Event
Microsoft Future Leaders in Robotics and AI Seminar Series: Alexandra Nilles
Friday, February 24, 2023
2:30 p.m.
Online Seminar
Agent-Environment Interactions for Uncertainty Reduction & Communication
Alexandra Nilles
Postdoc Fellow
Cornell University
Abstract
Most motion planning research focuses on collision avoidance, but it turns out that if robots are capable of making direct contact with boundaries of their environment, we can make our robotic systems more robust and less research-intensive. This talk will give highlights of the robustness results in ``collision-inclusive motion planning,'' as well as extensions to multi-agent systems, manipulation of the environment, and possible applications in bio-inspired environmental monitoring.
Biography
Alli Nilles completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020, advised by Dr. Steven M. LaValle. She is now a postdoc in Dr. Kirstin Petersen’s Collective Embodied Intelligence Lab in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Cornell University. She focuses on algorithmic foundations of underactuated and otherwise "weird" robotic systems, and she has published in venues such as IROS, WAFR, RoboSoft, and IJRR.
About the Seminar Series
The Future Leaders in Robotics and AI: Celebrating Diversity and Innovation Seminar Series is part of the University of Maryland and Microsoft Robotics and Diversity Initiative. This is a nationwide online seminar series for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, or early-career professionals, especially underrepresented minorities and women. The seminar series highlights the latest research and innovation in the field of robotics and AI. The series is intended to provide exposure and mentorship opportunities to the speakers, build a network of innovators across the country, and support the speakers’ career planning.
The seminars are held once per month during the academic year. There are two speakers per seminar. Each speaker gives a 20-minute research presentation followed by a Q&A segment. Immediately after the second seminar, the speakers participate in a discussion with faculty.