PhD Thesis Proposal
Shervin Javdani
Carnegie Mellon University

Learning Policies for Shared Autonomy

Event Location: NSH 3305Abstract: In shared autonomy, user input and robot autonomy are combined to control a robot to achieve a goal. Most prior work accomplishes this by augmenting user input with some autonomous strategy for that goal. We take a different viewpoint, treating the user as a policy minimizing some cost function. Our aim [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Hiroaki Inotsume
Carnegie Mellon University

Analysis of Angle of Attack for Efficient Slope Ascent by Rovers

Event Location: GHC 2109Bio: Hiroaki Inotsume is a Masters student in the Robotics Institute advised by David Wettergreen. His research focuses on vehicle-terrain interaction analysis for design, planning, and control of planetary rovers. He holds a B.E. and a M.E. degrees in Aerospace Engineering.Abstract: What direction should a rover drive to efficiently ascend slope of [...]

PhD Thesis Proposal
Hatem Alismail
Carnegie Mellon University

Direct Multiple View Visual Simultaneous Localization And Mapping

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: We propose a direct, featureless, Lucas-Kanade-based method as a reliable Visual Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (VSLAM) solution in challenging environments, where feature detection and precise subpixel localization may be unreliable. Current state-of-the-art direct methods have been shown to perform well on a range of challenging datasets. Nonetheless, they have been limited [...]

PhD Thesis Defense
Varun Ramakrishna
Carnegie Mellon University

Pose Machines: Estimating Articulated Pose from Images and Video

Event Location: NSH 1305Abstract: The articulated motion of humans is varied and complex. We use the range of motion of our articulated structure for functional tasks such as transport, manipulation, communication, and self-expression. We use our limbs to gesture and signal intent. It is therefore crucial for an autonomous system operating and interacting in human [...]

RI Seminar
Parag Batavia
President
Neya Systems

Neya Systems: How to Bootstrap a Robotics Company in 5 (not-so) Easy Years

Event Location: GHC 6115Bio: Dr. Parag Batavia is the founder of Neya Systems, LLC, in Wexford PA. He is a 1999 graduate of the CMU Robotics Institute Ph.D. program, and a 2009 graduate of Drexel’s MBA program. At Neya, he is responsible for all areas of company growth, and has taken the company from 1 [...]

VASC Seminar
Chris Sweeney
PhD Candidate
University of California Santa Barbara

Removing Common Assumptions from Large Scale Structure-from-Motion

Event Location: NSH 1507Bio: Chris Sweeney is currently a PhD candidate in the 4 Eyes Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests include multi-view geometry, structure from motion, and augmented reality. His main research interest is in using unorganized photo collections from the internet to create a complete and up-to-date 3D [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Andy Dorsett
Wolfram

Mathematica and WolframAlpha in Education and Research

Event Location: GHC 2109Abstract: During this free seminar, we will explore using Mathematica and WolframAlpha for a wide variety of practical and theoretical applications across a variety of disciplines. Attendees will not only see new features in Mathematica 10 and WolframAlpha, but will also receive examples of this functionality to begin using immediately. No experience [...]

RI Seminar
Gregory S. Chirikjian
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University

Stochastic Models in Robotics

Event Location: NSH 1305Bio: Gregory S. Chirikjian received undergraduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University in 1988, and the Ph.D. degree from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in 1992. Since 1992, he has been on the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, where he has been a full professor since 2001. [...]

Field Robotics Center Seminar
Sebastian Dingler
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Using Lidar and Monoscopic Camera for Bridge Reconstruction

Event Location: GHC 2109Bio: Sebastian Dingler is a visiting master's student form the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. He is currently working with the Aerial Robotic Infrastructure Analyst (ARIA) and is advised by Sebastian Scherer. He received his Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Computer Engineering from the University of Applied Science Esslingen, Germany in [...]