MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

John Mai – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom Link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/7518832261 Title: System Design, Modelling, and Control for an Off-Road Autonomous Ground Vehicle Abstract: Autonomy in passenger road vehicles has long been a goal for many research groups and companies, and there has been a significant amount of focus on achieving this endeavour. A lesser focused upon area is the task of precise autonomous [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Zoom Link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/5523238059   Title: Robust Instance Tracking via Uncertainty Flow   Abstract: Current state-of-the-art trackers often fail due to distractors and large object appearance changes. In this work, we explore the use of dense optical flow to improve tracking robustness. Our main insight is that, because flow estimation can also have errors, we need [...]

VASC Seminar
Ciprian Corneanu
Research Assistant
Tawny GmbH, University of Barcelona

The Topology of Learning

Zoom Virtual Meeting:  https://cmu.zoom.us/j/92178295543?pwd=L2dwZU5SbDY5NzZZNzZ4ZmFUclRqQT09   Abstract: Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have revolutionized computer vision. We now have DNNs that achieve top results in many computer vision problems, including object recognition, facial expression analysis, and semantic segmentation, to name but a few. Unfortunately, the rise in performance has come with a cost.  DNNs have become so [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Sarthak Ahuja – MSR Thesis Talk

NSH 4305

Zoom Link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/8978517404 Title: Visual Assessment for Non-Disruptive Object Extraction Abstract: Robots operating in human environments need to perform a variety of dexterous manipulation tasks on object arrangements that have complex physical support relationships, e.g. procuring utensils from a large pile of dishes, grabbing a bottle from a stuffed fridge, or fetching a book from a loaded [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Eric Dexheimer – MSR Thesis Talk

Location: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/98262481359?pwd=dnN4UERmQlF6dVVROTQ1czYrU215UT09 Title: Efficient Multiresolution Scrolling Grid for MAV Obstacle Avoidance Abstract: In this talk, we propose the use of an efficient, structured multiresolution representation for robot mapping and planning.  We focus on expanding the sensor range of dense local grids for memory-constrained platforms.  While multiresolution data structures have been proposed previously, we avoid processing [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Tanmay Agarwal – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/3388909661 Title: On-Policy Reinforcement Learning for Learning to Drive in Urban Settings Abstract: Traditional autonomous vehicle pipelines that follow a modular approach have been very successful in the past both in academia and industry, which has led to autonomy deployed on road. Though this approach provides ease of interpretation, its generalizability to unseen [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Jay Patrikar – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/93391276533?pwd=RTM4NTc0cTJETmRudGcwenNCSVgzdz09 Title: Wind-Field Estimation and Curvature Continuous Path Planning for Low Altitude Urban Aerial Mobility Abstract: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) operating in dense urban areas need the ability to generate wind-aware collision-free, smooth, dynamically feasible trajectories between two locations. The complex and high-rise structure of the modern urban landscape affects the wind flow [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Benjamin Freed – MSR Thesis Talk

