Event
ECE Colloquium Series - Sanjoy Paul, Rice University
Friday, May 2, 2025
3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, Room 1110
Darcy Long
301 405 3114
dlong123@umd.edu
Speaker: Sanjoy Paul, Rice University
Title: Enabling Autonomous Robots to Navigate and Interact in Unknown Environments Across Multiple Scales
Abstract: Autonomous robotics is advancing rapidly, yet significant challenges remain in enabling robots to navigate and interact with objects in unseen, unknown environments with high precision. In this presentation, we explore the applications, challenges, and potential solutions in autonomous robotic navigation and manipulation across three spatial scales: global (>100m), near-range (0.1–100m), and local (0.01–10m). The goal is to achieve centimeter-level precision in both positioning and orientation, allowing robots to accurately approach, pick up, and manipulate objects.
We will showcase real-world examples where RGB-D cameras and LiDAR sensors enable robots to autonomously navigate to a designated target—identified by a mask in the robot’s field of view—while dynamically avoiding obstacles. A key focus will be on the integration of multimodal transformer-based AI models, which fuse visual, spatial, and depth data to enhance real-time decision-making and environmental understanding.
By addressing critical challenges such as perception in unstructured environments, real-time sensor fusion, and adaptive planning, we will highlight emerging solutions that push the boundaries of robotic autonomy. This presentation will provide insights into the future of robotic navigation and manipulation, with implications for applications in logistics, industrial automation, space exploration, and beyond.
Bio: Dr. Sanjoy Paul is currently the Executive Director of Rice NEXUS, the university’s premier innovation factory offering state-of-the-art facilities, guidance and mentoring for prototyping, testing, and launching new ventures by Rice faculty and students. Designed to derisk, develop, and deploy new technology, the Rice Nexus aims to bridge the gap between the university and commercial markets by fostering partnerships with key corporate, government, community and venture capital firms. He is also the Co-founder of Houston AI, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering Houston's future by fostering AI knowledge, collaboration, and groundbreaking innovation. He is also a Charter Member of TiE (https://tie.org/) - World’s largest community of Entrepreneurs. Dr. Paul is also a faculty in the Computer Science Department of Rice University, teaching graduate-level courses.
Dr. Paul received a bachelor's degree in electronics and electrical communications engineering (ECE) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1985, and a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from University of Maryland at College Park, in August 1992. He also received a Master of Business administration (MBA) from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, in May 2005.
Dr. Paul is the Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Fellow of Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). Marquis Who's Who honored Dr. Paul, for Expertise in Engineering and Higher Education in 2024. He was also featured in the Wall Street Journal on January 30, 2025, as Who’s Who of Distinguished Leaders: 2025 Honorees by Marquis Who’s Who.
