PhD Thesis Defense
Matthew Klingensmith
Carnegie Mellon University

Tracking and Calibrating Articulated Robots using SLAM Techniques

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: Robots still struggle with everyday manipulation tasks. An overriding problem with robotic manipulation is uncertainty in the robot's state and calibration parameters. Small amounts of uncertainty can lead to complete task failure. This thesis explores ways of tracking and calibrating noisy robot arms using computer vision, with an aim toward making [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
David Ford Fouhey
Carnegie Mellon University

Factoring Scenes into 3D Structure and Style

Event Location: GHC 4405Abstract: Given a single image of a scene, humans have few issues answering questions about its 3D structure like “is this facing upwards?” even though mathematically speaking this should be impossible. We have similarly have few issues accounting for this 3D structure in answering viewpoint independent questions like ``is this the same [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Humphrey Hu
Carnegie Mellon University

In-Field Parameter Selection for Perception Context Adaptation

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: Perception and state estimation are critical robot competencies that remain difficult to harden and generalize. This is due in part to the incredible complexity of modern perception systems which are commonly comprised of dozens of components with hundreds of parameters overall. Selecting a configuration of parameters relies on a human's understanding [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Hatem Alismail
Carnegie Mellon University

Direct Pose Estimation and Refinement

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: We study a fundamental question in pose estimation from vision-only video data: should the pose of a camera be determined from fixed and known correspondences? Or should correspondences be simultaneously estimated alongside the pose? Determining pose from fixed correspondences is known as feature-based, where well-established tools from projective geometry are utilized [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Vishnu R. Desaraju
Carnegie Mellon University

Safe, Efficient, and Robust Predictive Control of Constrained Nonlinear Systems

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: As autonomous systems are deployed in increasingly complex and uncertain environments, safe, accurate, and robust feedback control techniques are required to ensure reliable operation. Accurate trajectory tracking is essential to complete a variety of tasks, but this may be difficult if the system’s dynamics change online, e.g., due to environmental effects [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Samantha Horvath
Carnegie Mellon University

The Optical Coherence Tomography Microsurgical Augmented Reality System (OCT-MARS): a novel device for microsurgeries

Event Location: NSH 3305Abstract: We describe the development and testing of the Optical Coherence Tomography Microsurgical Augmented Reality System (OCT-MARS). This system allows surgeons to view real-time medical image data as an in-situ overlay within the surgical field. There are a number of clinical applications for which real time, in situ visualization of otherwise transparent [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Heather Knight
Carnegie Mellon University

Expressive Motion for Low Degree-of-Freedom Robots


Event Location: GHC 4405Abstract: As social and collaborative robots move into everyday life, the need for algorithms enabling their acceptance becomes critical. People parse non-verbal communications intuitively, even from machines that do not look like people, thus, expressive motion is a natural and efficient way to communicate with people. This work presents a computational Expressive [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Laura Herlant
Carnegie Mellon University

Algorithms, Implementation, and Studies on Eating with a Shared Control Robot Arm

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: People with upper extremity disabilities are gaining increased independence through the use of assisted devices such as wheelchair-mounted robotic arms. However, the increased capability and dexterity of these robotic arms also makes them challenging to control through accessible interfaces like joysticks, sip-and-puff, and buttons that are lower-dimensional than the control space [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Christopher M. Dellin
Carnegie Mellon University

Completing Manipulation Tasks Efficiently in Complex Environments

Event Location: NSH 3305Abstract: An effective autonomous robot performing dangerous or menial tasks will need to act under significant time and energy constraints. At task time, the amount of effort a robot spends planning its motion directly detracts from its total performance. Manipulation tasks, however, present challenges to efficient motion planning. Tightly coupled steps (e.g. [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Stefanos Nikolaidis
Carnegie Mellon University

Decision-Theoretic User Modeling for Human-Robot Mutual Adaptation

Event Location: GHC 4405Abstract: In many application domains, robots co-exist in the same physical space with humans and aim to become trustworthy partners. We particularly envision personal robots arranging furniture with a human partner, manufacturing robots performing spar assembly with human co-workers, or rehabilitation robots assisting spinal cord injury patients. In such collaborative settings, humans [...]