Contact Dr Saurabh Upadhyay
Background
Work experience
1. Lecturer in Space Engineering, Cranfield University (2022-Present): Working towards robot autonomy in extreme environments such as space and extraterrestrial bodies.
2. Research Associate, University of Bristol (2019-2022): Developed fast and safe motion primitive generation approaches for agile quadrotor flights.
3. Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Porto (2018-2019): Worked on safe motion planning for planetary hopping rovers exploring rugged terrains.
Education
1. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Indian Institute of Science (2018)Thesis: Continuous-Curvature Path Planning Using Four Parameter Logistic Curves
Developed a computationally-fast robot motion planning tool from a bioassay curve
2. Master of Technology (MTech), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (2012)
Thesis: Robust Output Feedback Controller Design for a Vertical Take-Off and Landing System
3. Bachelor of Engineering (BE), Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engineering (2009)
Subject: Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
Awards and Honours
1. Engineering Faculty Post-Doctoral Research Prize, EPSRC and University of Bristol, 2021.
2. Prof. A. K. Rao Medal for Best Ph.D. Thesis in Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, 2018.
3. Article titled “Continuous-Curvature Path Planning with Obstacle Avoidance using Four Parameter Logistic Curves” in the Popular article list of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
4. Article titled “Smooth Path Planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Airspace Restrictions” in Top 20 most viewed papers of AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (2018).
5. DST SERB International Travel Support for IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Stockholm, Sweden (2016).
6. YouTube video titled “observer based controller design matlab simulink” with 49000+ views.
Professional Activities
- Editorial and organizing member: Aerospace Research Students Symposium 2016, IISc
- Session chair/co-chair: IROS 2021, ARSS 2016.
- Reviewer: IEEE RAS Young Reviewers Program, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, IEEE Access, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Ocean Engineering, Advanced Control for Application, Acta Astrounatica, Indian Control Conference 2021, International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2020, American Control Conference 2018, International Conference on Advances in Control and Optimization of Dynamical Systems 2018 and 2016.
Research opportunities
Saurabh has a PhD studentship opening in the field of planetary robotics. Prospective students/post-docs: Please send your detailed CV and research statement to Saurabh.Upadhyay@cranfield.ac.uk.
Current activities
Saurabh's research interests include:
- Robot autonomy and mobility
- Space (planetary and in-orbit) and aerial robots
- Heterogeneous robot system
- Fast exploration in extreme environments
- Computationally simple and low-cost robotic systems
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Upadhyay S, Richardson T & Richards A (2022) Generation of dynamically feasible window traversing quadrotor trajectories using logistic curve, Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 105 (1) Article No. 16.
- Upadhyay S & Aguiar AP (2020) Constrained hopping traversability analysis on non-uniform polygonal chains, IEEE Access, 8 36691-36701.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2018) A point-to-ray framework for generating smooth parallel parking maneuvers, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 3 (2) 1268-1275.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2018) On existence and synthesis of smooth four parameter logistic paths inside annular passages, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 3 (4) 4375-4382.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2017) Smooth path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles with airspace restrictions, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 40 (7) 1596-1612.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2016) Continuous-curvature path planning with obstacle avoidance using four parameter logistic curves, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 1 (2) 609-616.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2016) Γ and S shaped logistic curves for path planning with obstacle avoidance, IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 3 (1) 88-94.
Conference Papers
- Upadhyay S & Aguiar A (2021) A Voronoi-based safe waypoint generator for hopping robots exploring large celestial bodies. In: AIAA SciTech Forum 2021, Virtual Event, 19-21 January 2021.
- Upadhyay S, Richardson T & Richards A (2021) Fast generation of obstacle-avoiding motion primitives for quadrotors. In: 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Prague, 27 September - 1 October 2021.
- Upadhyay S, Richards A & Richardson T (2020) Generation of window-traversing flyable trajectories using logistic curve. In: 2020 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), Athens, Greece, 1-4 September 2020.
- Upadhyay S & Aguiar A (2019) Local trajectory generation for hopping robots exploring celestial bodies. In: AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, San Diego, 7-11 January 2019.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2016) Smooth trajectory planning for MAVs with airspace restrictions. In: AIAA SciTech Forum 2016, San Diego, 4-8 January 2016.
- Upadhyay S & Ratnoo A (2015) Smooth path planning for passages with heading and curvature discontinuities. In: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2015, Hamburg, 28 September - 2 October 2015.