Ph.D. Candidate & Robotics Research Engineer

About Me

Hey, fellow human! I’m Avishkar Seth, a third-year Ph.D. Candidate and Robotics Research Engineer at Macquarie University. My expertise spans robotics, machine learning, and sensor technology, with a keen eye for real-world applications. I’ve been fortunate to contribute to diverse projects, from smart cities to autonomous drones. Currently mentored by Prof. Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Prof. Richard Han, and Dr. Endrowednes Kuantama, my research aims to develop an autonomous drone equipped with advanced computer vision for mid-air item transfers.

🎓 Education

Macquarie University, Sydney

• 🤖 Ph.D. in Robotics Engineering
  Feb 2022 - Present
• 🤖 M.Res in Robotics Engineering
  Feb 2021 - Dec 2021
• 🛠 M.Engg in Electronics Engineering
  Feb 2019 - Dec 2020

Mumbai University

• 🛠 B.Engg in Electronics Engineering
  July 2013 - July 2017

Mithibai College

• 🧪 HSC in Science
  July 2011 - June 2013

🛠 Work Experience

🎓 Research Assistant @ Macquarie University

🚁 Autonomous Drone Landing Project

Sept 2022 - Present

• Engaged in an ARC-funded collaboration between Macquarie University’s Computing Department and Skyy Network, an Aviation and Aerospace company.
• Role involves implementing real-world testing of machine learning models specifically designed for outdoor drone operations.

🐝 High speed counting of black soldier flies

Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

• Engaged in an NSSN-funded collaboration between Macquarie University’s School of Engineering, ARC Entotech, and the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems at Western Sydney.
• Worked as a research assistant for the project, developing, prototyping, and deploying the neuromorphic vision system.

🌊 Aquatic Robotics - USV and ROV

Aug 2024 - Present

• Ongoing

🏙 Smart City Project

Nov 2019 - July 2021

• Participated in a project funded by the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, in partnership with the City of Ryde Council.
• Responsibilities included designing a sensor network, hardware prototyping, and real-time data analysis for a pedestrian counting system.

📚 Teaching @ Macquarie University

🤖 MTRN4068 Wireless Mechatronics

July 2020 - Present

• Co-designed and co-taught an advanced undergraduate course on hands-on experience designing, building, and programming mobile robots using ROS.
• Lab sessions aim to develop student skills in ROS, computer vision, motor control, sensor integration, mapping, localization, and navigation.

🌐 ENGG4201/8201 IoT System Design

Feb 2021 - Present

• Co-designed and co-taught an advanced course that provides hands-on experience in designing, building, and programming sensor networks and IoT projects.
• Lab sessions focus on skill development in sensor integration, web design, data analysis, and machine learning in IoT applications.

🛠 ENGG2000/3000 Engineering Project Practice

July 2022 - Nov 2022

• Served as a lab tutor for the sixth SPINE unit, a curriculum designed to cultivate professional acumen, transferable competencies, and employability.
• The unit blends online modules with hands-on, project-based learning activities and is co-facilitated by a team of academic experts.

☀ Web Developer @ Quality Solar Sydney

March 2019 - Dec 2020

• Worked at Quality Electrical Group, led by Mr. Ali Shalkouhi.
• Responsibilities included designing the entire WordPress website, executing SEO strategies, conducting data analytics, and overseeing Google Business and Facebook advertising campaigns.
• Also managed the company’s LinkedIn profile and client database to drive sales.

📚 Research Publications

2024

🚁 Cooperative Drone Delivery via Push-based Lift with Payload Stabilization

• Conference: DroNet ‘24: Proceedings of the 10th Workshop on Micro Aerial Vehicle Networks, Systems, and Applications
• Year: 2024, Month: June
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• DOI: 10.1145/3636534.3649382

🚁 AeroBridge: Autonomous Drone Handoff System for Emergency Battery Service

• Conference: ACM Mobicom 2024
• Year: 2024, Month: March
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• DOI: 10.1145/3636534.3649382

🚁 Autonomous Drone Coordination in RF-denied Environments through Leader-Follower Systems and Computer Vision

• Conference: 2024 International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics (ICARM)
• Year: 2024
• Authors: Endrowednes Kuantama, Alice James, Avishkar Seth
• Publisher: ICARM

🚁 Cooperative Drone Payload Delivery with Self Balancing Tray

• Conference: 2024 International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics (ICARM)
• Year: 2024
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• Publisher: ICARM

🚁 Flying IoT: Sensor Fusion Performance Analysis for UAV Applications in Indoor Spaces

• Book: IoT Sensors, ML, AI and XAI: Empowering A Smarter World
• Year: 2024
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Natalia Chatrath, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• Publisher: Springer

2023

🚁 Aerodynamics and Sensing Analysis for Efficient Drone-Based Parcel Delivery

• Conference: 2023 16th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST)
• Pages: 17-20
• Publisher: IEEE
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han
• DOI: 10.1109/ICST59744.2023.10460847