Where?:https://cmu.zoom.us/j/96355036481?pwd=OCtBeWZpMnZsZzFlRkJWc2dkZW5qUT09   Title: Discrete Communication Learning via Backpropagation for Distributed Computing on Bandwidth-Limited Communication Networks   Abstract: Efficient inter-agent communication is an important requirement for both cooperative multi-agent robotics tasks, as well as distributed computing.  In both of these domains, the rate at which information can be transferred between robots or computing nodes is often [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Tanvir Parhar – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom Link:https://cmu.zoom.us/j/3399055387 Title: Applications of Deep Learning for Robotic Agriculture.   Abstract: Agricultural automation is a varied and challenging field, with tasks ranging from detection to sizing and from manipulation to navigation. These are also precursors to effective plant breeding and management. Making plant measurements by manually scouting is labor-intensive and intractable at large scale. [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Hitesh Arora – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/4937138807   Title: Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Driving   Abstract: Modern autonomous driving systems continue to face the challenges of handling complex and variable multi-agent real-world scenarios. Some subsystems, such as perception, use deep learning-based approaches to leverage large amounts of data to generalize to novel scenes. Other subsystems, such as planning [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Scott Sun – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/93097644031?pwd=RzZVSXEvdE5zZ0RDaU9FdmRUMU1vQT09 Title: Accurate Orientation Estimates for Deep Inertial Odometry Abstract: Many smartphone applications use inertial measurement units (IMUs) to sense movement, but the use of these sensors for pedestrian localization can be challenging due to their noise characteristics. Recent deep inertial odometry approaches to pedestrian navigation have demonstrated the increasing feasibility of inertial navigation. However, [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Allen Cheng – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/6056258382   Title: Search-Based Planning with Extend Operator   Abstract: Sampling-based approaches are often favored in robotics for high-dimensional motion planning for their fast coverage of the search space. However, at best they offer asymptotic guarantees on completeness and solution quality, and returned paths are typically unpredictable due to their inherent stochasticity. By [...]

VASC Seminar
Vincent Sitzmann
Postdoc
MIT CSAIL

Implicit Neural Scene Representations

Virtual Zoom Seminar:  https://cmu.zoom.us/j/92178295543?pwd=L2dwZU5SbDY5NzZZNzZ4ZmFUclRqQT09   Abstract How we represent signals has major implications for the algorithms we build to analyze them. Today, most signals are represented discretely: Images as grids of pixels, shapes as point clouds, audio as grids of amplitudes, etc. If images weren't pixel grids - would we be using convolutional neural networks [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Chenfeng Tu – MSR Thesis Talk

Location: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/96696044200?pwd=MVl4aUpiZlYvYlRwRmF1SVBUeGx6Zz09   Title: On-the-fly Targetless Extrinsics Calibration For Multi-Stereo Systems Without Field-of-View Overlap Abstract: In this talk, we propose an on-the-fly extrinsics calibration method for stereo pairs lacking overlapping field of view that is robust to visual odometry errors. Multi-stereo systems are becoming increasingly popular because of their large field of view (FoV) that benefits [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Shuoqi Chen – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/9608506704   Title: Towards Geometric Motion Planning for 3-link Kinematic Systems   Abstract: Geometric mechanics offers a powerful mathematical framework for studying locomotion for mobile systems. Despite the well-established literature, challenges remain when using geometric mechanics to design gaits for robots made of multi-link chain; in this thesis, we look at two of them. First, [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Robot Deep Reinforcement Learning: Tensor State-Action Spaces and Auxiliary Task Learning with Multiple State Representations

Zoom Link Abstract: A long standing goal of robotics research is to create algorithms that can automatically learn complex control strategies from scratch. Part of the challenge of applying such algorithms to robots is the choice of representation. Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms have been successfully applied to many different robotic tasks such as the Ball-in-a-Cup [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Raunaq Bhirangi – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/93803046130?pwd=dE5LU21lakcxNjBmZ0EvVDdNOWswdz09   Title: Learning Families of Behaviors for Legged Locomotion using Model-Free Deep Reinforcement Learning   Abstract: Conventional planning and control of highly articulated legged robots is challenging because of the high dimensionality of the state space, and such conventional techniques normally produce a single point solution. In this work, we present a [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

