Hello! I’m a Robotics PhD student working with Prof. Shreyas Kousik in the Safe Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech. I’m interested in safe robot manipulations in critical scenarios and complex environments.

Previously, I studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where I obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (project advisor: Prof. Sergio Pequito) in 2021 and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering (thesis advisor: Prof. John T. Wen) in 2023. My master’s thesis involved a collaborative project with Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab. A patent for the resulting mechatronic device was granted, and the thesis can be found here.

Research Interest

Most robots, unlike humans or animals, are not equipped with compliant exterior structures (such as skin or soft tissues). Consequently, robots are typically very sensitive to collisions with their environment, other robots, and even themselves. Ordinary tasks, such as washing dishes and handling food, become challenging due to uncertainties and the robot’s conservative approach to avoiding any unintended contact.

I am interested in exploring whether an effective partnership between reachability-based planning algorithms and innovative hardware design and sensing could enable robots to operate autonomously with safety guarantees in critical scenarios and complex environments.

Recent News

[2024 September] We posted our recent paper on autonoumus indoor stawberry pollination on Arxiv.

[2024 July] Shreyas and Kong presented the strawberry pollination robot at the USDA CEA Workshop.

[2024 May] PARC paper accepted to Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS)!

[2024 April] I successfully passed my PhD Qualifying Exam.