Abstract: Computer vision has a great potential to help our daily lives by searching for lost keys, watering flowers or reminding us to take a pill. To succeed with such tasks, computer vision methods need to be trained from real and diverse examples of our daily dynamic scenes. First, we need to give [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

A Theory of Fermat Paths for Non-line-of-sight Shape Reconstruction

Zoom Link Abstract: Traditionally, computer vision systems and algorithms, such as stereo vision, and shape from shading, have been developed to mimic human vision. As a consequence, a lot of these systems operate under constraints that we take for granted in human vision. An example of such a constraint is that the scene of interest [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Learning Contextual Actions for Heuristic Search-Based Motion Planning

Zoom Link Abstract: Heuristic search-based motion planning can be computationally costly in large state and action spaces. In this work we explore the use of generative models to learn contextual actions for successor generation in heuristic search. We focus on cases where the robot operates in similar environments, i.e. environments drawn from some underlying distribution. [...]