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Introduction 

Hi there in case we are meeting for the first time. 

I am currently a research scholar pursuing my doctoral studies in the domain of robotics under the guidance of Prof Dr. Asokan Thondiyath in IIT Madras. Prior to that I was working in TATA Motors as Graduate Engineering Trainee (GET) at Jamshedpur after completing my graduate studies in NIT Silchar. During my graduate studies, I have also worked as a research intern in DRDO Chandipur under the guidance of Dr HS Panda. My research areas include hybrid multi-medium robots,  analysis of aeromodels,  additive manufacturing using 3d printing and green energy harvesting. Some of the projects in the aforementioned areas are listed in the projects section.  



 Faculty Advisor

 I am currently pursuing my doctoral studies in the field of Robotics under the guidance of Dr. Asokan Thondiyath. Asokan Thondiyath is a professor in the Department of Engineering Design, and currently the Head of the Department at IIT Madras. He has supervised 11 Ph.D and 9 MS students and currently supervising 6 Ph.D, 3 MS and 6 dual degree students. He is actively involved in many sponsored research projects with an approximate budget of Rs. 500 lakhs, sponsored by DRDO, ISRO, DST, NRB and other sponsoring agencies. 

Project Proposal 

Robots are generally classified based on their application or their areas of operation. There are mobile ground robots for terrestrial applications, underwater robots for submerged applications like offshore surveying, accessing and exploring marine ecological environment, and aerial robots for application in aerial reconnaissance, survey etc. While these vehicles are terrain specific i.e. have their performance optimized in a specific terrain but they cannot meet the demands and requirements of a multi medium operation.

In this context there is a huge need for cross domain robots capable of performing in multifarious environments where seamless transfer from ground to air or water to air can be done. These new age demands require a new design of cross domain transitioning vehicle which can combine the speed, agility, and maneuverability of an aerial vehicle with the stealth of an underwater vehicle and endurance of terrestrial robot. 

Teaching assignments

Publications

Positions of Responsibility 


Papers published (3 Journal Publications, 10 Conference Proceedings, 2 Patent Filed)

    Journals 

   Conference Proceedings 

Patents Filed 


Projects 

What have I done?

This section deals with providing readers a brief summary of the projects in which I was involved and the papers published by me. Each project revolves around a conceptual idea that is designed, modeled, simulated, and then brought to life. Rather than boring you with the entire design methodology, I have provided a short outlook on each project separately. Many projects include the sweat and blood of other members who have been duly credited.


Feel like suggesting something? You know where to reach me 

Till then keep inventing 

Mathematical modelling and control of submersible multimedium UAV

Amphibious robots have become a topic of great interest because of their broad application prospect and cross-domain adaptability. Due to their transverse capability in air and water, submersible amphibious vehicles can effectively couple high speed lower drag cruise in the air with energy-efficient hover in aquatic environments by effectively utilizing the restoring forces. Mathematical modelling of the dynamics and control of such multi-medium robots is equally challenging especially considering the stability while transitioning between the two contradictory mediums. The governing equations have significant changes between these mediums, and they are coupled non-linear system of differential equations. Considerable variation in the physical properties like density and viscosity between these mediums demands a transition strategy, where a switching in the propulsion subsystem should also occur. This work presents the mathematical model and control of a proposed submersible UAV. 

Credits : Dr Asokan T, Vaibhav Ashok , Dr. Thiyagarajan Ranganathan 

Mathematical Modeling of UAVs

The entire aim of this project was to model an unmanned aerial vehicle including its kinematic and dynamical interactions with the environment such that its response can be studied for varying actuators, footprints and environment by implementing  minor changes in the platform. Graphical User interface was also implemented to give an intuitive feel for the nature of motion. 

Attached here is the simulation of the UAV with constant pitch input. 


dronesimroll.mp4

SLAM Navigation in mobile robots

The entire aim of this project was to exploit mobile robots like turtlebots for teaching SLAM navigation using the ROS platform and LIDAR sensor data. While teleoperation can be used to create an occupancy gridmap, various packages were used for autonomous navigation and SLAM implementation for the turtlebot. The experimental demonstration is shown along the Rviz simulation in the alongside video. 

Attached here is the simulation of the turtlebot with autonomous navigation from initial to goal pose.  


Credits : Dr Asokan T, Prof. Nirav Patel, Prof. Nagamanikandan Govindan

Novel Hybrid VTOL Tiltrotor

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have slowly but steadily emerged as a research and commercial hotspot because of their widespread applications. Due to their agility, compact size and ability to integrate multiple sensors, they are mostly sought for applications which require supplementing human effort in risky and monotonous missions. Despite all these advantages Rotorcrafts or Vertical Take Off and Landing Vehicles (VTOL) in general are greatly limited by their  endurance and power intensive flight requirements which consequentially effect the time of flight and operational range. On the other hand, fixed-wing aircrafts have an extended range as the entire thrust force is along the direction of motion and are inherently more stable but limited by their takeoff and landing strip requirements. One of the potential solutions to increase endurance of VTOL was to exploit the thrust vectoring ability of the individual actuators in multi-rotors which will enable takeoff and hovering as a VTOL vehicle and flight as a fixed-wing aircraft.


Publication : https://doi.org/10.3390/s21185987 


Credits : Dr Asokan T, Surjdeo Singh, Siva Sai Krishna


Deep Learning based real-time biodiversity analysis using aerial vehicles

Climate change has greatly impacted the quality of natural resources and also lead to the degradation of our planet's ecological biodiversity. In response to such a critical issue, there are wildlife conservation programs worldwide. However, no effective methodology exists to assess the current biodiversity of an ecological area in real-time, which could help in environmental planning and track the changes in the place's biodiversity. Current ecological studies lead to the census of individual species by capture, mark, and recapture technique, which is cumbersome, inefficient, and time-consuming. Hence in this current research, we present the methodology in developing a real-time biodiversity map using deep learning algorithms like YOLOv3, which is applied on high spatial resolution photographs or real-time videos captured by inexpensive cameras mounted on a UAV platform for in-situ data acquisition.


Credits : Dr Asokan T, Prajwal Maski



Solar energy harvesting using DSSC 

The major problem with solar cells of recent times is the cumbersome manufacturing process and its expense. Many semi-conductive devices like silicon and germanium are remarkably costly and devices made from them are susceptible to pollution and weather parameters. If we could reduce this cost and make the manufacturing process easy, it would pave way in  the making of low power requirement devices self sustainable. In Dye sensitized solar cells we bio-mimic the chloroplast of plants and implement the same idea of photosynthesis to harvest clean, green and sustainable energy.


Presentation Link:  https://prezi.com/igdigwl_mwb2/dye-sensitised-solar-cell/ Credits : Dr Agnimitra Biswas, Siddharth Hota, Jai Prakash

Fragmentation in Ballistic missiles

The aim of this project was to experimentally study fragmentation of elastic membrane and analogously compare it to ballistic missiles. The primary aim of this study is to find out the relationship between critical pressure, no of fragments, and distance of impact so that these parameters can be optimized to increase the impact of any elastic ballistic member.


Credits : Dr HS Panda
13489373_1135190316531192_1300774692_n.mp4

How can you reach me ?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon

Siddhant Panigrahi

Robotics Lab, Dept. of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036,  INDIAEmail : sid.panigrahi1709@gmail.com
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