PhD Speaking Qualifier
Carnegie Mellon University
Expressive Real-time Intersection Scheduling
Abstract: Traffic congestion is a major annoyance throughout global metropolitan areas. This talk will present Expressive Real-time Intersection Scheduling (ERIS), a schedule-driven control strategy for adaptive intersection control to reduce traffic congestion. ERIS maintains separate estimates for each lane approaching a traffic intersection allowing it to more accurately estimate the effects of scheduling decisions than [...]
Carnegie Mellon University
Scaling up Self Supervised Robot Learning
Abstract Robot learning holds promise in alleviating several real world problems, by performing complex behaviors in complex environments. But what is the right way to train these robots? Our methods on self supervision shows encouraging results on several tasks like grasping objects, pushing objects and even flying drones. One key challenge with these methods is [...]
Carnegie Mellon University
Data Collection for Screwdriving
Abstract: As the use of robotic manipulation in manufacturing continues to increase, the robustness requirements for fastening operations such as screwdriving increase as well. To investigate the reliability of screwdriving and the diverse failure categories that can arise, we collected a dataset of screwdriving operations and manually classified them into stages and result categories. I [...]
Carnegie Mellon University
Predictive Corrective Networks for Action Detection
Abstract: Although computer vision has seen significant advances in static image analysis, the relatively slow advances in video tasks such as action detection suggest we're struggling to build effective temporal models. In this talk, I will present a few main ideas that drive contemporary approaches, such as "two-stream networks" and "3D" convolutional networks. I'll also [...]
Characterization of Anchoring in Granular Soils
Abstract: I will present the results of tests conducted to characterize the pullout force of an anchor buried in cohesionless soils. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to understand how key measures of fin geometry affect an anchor's pullout force. To generalize the data collected, I propose a dimensionless model for predicting the performance of arbitrary fin [...]
Carnegie Mellon University
Liquid Metal-Microelectronics Integration for a Sensorized Soft Robot Skin
Abstract: Progress in the emerging field of soft robotics depends on the integration of sensors that are capable of sensing, power regulation, and signal processing. Commercially available microelectronics are well suited for these needs, as well as small enough to preserve the natural mechanics of a host system. Here, we present a method for integrating [...]
Model Predictive Path Following for Wheeled Mobile Robots
Abstract: The navigation success of a wheeled mobile robotic mission is directly correlated to the degree of accuracy to which the robot can follow a given path. This, in turn, is largely affected by two factors: a) the environment and b) the intrinsic properties of the robot – its design, actuation mechanism etc. In the [...]