PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Open-world 3D Object Detection

NSH 4305

Abstract: Perception for autonomous robots presents a set of unique challenges: finding the right representation for 3D signals, adapting to an open-world setting, and exploiting geometric priors. Successfully detecting objects regardless of their labels lays a solid foundation for safe navigation. I will present two of my recent works in this line. First, I will [...]

VASC Seminar
Zhiding Yu
Research Scientist
NVIDIA Research

Towards Weakly-Supervised Visual Understanding

GHC 6501

Abstract:  Learning with weak and self-supervisions recently emerged as compelling tools towards leveraging vast amounts of unlabeled or partially-labeled data. In this talk, I will present some of the latest advances in weakly-supervised visual scene understanding from NVIDIA. Specifically, I will summarize and discuss some challenges and potential solutions in weakly-supervised learning, and introduce our [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

MSR Thesis Talk: Jenny Nan

Smith Hall 200

Title: Combining Deep Learning and Verification for Precise Object Instance Detection   Abstract: Deep learning based object detectors often return false positives with very high confidence. Although they optimize generic detection performance, such as mean average precision (mAP), they are not designed for reliability. For a reliable detection system, if a high confidence detection is [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

MSR Thesis talk – Vasu Agrawal

NSH 4305

Title: Ground Up Design of a Multi-modal Object Localization System   Abstract:   Rapid situational awareness is the key to enabling a successful response from first responders during an emergency, where time is of the essence. Emergency personnel are often sent into incident scenes to gather information, but this is often a dangerous and slow process.  Subterranean environments [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

MSR Thesis Talk – Swaminathan Gurumurthy

GHC 4405

Title: Improving generalization in data-driven models with task-specific knowledge Abstract: With the rise of the over-parameterized deep learning models and massive datasets, many have started advocating towards minimizing the amount of prior knowledge added to a learning model. Ironically, the traditional machine learning community advocated for exactly the opposite. Whereas the latter assumes knowledge of [...]

Special Events

RI Winter Party

Newell-Simon Hall Perlis Atrium

Robotics Institute Winter Party Please join us for some fun, food, beverages and conversation! All RI faculty, staff, students and visitors are invited to the Robotics Institute Winter Party! We apologize but due to space limitations in the Atrium we regretfully cannot include family or other non-RI guests.

VASC Seminar
Vivek Boominathan
Postdoctoral Researcher
Rice University

Imaging without focusing: A computational approach to miniaturizing cameras

3305 Newell-Simon Hall

Abstract:  Miniaturization of cameras is key to enabling new applications in areas such as connected devices, wearables, implantable medical devices, in vivo microscopy, and micro-robotics. Recently, lenses were identified as the main bottleneck in miniaturization of cameras. Standard smaller lens-system camera modules have a thickness of about 10 mm or higher, and reducing the size [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal

Adaptive Planning and Control of Wheeled Mobile Robots in Challenging Environments

GHC 4405

Abstract: Over the last two decades, we have seen driverless cars conquer the Mojave desert, drive on mars and operate on our streets and warehouses. One of the most fundamental requirements of such robots is their ability to navigate their environment with minimal human oversight. As more robots graduate from the confines of laboratories to [...]

VASC Seminar
Pablo Garrido
Research Scientist
Epic Games

Towards photo-realistic face digitization from monocular videos

GHC 6501

Abstract:  Recent advances in face capture now enable digitizing high-quality 3D faces for the entertainment industry. Standardized digitization solutions, however, require tailor-made capture systems and extensive manual work, making them expensive and hard to deploy. With the advent of commodity sensors, new lightweight approaches that push the boundaries of human digitization have been introduced, slowly [...]