[VIRTUAL] Spring 2021 GRASP Seminar: Nicholas Hudson & Navinda Kottege, CSIRO, “Robotics and Autonomous Systems Research at CSIRO”

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ABSTRACT

In this talk, we will give an overview of the diverse research we do at CSIRO’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group and delve into some specific technologies we have developed including SLAM and Legged robotics. We will also give insights into CSIRO’s participation in the current DARPA Subterranean Challenge where we are deploying a fleet of heterogeneous robots into GPS-denied unknown underground environments.

PRESENTERS

Nicholas Hudson and Navinda Kottege

Nicolas is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and the Group Leader for Robotics and Autonomous System at CSIRO Data61. Before joining CSIRO, Nicolas led the [Google] X Robotics perception team, with a focus on applying machine learning to mobile manipulators. During his time at Google, he also worked for Boston Dynamics on whole body humanoid manipulation. Prior to Google, Nicolas was at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he led/contributed to several US Department of Defence projects in mobile manipulation, including JPL’s winning DARPA ARM team, the DARPA Robotics Challenge, and technology development tasks for Mars Sample Return. This work culminated in Nicolas being awarded NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal for contributions to robotic manipulation autonomy.

Navinda is a Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader at the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group at CSIRO Data61. He initiated and led research in legged robotics at CSIRO, focusing on hexapod robots. He is the research lead for CSIRO’s team competing in the current DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Navinda joined CSIRO in December 2009 and conducted research in using acoustics for localisation and ecological monitoring. Previously he conducted robotics research at The Australian National University and was a team member of the Serafina project which developed swarming technology for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Navinda completed his PhD in Engineering at The Australian National University in 2009. He is a senior member of the IEEE, and is the chair of IEEE Queensland joint chapter of Robotics and Automation and Control Systems Societies. He is an Honourary Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Queensland University of Technology.