PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Underwater Localization and Mapping with Imaging Sonar

NSH 3305

Abstract: Acoustic imaging sonars have been used for a variety of tasks intended to increase the autonomous capabilities of underwater vehicles. Among the most critical tasks of any autonomous vehicle are localization and mapping, which are the focus of this work. The difficulties presented by the imaging sonar sensor have led many previous attempts at [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Open-world Object Detection and Tracking

NSH 3002

Abstract: Computer vision today excels at recognition in narrow slices of the real world. Our systems seem to accurately detect cats, cars, or chairs, but largely ignore the vast diversity of objects in the world that are absent from our training datasets. Perception in the open world, however, requires detecting and tracking any object, regardless [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Personalized and weakly supervised learning for Parkinson’s disease symptom detection

GHC 8102

Abstract: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately one million Americans. Medications exist to manage the symptoms, but doctors must periodically adjust dosage level and frequency as a patient's disease progresses. These adjustments are typically based on observations made during short clinic visits, which provide an incomplete picture of a patient's daily [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Online and Consistent Occupancy Grid Mapping

GHC 4405

Abstract: Actively exploring and mapping an unknown environment requires integration of both simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and path planning methods. Path planning relies on a map that contains free and occupied space information and is efficient to query, while the role of SLAM is to keep the map consistent as new measurements are continuously [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

A Planning Framework for Persistent, Multi-UAV Coverage with Global Deconfliction

NSH 3001

Abstract: Planning for multi-robot coverage seeks to determine collision-free paths for a fleet of robots, enabling them to collectively observe points of interest in an environment. Persistent coverage is a variant of traditional coverage where coverage-levels in the environment decay over time. Thus, robots have to continuously revisit parts of the environment to maintain a [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

‘Unboxing’ anomaly detection and panoptic segmentation

GHC 4405

Abstract: Panoptic segmentation is a recent problem in computer vision that attempts to classify each pixel in an image according to its semantic and instance label (accomplishing both semantic segmentation and instance segmentation respectively). Most existing panoptic and instance segmentation methods run a detection-first pipeline, where a bounding box is placed around an object and [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Self-Supervised Learning on Mobile Robots Using Acoustics, Vibration, and Visual Models to Build Rich Semantic Terrain Maps

NSH 3305

Abstract: Humans and robots would benefit from having rich semantic maps of the terrain in which they operate. Mobile robots equipped with sensors and perception software could build such maps as they navigate through a new environment. This information could then be used by humans or robots for better localization and path planning, as well [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Transfers Between Multiple Service Robots

GHC 4405

Abstract: With the deployment of more robots, human-robot interaction will no longer be limited to a one-to-one interaction between a user and a robot. Instead, users will likely have to interact with multiple robots, simultaneously or sequentially, throughout their day to receive services and complete different tasks. In this thesis proposal, I am proposing joint [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Machine Learning Parallelism Could Be Adaptive, Composable and Automated

NSH 3305

Abstract: In recent years, the pace of innovations in the fields of machine learning has accelerated. To cope with the sheer computational complexity of training large ML models on large datasets, researchers in SysML have created algorithms and systems that parallelize ML training and inference over multiple CPUs or GPUs, or even multiple computing nodes [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier

MSR Thesis Talk – Matt Martone

Newell-Simon Hall 3305

Title: Design and Control of a Large Modular Hexapod   Abstract: Legged robotic systems have made great strides in recent years, but unlike wheeled robots, limbed locomotion does not scale well.  Long legs demand huge torques, driving up actuator size and onboard battery mass.  This relationship results in massive structures that lack the safety, portability, [...]