William Qi – MSR Thesis Talk

Location: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/96923127678?pwd=TWt3Zk5neFUzSlJWUjZEN2F6UVhudz09 Title: Representation Learning for Safe Autonomous Movement Abstract: Mobile robots have become an increasingly common presence in our homes and on our roads. To move safely within these shared spaces, autonomous agents must understand how other dynamic actors behave and how such behavior influences the navigability of the surrounding scene. Towards this goal, we [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Ryan Coulson – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/91138367616 Title: Soft Materials Architectures for Robot Manipulation Abstract: Robot manipulation has been a prolific subject of academic research for several decades - however, today's robotic manipulators have yet to demonstrate an ability to perform robust and versatile dexterous manipulation. This challenge can largely be attributed to a tradeoff between complexity and capability [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Anish Bhattacharya – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/4413360562 Title: Toward Increased Airspace Safety: Quadrotor Guidance for Targeting Aerial Objects Abstract: As the market for commercially available unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) booms, there is an increasing number of small, teleoperated or autonomous aircraft found in protected or sensitive airspace. Existing solutions for removal of these aircraft are either military-grade and too [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Aaron Miller – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/95386019509?pwd=cmNnTm9lWWlNbTh1SmQ0RU5PVTBmQT09 Title: Cooperative Perception for Pairs of Self-Driving Cars   Abstract: Fully autonomous vehicles are expected to share the road with less advanced vehicles for a significant period of time. Furthermore, an increasing number of vehicles on the road are equipped with a variety of low-fidelity sensors which provide some perception and localization [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Sara Misra – MSR Thesis Talk

Zoom link: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/3216213856   Title: Learning-based modular framework for environment-adaptive planning in exploration tasks   Abstract: Search-based path planning has spawned a number of different solutions using different paradigms and strategies, both generalized and specific to certain problems, representations, and environments. Split into heuristic and non-heuristic based approaches, where heuristic-based approaches, embedded within these approaches [...]

MSR Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Blake Buchanan – MSR Thesis Talk

Location: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/99874277969?pwd=Q1MvczNhWTB4UmF3UXFOMEFtVG1uZz09 Title: Mechanics and Control of Coupled Interactions in Ambient Media Abstract: Many multi-agent systems in nature comprise agents that interact with, and respond to, the dynamics of their environment. For example, fish school based on the fundamental fluid phenomena of vortex shedding, birds shed leading-edge vortices in formation for flocking, and E. coli bacteria [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Online Inference of Joint Occupancy using Forward Sensor Models and Trajectory Posteriors for Deliberate Robot Navigation

Zoom Link Abstract: Robotic navigation algorithms for real-world robots require dense and accurate probabilistic volumetric representations of the environment in order to traverse efficiently. Sensor data in a Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) context, however, always has associated acquisition noise and pose uncertainty, and encoding this within the map representation while still maintaining computational tractability [...]

VASC Seminar
Ashok Veeraraghavan
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rice University, Houston TX

Computational Imaging: Beyond the Limits Imposed by Lenses

Virtual VASC Seminar:  https://cmu.zoom.us/j/92587238250?pwd=S0paYUVBUXozQkFTclMwRUg0MzBNZz09   Abstract: The lens has long been a central element of cameras, since its early use in the mid-nineteenth century by Niepce, Talbot, and Daguerre. The role of the lens, from the Daguerrotype to modern digital cameras, is to refract light to achieve a one-to-one mapping between a point in the scene and a point on the sensor. This effect enables the sensor to compute a particular two-dimensional (2D) [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Ross Gilson
Senior Field Applications Engineer
Real-Time Innovations (RTI)

Beyond ROS: Using a Data Connectivity Framework to build and run Autonomous Systems

Virtual FRC Seminar: Seminar recording: https://cmu.zoom.us/rec/share/x84qF7_q8TlIcpHoyG_DRa58O6i8aaa8hCAW_fEPxEkBGjBVPyzW_lK0YW30RfJ3?startTime=1598551489000 Passcode: qu6)ePH9 Abstract: Next-generation robotics will need more than the current ROS code in order to comply with the interoperability, security and scalability requirements for commercial deployments. This session will provide a technical overview of ROS, ROS2 and the Data Distribution Service™ (DDS) protocol for data connectivity in safety-critical cyber-physical [...]

