Attend the Ecorobotics: Autonomous Robotic Solutions for Environmental Remediation and Stewardship seminar, Feb. 14
Join the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks for the Ecorobotics: Autonomous Robotic Solutions for Environmental Remediation and Stewardship seminar.
Abstract
As climate change and pollution continue to impact the natural world, the urgency for effective environmental remediation and stewardship has never been greater. This talk presents research on leveraging robotics for autonomous soil contamination monitoring. Soil monitoring serves as a critical first step in remediation, with this work focusing on three key areas: integrating a new class of spectroscopy sensors, developing informed search algorithms for spectroscopic sensing, and deploying fully functional robotic systems in unstructured terrains. Additionally, this research explores multi-robot environmental modification and navigation in unstructured environments, both essential for effective remediation. These projects contribute to a broader autonomous soil remediation effort, with plans to design, develop and deploy practical heterogeneous multi-robot systems. These systems aim to address various environmental challenges, including detecting and monitoring invasive species and advancing precision agriculture. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative approaches, my research aims to enhance ecosystem resilience, promote biodiversity and contribute to a more sustainable future.
About the speaker
Vivek Thangavelu earned his doctoral degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in 2023. His doctoral research focused on bio-inspired multi-robot construction systems for unstructured environments, advancing construction automation in remote and extreme settings. Currently, he is a postdoctoral scholar at the Robomechanics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, where he investigates autonomous robotic solutions for monitoring soil contamination using spectroscopy sensors. Thangavelu has received several prestigious awards and scholarships, including the Carnegie Bosch Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Robotics: Science and Systems Pioneer Award and the Graduate Student Award of Excellence. His research contributions span property-driven navigation algorithms, construction models for heterogeneous materials, multi-robot system architectures and autonomous soil monitoring, with practical deployments demonstrating their impact. He has collaborated with industry partners to translate research into real-world applications, including work with NASA JPL on the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. His future vision focuses on addressing critical global ecological and sustainability challenges through innovative interdisciplinary collaborations in robotics.
Ecorobotics: Autonomous Robotic Solutions for Environmental Remediation and Stewardship
Friday, Feb. 14, 2025
10:30 a.m.–noon
Peralta Hall (PRLTA) 132, Polytechnic campus [map]