Hello! I am

Abhinandan Vellanki

I am a Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University Studying Robotics.

I Have Previously Worked Full Time for Three Years as a Robotics Software Engineer.

I am Currently Looking for Summer Internships in Robotics.


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Ongoing Projects

Snaak Image

Autonomous Food Assembly Kiosk

My capstone project at Carnegie Mellon University, supervised by Dr. Oliver Kroemer, is to develop an autonomous food assembly kiosk that can prepare and serve a variety of dishes to customers. The project involves developing a vision system to detect and track ingredients, a robotic arm to pick and place ingredients, and a user interface to take orders.

Project Website

F1-Tenth

Autonomous Drifting Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

I am working on a project to develop an autonomous drifting algorithm for an F1-Tenth RC car using Deep Reinforcement Learning. The project involves developing a simulation environment, training a reinforcement learning agent, and deploying the agent on the physical car.

F1 Tenth Autonomous Racing Cars

I collaborated in a team of five to build a ROS2 based autonomous car that can navigate a track using LIDAR input.

I implemented a Gap Detection and Following algorithm that determines speed and steering angle. We demonstrated our car at the Safety21 Symposium at Carnegie Mellon University. As a group, we demonstrated our work to former secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg.

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Professional Projects

Vision Subsystem Image Dual Manipulator System Gif

Vision Subsystem For Dual Manipulator Fabric Handling System

I independently developed vision algorithms for a dual 6-axis DENSO VSA manipulator system to handle garment pieces as part of a clothes assembly line at The Center For Transformative Garment Production, Hong Kong

Demo Video

Center for Transformative Garment Production

ADAS For Electric Outboard Motors Image X-Series Motors

Advanced Driver Assistance System For Electric Outboard Motors

I contributed to the research, design, implementation, testing and deployment of closed-loop PID control algorithms for Level-1 ADAS features such as position holding, heading holding and holonomic motion on electric outboard motors meant for light surface vessels at ePropulsion Technology Limited, Hong Kong

Demo Videos

ePropulsion

Disinfection in Airport Express Waypoint Navigation

Perception And Navigation For Mobile Robots

At Avalon SteriTech Limited, I implemented Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), Waypoint Navigation, Collision Avoidance, Human Detection, Remote Operation and Autonomous Workflows on a quad drive wheelbase extended with a disinfectant spraying module for clients such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR), Cathay Pacific and HAECO.

Demo Videos

Avalon SteriTech

Intelligent Video Analytics On Surveillance Feeds


Performing computer vision tasks such as object detection, image segmentation and object tracking using neural networks is a skill I have honed over three different projects at Kodifly Limited, Hong Kong.

Dog Detector for Mass Transit Railway corporation (Hong Kong):
Real-time detection and tracking of dogs on surveillance feed from MTR stations. Counting and Identifying the detected dogs

Medical instrument counting for Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks:
Identify and count different types of medical instruments placed in a tray to speed up surgery preparation.

Restaurant Activity monitoring for undisclosed client in Hong Kong:
Identify and track each unique employee’s activities Ensure employees are practicing safety procedures (during COVID-19) Detect running taps, open refrigerators, unnecessary operation of lights/fans

Kodifly

Non-Disclosure Agreement prohibits sharing of media

Depth perception for DJI drones Image

Depth Perception For DJI Drones

At RaSpect Limited, the product ‘Inspectia’ is an inspection and visualization software system that analyzes visual and sensory data to create a safety and health report on building facades and interior structures such as elevator shafts. As an AI Engineering intern, I developed a depth perception application and integrated it with the DJI Manifold 2 onboard computer and the ROS API of the Matrice 300 RTK drone.

Workflow Implemented

RaSpect

Non-Disclosure Agreement prohibits sharing of media

Perception and Navigation for Mobile Robots Image

Integration Of Electric Motors With Autonmous Cleaning Boats

At ClearBot Limited, I developed a ROS2 driver node to interface with electric outboard motors, sending throttle and steering commands and retreiving feedback such as power, voltage, current, temperature and RPM.

ClearBot

Non-Disclosure Agreement prohibits sharing of details

Perception and Navigation for Mobile Robots Image

Behavioral Intelligence For Sophia The Robot

At Hanson Robotics, I experimented with Artificial Intelligence to extend Sophia the robot’s capabilities, reduce interaction time and enhance user experience.

Hanson Robotics

Non-Disclosure Agreement prohibits sharing of details

Personal Projects

Coral Reef Mapping Robot Image

Coral Reef Mapping Surface Vehicle

I volunteered at MakerBay Hong Kong, and in collaboration with Hong Kong Open Ocean Youth, developed two prototypes of unmanned surface vehicles to collect images of coral reefs along with GPS location stamps

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Vision Based Trash Sorting Image

Vision Based Trash Sorting on Edge

I identified that recycling rates in Hong Kong were alarmingly low due to lack of efficient trash sorting. To address this problem, I created a prototype for a trash sorter that uses a Yolo V4 tiny network running on Raspberry Pi that processed visual feed of the trash and classified it into paper, plastic, metal and glass categories

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BREED Fish Image

World's Fastest Robot Fish (2020)

The Vayu project was started long before I joined it and its aim was to create the world’s fastest robot fish. When I joined in 2020, it was with the founding of BREED Robotics, a student society at HKU to nurture the creation of bio-inspired robots. As co-founder and technical leader of the electronics division, I oversaw the design and implementation of the circuit of the final version of the fish.

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About Me

Hi there! I am Abhinandan, or Abhi, as my non-Indian friends call me. I am an Engineer with a passion for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Having worked at several companies on various Robotics, Computer Vision, Deep Learning, Embedded Software and IoT at different stages of product development, I am currently sharpening and updating my skill set via a masters program in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Having contributed to technology that has transformed industries, benefited societies and helped conserve the environment, I am eager to continue building and shaping the future keeping in mind sustainability, efficiency and eco-friendliness.

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