🚁 Sensor Fusion for Autonomous Indoor UAV Navigation in Confined Spaces

• Conference: 2023 16th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST)
• Pages: 17-20
• Publisher: IEEE
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han
• DOI: 10.1109/ICST59744.2023.10460820

🚁 Drone High-Rise Aerial Delivery with Vertical Grid Screening

• Journal: Drones
• Volume: 7, Issue: 5, Pages: 300
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han
• DOI: 10.3390/drones7050300

📝 RLaGA: A Reinforcement Learning Augmented Genetic Algorithm For Searching Real and Diverse Marker-Based Landing Violations

• Conference: ACM SIGSOFT/ FSE
• Year: 2023
• Publisher: arXiv
• Authors: Linfeng Liang, Yao Deng, Kye Morton, Valtteri Kallinen, Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han, Xi Zheng

🚁 Flying Watchdog-Based Guard Patrol with Check Point Data Verification

• Journal: Future Internet
• Volume: 15, Pages: 340
• Authors: Kuantama, E.; Seth, A.; James, A.; Zhang, Y.
• DOI: 10.3390/fi15100340

2022

🚁 Vertical Trajectory Analysis Using QR Code Detection for Drone Delivery Application

• Conference: International Conference on Sensing Technology
• Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland, Year: 2022
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han

🌐 IoT System Design: Project Based Approach

• Journal: Smart Sensors, Measurement and Instrumentation
• Volume: 41
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas C. Mukhopadhyay

🛰️ TrackInk: An IoT-Enabled Real-Time Object Tracking System in Space

• Journal: Sensors
• Volume: 22, Issue: 2
• Authors: Cameron Aume, Keith Andrews, Shantanu Pal, Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

2021

🤖 Realtime Hand Landmark Tracking to Aid Development of a Prosthetic Arm for Reach and Grasp Motions

• Conference: IEEE International Symposium on Robotic and Sensors Environments, ROSE 2021
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas C. Mukhopadhyay

🦾 Wearable Sensing System to perform Realtime 3D posture estimation for lower back healthcare

• Conference: IEEE International Symposium on Robotic and Sensors Environments, ROSE 2021
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

🤖 Autonomous Ground Vehicle for Off-the-Road Applications Based on Neural Network

• Conference: Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Computing
• Series: Algorithms for Intelligent Systems
• Publisher: Springer, Singapore
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

2020

🚗 1/10th scale autonomous vehicle based on convolutional neural network

• Journal: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems
• Volume: 13, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-17
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

🌐 IoT enabled sensor node: a tutorial paper

• Journal: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems
• Volume: 13, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-18
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas C. Mukhopadhyay

🏆 Achievements

Patents

🥇 [Mid-air Drone to Drone Balanced Item Handoff]

• Provisional Patent Filed: MQC Ref: 2023005
• Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han

🥇 [Intelligent and adaptive balanced lift via drone swarms]

• Provisional Patent Filed: MQC Ref: 2023005
• Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth,, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han

Awards

🥇 Research Grant- Automatic Empty Locations check in the Warehouse using a Drone

• Year: Sept 2024
• Institution: Macquarie University
• Prize: Research Grant of Au$15,000
• Description: Chief Investigator on the project between Legrand and Macquarie University Drone Lab

🥇 Annual Australia QUT Droid Racing Challenge

• Year: July 2024
• Institution: Queensland University of Technology
• Prize: Mentored a team of students in our MQ Robotics Club for the Annual QUT Droid Racing Challenge and won 3rd Prize.

🥇 PGRF 2023- Post Graduate Research Fund

• Year: Oct 2023
• Institution: Macquarie University
• Prize: Research & Travel Grant of Au$6000
• Description: Won a Research & Travel Grant of $6000 in the most competitive university-wide competetion

🥇 Hackathon 2020 - Big Data Society, Macquarie University

• Year: March 2020
• Institution: Big Data Society, Macquarie University
• Prize: Second Place, Cash Prize of $1,700
• Description: Won second place in an AI-Enabled Education Hackathon.

Certificates

🛩️ Summer Training Program on Quadrotor and RC Aircraft

• Certificate No: 44390012
• Permanent Link: Skyfi Labs Certificate Verification

🤝 Volunteering

Peer Reviewer

• IEEE Sensors Journal
• MDPI Sensors Journal
• MDPI Drones Journal
• Springer Nature: Machine Vision and Applications
• Springer Nature: Cluster Computing
• International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST)
• International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems
• IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics (ICARM)
• ACM MobiSys- DroNet

School of Engineering & Computing, Macquarie University

• Role: Co-Supervisor
• Time: Feb 2021 – Present
• Duties: Mentor undergraduate and postgraduate students from the engineering and computing departments at Macquarie University.

IEEE- Macquarie, Sydney

• Role: Vice-Chair
• Time: Feb 2019 – Present
• Duties: Seminars, student engagement, conference representation.

IEEE Women in Engineering, Sydney

• Role: Secretary
• Time: Feb 2019 – Present
• Duties: Social media, website, event planning.

Venture Cafe, Sydney

• Role: Ambassador
• Time: Aug 2019 – Dec 2021