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 with Skyy Network to implement real-world testing of machine learning models for outdoor drone operations.
• 🐝 High speed counting of black soldier flies, Jan 2024 - Dec 2024: Research assistant on an NSSN-funded project, developing, prototyping, and deploying a neuromorphic vision system in collaboration with ARC Entotech and Western Sydney’s International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems.
• 🌊 Aquatic Robotics - USV and ROV, Aug 2024 - Present: Ongoing.
• 🏙 Smart City Project, Nov 2019 - July 2021: Participated in an Australian Government Smart Cities project with City of Ryde, 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 mobile robot design, programming, and hands-on experience using ROS, covering topics like motor control, computer vision, mapping, localization, and navigation.
• 🌐 ENGG4201/8201 IoT System Design, Feb 2021 - Present: Co-designed and co-taught an advanced course in designing, building, and programming IoT systems, focusing on sensor integration, web design, data analysis, and machine learning for IoT applications.
• 🛠 ENGG2000/3000 Engineering Project Practice, July 2022 - Nov 2022: Lab tutor for SPINE unit, fostering professional skills, employability, and project-based learning through online modules and academic collaboration.

☀ Web Developer @ Quality Solar Sydney

• March 2019 - Dec 2020: Designed and developed the WordPress website, implemented SEO strategies, conducted data analytics, managed Google Business and Facebook campaigns, and handled the company’s LinkedIn profile and client database to drive sales.

📚 Research Publications

2024

• 🚗 MecQaBot: A Modular Robot Sensing and Wireless Mechatronics Framework for Education and Research - Conference: ICST 2024, International Conference on Sensing Technology, 2024, December, Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, DOI: 2411.13156v1
• 🐝 FlyCount: High-Speed Counting of Black Soldier Flies Using Neuromorphic Sensors, IEEE Sensors Journal, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, A. Marcireau, S. Mukhopadhyay, T. Hu, and R. Atayde. DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2024.3504289.
• 🚁 Cooperative Drone Delivery via Push-based Lift with Payload Stabilization, DroNet ‘24, 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, ACM Mobicom 2024, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, DOI: 10.1145/3636534.3649382
• 🚁 Autonomous Drone Coordination in RF-denied Environments, ICARM 2024, Authors: Endrowednes Kuantama, Alice James, Avishkar Seth
• 🚁 Cooperative Drone Payload Delivery with Self Balancing Tray, ICARM 2024, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• 🚁 Flying IoT: Sensor Fusion Performance Analysis for UAV Applications, Book: IoT Sensors, ML, AI, and XAI, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Natalia Chatrath, Endrowednes Kuantama, Richard Han, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Publisher: Springer

2023

• 🚁 Aerodynamics and Sensing for Drone Parcel Delivery, ICST 2023, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han, DOI: 10.1109/ICST59744.2023.10460847
• 🚁 Sensor Fusion for Indoor UAV Navigation, ICST 2023, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han, DOI: 10.1109/ICST59744.2023.10460820
• 🚁 Drone High-Rise Aerial Delivery, Journal: Drones, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han, DOI: 10.3390/drones7050300
• 📝 RLaGA: RL-Aided Genetic Algorithm for Landing Violation Search, ACM SIGSOFT/FSE 2023, Authors: Linfeng Liang, Yao Deng, Kye Morton, Valtteri Kallinen, Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han, Xi Zheng
• 🚁 Flying Watchdog for Guard Patrol and Data Verification, Journal: Future Internet, Authors: E. Kuantama, A. Seth, A. James, Y. Zhang, DOI: 10.3390/fi15100340

2022

• 🚁 Vertical Trajectory Analysis for Drone Delivery via QR Code Detection, Conference: Sensing Technology, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Endrowednes Kuantama, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Richard Han
• 🌐 IoT System Design: A Project-Based Approach, Journal: Smart Sensors, Measurement and Instrumentation, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas C. Mukhopadhyay
• 🛰️ TrackInk: IoT-Enabled Object Tracking in Space, Journal: Sensors, Authors: Cameron Aume, Keith Andrews, Shantanu Pal, Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

2021

• 🤖 Realtime Hand Landmark Tracking for Prosthetic Arm, IEEE ROSE 2021, Authors: Alice James, Avishkar Seth, Subhas C. Mukhopadhyay
• 🦾 Wearable 3D Posture Estimation for Lower Back Healthcare, IEEE ROSE 2021, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• 🤖 Autonomous Ground Vehicle for Off-Road Applications, Conference: Computational Intelligence, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay

2020

• 🚗 1/10th Scale Autonomous Vehicle with CNN, Journal: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems, Authors: Avishkar Seth, Alice James, Subhas Mukhopadhyay
• 🌐 IoT-Enabled Sensor Node Tutorial, Journal: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems, 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

• 🥇 Travel Grant- AeroBridge, MobiCom 2024, Nov 2024, Macquarie University, Au$5000, Description: Travel grant for presenting at MobiCom 2024
• 🥇 Research Grant- Automatic Empty Locations check in the Warehouse using a Drone, Sept 2024, Macquarie University, Au$15,000, Description: Chief Investigator on project with Legrand & Macquarie University Drone Lab
• 🥇 Annual Australia QUT Droid Racing Challenge, July 2024, Queensland University of Technology, 3rd Prize, Mentored MQ Robotics Club team
• 🥇 PGRF 2023- Post Graduate Research Fund, Oct 2023, Macquarie University, Au$6000, Description: Research & Travel Grant in competitive university-wide competition
• 🥇 Hackathon 2020 - Big Data Society, Macquarie University, Mar 2020, Big Data Society, Macquarie University, 2nd Place, Cash Prize: Au$1,700, Description: 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, ICST, IJSSIS, IEEE ICARM, ACM MobiSys-DroNet

School of Engineering & Computing, Macquarie University

• Role: Co-Supervisor, Time: Feb 2021 – Present, Duties: Mentor undergrad/postgrad students in engineering and computing

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