VASC Seminar
Andreas Geiger
Professor
University of Tübingen

Learning 3D Reconstruction in Function Space

Virtual VASC Seminar: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/96635002737?pwd=RkxGVlJaUTlhcDdGeVBPcnpTS015dz09   Abstract: In this talk, I will show several recent results of my group on learning neural implicit 3D representations, departing from the traditional paradigm of representing 3D shapes explicitly using voxels, point clouds or meshes. Implicit representations have a small memory footprint and allow for modeling arbitrary 3D toplogies at [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Machine Learning Parallelism Could Be Adaptive, Composable and Automated

Zoom Link Abstract: In recent years, researchers in SysML have created algorithms and systems that parallelize ML training over multiple devices or computational nodes. As ML models become more structurally complex, many systems have struggled to provide all-round performance on a variety of models. Particularly, ML scale-up is usually underestimated in terms of the amount [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Computational Contact Modes for Robotics

Zoom Link Abstract: A central theme in robotics is that of robots interacting with the world through physical contact. Whether it is a walking robot or robotic manipulator picking up an object, such as a spoon, we desire robots that physically interact with their environments. One significant challenge in physical robot interactions involves dealing with [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Data-Driven Robotic Grasping in the Wild

Zoom Link Abstract: Humans can effortlessly grasp a wide variety of objects in diverse environments. On the other hand, robotic grasping has been extremely challenging in practice and is far from matching human dexterity. Despite recent progress in the community, most research is still largely focused on constrained environments like picking individual objects on a [...]

RI Seminar
Scott Niekum
Assistant Professor & Director of the Personal Autonomous Robotics Lab (PeARL)
Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin

Scaling Probabilistically Safe Learning to Robotics

Zoom

  Abstract: Before learning robots can be deployed in the real world, it is critical that probabilistic guarantees can be made about the safety and performance of such systems.  In recent years, safe reinforcement learning algorithms have enjoyed success in application areas with high-quality models and plentiful data, but robotics remains a challenging domain for [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Routing for Persistent Exploration in Dynamic Environments with Teams of Energy-Constrained Robots

Abstract: Disaster relief scenarios require rapid and persistent situational awareness to inform first-responders of safe and viable routes through a constantly shifting environment. Knowing what roads have become flooded or are suddenly obstructed by debris can significantly improve response time and ease the distribution of resources. In a sufficiently large environment, deploying and maintaining fixed [...]

VASC Seminar
Vicente Ordónez-Román
Assistant Professor
University of Virginia

Compositional Representations for Visual Recognition

Virtual VASC - https://cmu.zoom.us/j/99437689110?pwd=cWxuQkIwWlFFZEk0QkVDUVFiN0lTdz09   Abstract: Compositionality is the ability for a model to recognize a concept based on its parts or constituents. This ability is essential to use language effectively as there exists a very large combination of plausible objects, attributes, and actions in the world. We posit that visual recognition models should be [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
PhD Student
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Sparse Spatial Hashing for Dense 3D Reconstruction

Abstract: Real-world 3D data is locally dense but globally sparse. Therefore, efficient sparse data structures are an essential component of dense 3D perception for computer vision and robotics. We manifest the power of spatial hashing by two typical tasks: dense scene reconstruction and global registration. In the first task, we accelerate volumetric integration and surface [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Coordinated online multi-robot planning

Abstract: Multi-robot applications frequently seek to employ human operators to direct robot actions online because fully automated planners struggle to encode human expertise or handle the extenuating circumstances that occur during real world operations. However, it is extremely challenging for a human to direct multi-robot teams, especially online, i.e., in real-time. From entertainment to defense, [...]

RI Seminar
Robert D. Gregg IV
Associate Professor & Associate Director of Robotics
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science , University of Michigan

From kinematic to energetic design and control of wearable robots for agile human locomotion

Abstract:  Even with the help of modern prosthetic and orthotic (P&O) devices, lower-limb amputees and stroke survivors often struggle to walk in the home and community. Emerging powered P&O devices could actively assist patients to enable greater mobility, but these devices are currently designed to produce a small set of pre-defined motions. Finite state machines [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Postdoctoral Fellow
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Sensor Planning for Large Numbers of Robots

Abstract: In the wake of a natural disaster, locating and extracting victims quickly is critical because mortality rises rapidly after the first forty-eight hours. In order to assist search and rescue teams and improve response times, teams of aerial robots equipped with sensors and cameras can engage in sensing tasks such as mapping buildings, assessing [...]

