Event
Future Leaders in Robotics and AI Seminar: Sorina Lupu
Friday, February 28, 2025
2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
https://go.umd.edu/FutureLeaders
Yancy Diaz-Mercado
301 405 6506
yancy@umd.edu
Perception-Driven Autonomy and Learning Control for Space Robotics
Sorina Lupu
PhD Student
California Institute of Technology
Abstract
Planetary exploration presents unique challenges for mobile robots. The planetary surface is characterized by diverse and often treacherous terrain that poses significant risks to the robot. The ability to perceive and understand the environment is crucial for autonomous robots to navigate and perform tasks in these unstructured environments. To enable this capability, we propose an innovative approach to enhancing ground vehicle mobility by integrating a vision-based control algorithm that adapts to changes in real-time. Our approach aims to improve the vehicle's ability to assess and respond to complex terrains in real-time by leveraging visual information through visual foundation models and meta-learning. Our vision-infused controller has provable guarantees of exponential stability and was validated extensively on board two ground vehicles.
Biography
Sorina is a PhD candidate in the Aerospace Department at California Institute of Technology and an affiliate of the Keck Institute of Space Sciences. She has master degrees from Caltech in Space Engineering and from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL) in Robotics and Autonomous Systems and holds a Bachelors of Science in Electronics Engineering from Polytehnic University of Bucharest, Romania. She worked previously at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), and at Soundbrenner, in Hong Kong. Her current research focuses on autonomy, control, and machine learning applied to robotics and spacecraft. She has won awards and fellowships including the AI4Science Fellowship from Amazon and the Anita Borg Women Techmakers from Google.
About the Seminar Series
The Maryland Robotics Center's Future Leaders in Robotics and AI Seminar Series at the University of Maryland is a nationwide online seminar series for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career professionals. 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 on select dates during spring. 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. For more information, please visit: https://robotics.umd.edu/FutureLeaders
