Jun 2024 – Current

[NYU] Self-Drive Vertically Integrated Project Team

Team Lead

NYU Self-Drive is a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) team where students develop visual navigation solutions for small robots deployed in complex real-world environments. In summary, I:

• Employed SIFT and ORB-SLAM visual navigation algorithms on a TurtleBot for real-time terrain mapping, collected training data using a customized ROS server, and developed autonomous driving solutions

• As a team lead, developed and organized on-campus self-drive competitions featuring 20+ professionals and 4 groups

In more detail: I joined NYU Self-Drive in January 2024 and have since gained hands-on experience in Robotics Operating Systems (ROS), Mobile Object Rearrangement (MOR), and autonomous driving concepts and algorithms. I have applied advanced techniques such as VLAD, ORB-SLAM, and SIFT, leveraging programming languages like Linux, Python, and C++ to develop innovative solutions. Leading a student subteam of three, I spearheaded the development of an exploration and autonomous navigation pipeline, achieving a goal-to-goal time of 32 seconds in the internal Self-Drive competition in May 2024.

Promoted to VIP team lead in June 2024, I have since organized two recruitment cycles and led the development of the VIP curriculum. Working closely with our faculty advisor, Prof. Feng Chen, I have contributed to major grant applications, including the MUST Accelerator grant, and supported our team's proposal as a competition host for ICRA 2025. These responsibilities have significantly enhanced my interpersonal communication and professional writing skills.

As team leader, I have also taken an active role in outreach efforts, attending events like the VIP Showcase to represent the Self-Drive team. These experiences have honed my public speaking skills and further solidified my ability to lead and inspire a diverse group of students in advancing robotics education and innovation.