VASC Seminar

Making 3D Predictions with 2D Supervision

Abstract: Building computer vision systems that understand 3D shape are important for applications including autonomous vehicles, graphics, and VR / AR. If we assume 3D shape supervision, we can now build systems that do a reasonable job at predicting 3D shapes from images. However, 3D supervision is difficult to obtain at scale; therefore we should [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

3D Multi-Object Tracking for Autonomous Driving

Abstract: 3D multi-object tracking (MOT) is a key component of a perception system for autonomous driving. Due to recent progress in 3D object detection in the context of autonomous driving, recent work in 3D MOT primarily focuses on online tracking with the use of a tracking-by-detection pipeline. In this talk, we introduce a new 3D [...]

RI Seminar
Assistant Professor
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

The World’s Tiniest Space Program

Abstract:  The aerospace industry has experienced a dramatic shift over the last decade: Flying a spacecraft has gone from something only national governments and large defense contractors could afford to something a small startup can accomplish on a shoestring budget. A virtuous cycle has developed where lower costs have led to more launches and the [...]

VASC Seminar
Angjoo Kanazawa
Assistant Professor
University of California

Perceiving 3D Human-Object Spatial Arrangements from a Single Image In-the-wild

Abstract: We live in a 3D world that is dynamic—it is full of life, with inhabitants like people and animals who interact with their environment through moving their bodies. Capturing this complex world in 3D from images has a huge potential for many applications such as compelling mixed reality applications that can interact with people [...]

RI Seminar
Raquel Urtasun
Uber ATG Chief Scientist & Head of Uber ATG Toronto
Computer Science Department, University of Toronto

A future with affordable Self-driving vehicles

(Video to appear once approved) Abstract: We are on the verge of a new era in which robotics and artificial intelligence will play an important role in our daily lives. Self-driving vehicles have the potential to redefine transportation as we understand it today. Our roads will become safer and less congested, while parking spots will be repurposed as leisure [...]

VASC Seminar
Pawel Korus
Research Assistant Professor
NYU Center for Cybersecurity

Detection of Photo Manipulation with Media Forensics

Abstract: Rapid progress in machine learning, computer vision and graphics leads to successive democratization of media manipulation capabilities. While convincing photo and video manipulation used to require substantial time and skill, modern editors bring (semi-) automated tools that can be used by everyone. Some of the most recent examples include manipulation of human faces, e.g., [...]

RI Seminar
Kevin Lynch
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Director, Center for Robotics & Biosystems, Northwestern University

Robotics and Biosystems

Abstract: Research at the Center for Robotics and Biosystems at Northwestern University encompasses bio-inspiration, neuromechanics, human-machine systems, and swarm robotics, among other topics.  In this talk I will give an overview of some of our recent work on in-hand manipulation, robot locomotion on yielding ground, and human-robot systems. Biography: Kevin Lynch received the B.S.E. degree [...]

VASC Seminar
Ce Liu
Staff Research Scientist
Google Research

Advancing the State of the Art of Computer Vision for Billions of Users

Abstract: At Google, advancing the state of the art of computer vision is very impactful as there are billions of users of Google products, many of which require high-quality, artifact-free images. I will share what we learned from successfully launching core computer vision techniques for various Google products, including PhotoScan (Photos), seamless Google Street View [...]

PhD Speaking Qualifier
Robotics Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University

Ergodic Trajectory Optimization for Information Gathering

Abstract: Planetary robots currently rely on significant guidance from expert human operators. Science autonomy adds algorithms and methods for autonomous scientific exploration to improve efficiency of discovery and overcome limited communication bandwidth and delay bottlenecks. This research focuses on planning trajectories for information gathering and choosing sampling locations that have the most informative samples. We [...]