Emily Fitzgerald

UROP Award

Autonomous Robot Object Detection and Mapping using Deep Neural Networks

Emily Fitzgerald spent her summer working with Professor Massimiliano Versace in the Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, developing a code that uses information obtained from a Kinect camera to allow a robot to make its own movement decisions. Her use of the camera eventually enabled the robot to move around the room without running into anything, and thus, the robot had the ability to explore its environment independently. Emily then trained a deep neural network on the robot, which allows it to identify certain objects in the room to use as landmarks for future mapping.

Emily’s project has broad applications in the real world. The ability of a robot to learn how to identify objects is valuable to NASA for planetary exploration, and also in medical imaging applications for more accurate ways to diagnose diseases. Accurate obstacle detection and avoidance has been a topic researched with interest not only because of its many applications, but also due to its financial feasibility. Laser scanners are very expensive pieces of equipment, whereas Kinect cameras are comparatively inexpensive. The ability to use a Kinect camera to help the robot self-learn is a highly researched topic, especially in relation to Mars Rover-type robots.

Emily chose this project due to her passion for programming language and applying programing skills in a real-life setting. Though rewarding, Emily was surprised by the amount of times theory itself failed her: “When coding, theory does not always help fix bugs on incompatible systems. I was not prepared to encounter so many syntax and compatibility errors.” Though struggle was persistent throughout Emily’s project, she savored the moments when the code complied and ran without error. Emily believes this research opportunity was a valuable part of her undergraduate experience because she was able to hone her problem-solving skills while learning a completely new programming language.

After graduation, Emily plans to work as a biomedical engineering technician in order to gain the skills necessary to become a certified clinical engineer. She encourages other students to pursue undergraduate research because “it greatly impacts how you view the world and enhances what you learn in class.” Emily says, “Research isn’t straight-forward, but that is what makes it so much more rewarding when you succeed.”