IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020 - 15

be better integrated in our everyday
life, and no form is easier to use and
integrate into one's lifestyle and activities than wearables. I am an avid
believer in the fact that technology
advancement is indescribably helpful
for human society, and for that reason
any new technology and products can
revolutionize human society when
used responsibly. My point is that robotics has reached a point where I
believe there exists a possible solution
to almost every problem with which
we as humans need assistance and
hence has great potential to change the
quality of life.
Srinivasan: What is the potential that
you see in the product/idea you're working on currently to bring about a positive change in a visually challenged
person's day-to-day life?
Aryan Naveen: I think this has
immense potential in assisting the visually challenged with their day-to-day
navigations. If executed and implemented correctly, my device will enable
users to be more efficient in daily tasks,
such as opening doors and finding
objects, which will further minimize
the impact their lack of sight has on
their day-to-day life. Essentially, the
goal of any assistive tech in this field
is to bridge the gap of lost capabilities between the disabled user and
other individuals.
Srinivasan: What kind of hardware and
software tools are you gaining expertise
in due to the work you're doing on this
project, and what are some of the methods you used to familiarize yourself
with them?
Aryan Naveen: The software tools
that I have gained experience with
due to my work include Linux, machine
learning, ROS [the Robot Operating System], CAD, and many others.
Specifically, with machine learning, I have gained knowledge of both
frameworks for implementation, like
PyTorch and Tensorflow, and the specific theoretical knowledge of various
network architectures and the data
those models are used with. Honestly,
even more than the tools I h ave

worked with, this internship has taught
me a lot more about the re search
being conducted around the world
because of the heavy emphasis on surveying. My rapid familiarization is in
large part thanks to the help of Howard Brand and Prof. Li, and I'd like to
acknowledge them for all of the effort
they have put in to help me learn various topics.
Srinivasan: Being in high school, how
exactly has this opportunity to work at a
university helped you both in your current life and future?
Aryan Naveen: I have had the privilege of having high clarity on what I
hope to do careerwise from a young
age, and this internship has done nothing but confirm my passion. Entering
this research opportunity, I was aware
of my interest in robotics. However,
this experience has also opened my
mind to the vast possibilities for innovation presented by the field of
machine learning. In addition to the
unrivaled quantity of technical knowledge, I have also gained many soft skills
that will be useful down the road. The
research process is something that I
had minimal experience with prior to
this opportunity. However, through
the help of Prof. Li, I am getting more
and more comfortable with it.
Srinivasan: To make sure more students
from high school can get the experience
that you were able to get, please share
some details about how exactly you
pursued this opportunity and how your
school and the university itself were
helpful? Are there any improvements
that you can think of that would have
made your pursuit easier?
Aryan Naveen: I am very grateful to Prof. Li for this opportunity. I
emailed many professors, and Prof. Li
was very kind and welcoming in allowing me to get this opportunity. Honestly, something that I hope changes
is the fact that, at my high school, research is not something that is encouraged among students. This opportunity
stemmed from my own initiative and
not something that my school provided for me.

Srinivasan: Lastly, kindly share with us
your vision for the remainder of this
project and your plans, if any, to carry
this project further in your future
beyond the scope of this internship.
Aryan Naveen: At the moment, my
project is focused on guiding the arm
to a certain pose to grab a desired
object. My next steps are centered
around intent prediction for the user.
Being able to determine what the user
is looking for through their actions
could really take the project to the
next level. My hope is to be able to
develop this project to a point where it
can be deployed as a viable product
even if it carries forward beyond my
time in this internship.
My thanks again to Aryan Naveen
for taking the time to share some
details about this project and Prof. Li
for coordinating this interview. I hope
students who are currently in school
and enthusiastic about robotics take
inspiration and pursue this field to
bring about positive change. Visit
Prof. Li's lab website (https://sites.
google.com/view/autonomylab) to
know more about the project and
Naveen's work.
References
[1] Georgia Tech GVU Center, "Contextual Computing Group." Accessed on: Jan. 22, 2020. [Online].
Available: https://gvu.gatech.edu/research/labs/
contextual-computing-group
[2] Clemson University, "Autonomy Lab." Accessed
on: Jan. 22, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://sites
.google.com/view/autonomylab
[3] Greenville County Schools, "Building a better
graduate." Accessed on: Jan. 22, 2020. [Online].
Available: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/fihs/
main.asp?titleid=graduate
[4] FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology, "A global robotics
community preparing young people for the
future." Accessed on Jan. 22, 2020. [Online].
Available: https://www.pinterest.com/firstinspires/
[5] FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology, "FIRST Robotics
Competition game & season info." Accessed on:
Jan. 22, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www
.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/game-and-season

MARCH 2020

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

https://sites.google.com/view/autonomylab https://sites.google.com/view/autonomylab https://gvu.gatech.edu/research/labs/contextual-computing-group https://gvu.gatech.edu/research/labs/contextual-computing-group https://sites.google.com/view/autonomylab https://sites.google.com/view/autonomylab https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/fihs/main.asp?titleid=graduate https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/fihs/main.asp?titleid=graduate https://www.pinterest.com/firstinspires/ https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/game-and-season https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/game-and-season

IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2020

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