ARVIND A. DE MENEZES PEREIRA
(213) 270-4465 or (213) 342-1734
http://robotics.usc.edu/˜ampereir
http://linkedin.com/in/arvindpereira
PhD candidate (CS), MS-EE, BE (Electronics)
1026 1/2 W 24th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
arvind.pereira@gmail.com
OBJECTIVE
Seeking a full time position at a company where I can utilize my skills to research and develop amazing products.
CORE EXPERTISE
• Artificial Intelligence
• Planning under uncertainty
• Embedded systems
• Robotics & Control Systems
• Computer Vision
• Computer Networking
• Machine Learning
• Signal & Image Processing
• Data Structures & Algorithms
WORK EXPERIENCE
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Robotic Embedded Systems Laboratory
• Developed path planners for glider AUVs under High Uncertainty
January 2006 - Present
Research Assistant
 1st planners for glider AUVs to deal with uncertainty in ocean model predictions
 Combines techniques from AI, Machine Learning and Robotics
 All code written in C++ and Python (STL, Boost, NumPy/SciPy)
 Used hardware parallelization and advanced data structures to speed up computations
• Developed a long-range RF communication network for AUVs in the Southern California region
 Improved data throughput by over 24x and reduced operation cost by over 50%
 Required Computer Networking, Embedded Systems and Signal Processing
 All code written in C++ (both ARM and PC-based Linux)
• Developed a novel TCP-like communication protocol that adapts dynamically to sea state
 1st motion-aware adaptive communication protocol
 Required Computer Networking, Reinforcement Learning and Signal Processing
 All code written in C++ (both ARM and PC-based Linux)
• Developed the Guidance, Navigation and Control for Autonomous Surface Vehicles including stereo-vision
based obstacle avoidance and Station-Keeping
 Took only 2 months to complete autonomy from RC-control to Mission control
 Required Control Systems, Robotics, Computer Networking, Computer Vision, Image
Processing
 All code on robot written in C++ (Linux); OpenCV for vision. GUI written in C# .Net
(Windows); Prototyping in Matlab (Control Systems Toolbox, System Identification
Toolbox) and Simulink
Institute for Systems and Robotics, Lisbon, Portugal
EU-GREX Project
• Implemented GREX Interface module for EU-GREX project
May 2008–August 2008
Lead Developer
 Met all objectives on time despite large pre-existing code-base, and multi-national teams
 All software was successfully tested - only team with working robot at field test in July
 Required Control Systems, Robotics, Ability to understand and implement complex
algorithms quickly
 Coded in Visual C++ .Net (Embedded Windows PC) and Matlab for prototyping
National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India
September 2003 - July 2005
Marine Instrumentation & Computer Division
Research Fellow
• Led software development and hardware design on India’s first Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (MAYA)
 Wrote over 95% of Control, Communications, Recovery, Guidance and Navigation code
 Required Control Systems, Robotics, Computer Networking
 Coded in C++ (Linux), Visual C++ (Windows) for Control GUI, C (micro controllers) and
Matlab for prototyping
 Designed most of the original embedded circuitry for CAN actuator nodes
• Developed a Wave-recorder that uploaded wave-data to server via GSM cellular data-modems
 One of the earliest GSM-enabled instruments in Oceanography
 Code written in C (Embedded), Visual C++ for Windows-based GUI
 Hardware design involved PCB layout software (Eagle)
National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India
August 2002 - August 2003
Marine Instrumentation & Computer Division
Project Assistant
• Worked on the design of a heading controller for ROSS - ”Remotely Operated Sea Skimmer”, a surface craft,
which was remotely controlled
 Tested robot at sea successfully at sea (even soldered broken circuitry at sea)
 Code written in C/C++ (Linux), Visual C++ for Windows-based GUI
 Hardware design involved PCB layout software (Eagle)
• Developed Tide-gauges for the Indo-Ghanaian Collaborative program (UNESCO, IOC)
 Tide gauges I developed are still functional after 8 years without servicing
 Code written in C/C++ (Embedded), Visual C++ for Windows-based GUI
ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE
• KnoVid - Developing an alternate unobtrusive Interest-based ad system for Android and iOS devices
• KartTime - Designed a system that determines lap-timings for Go-Karts and which uses short-range wireless
RF-communication based on slotted TDM, FDM and FSK
MENTORING EXPERIENCE
Undergraduate student projects mentored
• ”PIC-based Fin/Rudder Node for AUV”
• ”PI-controller for Thruster speed regulation”
• ”PIC-based Tide Level Measurement System”
• ”Pan and Tilt system for Thrust Vectoring an AUV”
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Technology
Programming Languages
Operating Systems
Frameworks
Testing
Version Control
Tools & Utilities
Databases
Hardware
Very Proficient
C, C++ (OOP, Boost, STL, Sockets,
Multi-threading), Python, Matlab, Shell Scripting
Ubuntu Linux, Unix, OS-X, Windows
iOS (Xcode), Android, ROS, PCL, OpenCV
PyUnit, CppUnit
Git, Subversion
Eclipse, Xcode, Simulink, NumPy, SciPy,
Visual Studio, PCB layout and design (Eagle)
MySQL, SQLite, Oracle
Intel (x86, 8051), ARM, PICs, Gumstix
TI (MSP430)
Prior Experience
Visual C++, C#, Java, Obj-C
Javascript, SQL, Perl, LATEX
MS-DOS, TinyOS
Player, Stage, Gazebo, OpenNI
JUnit, NUnit, googletest
Mercurial
SPICE simulation, libsvm, GPML
NVidia’s CUDA, OrCAD
Motorola 68x, TI (67x DSP kits)
Berkeley Motes
EDUCATION
PhD, Computer Science
University of Southern California, CA
GPA 3.56
Thesis - Path Planning for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in the Open Ocean
Advisor - Prof. Gaurav S. Sukhatme
July 2013 (expected)
Master of Science, Electrical Engineering
University of Southern California, CA
GPA 3.72
May 2007 (graduated)
Thesis - Navigation and Guidance of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle
Advanced DSP project - Tracking groups of people in real-time video using TI DSP processor
Sensing and Planning in Robotics Project - Mapless Localization from Fused Sensor Data
Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics and Communications
VTU, Belgaum, Karnataka, India
1st class with Distinction
Project 1 - Development of an Automatic Weather Station
Project 2 - PC-based Blood Sample Colorimeter
July 2002 (graduated)
MEMBERSHIPS
• Student member of the IEEE since 2007
• Member of the Robotics and Automation Society since 2007
• Apple iOS Developer since 2009
• Reviewer for Journals and Conference articles (JFR, AURO, TRO, ICRA, IROS, OCEANS)
PUBLICATIONS
[1] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Jonathan Binney, Geoffrey A. Hollinger, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Risk-aware
path planning for autonomous underwater vehicles using predictive ocean models. Journal of Field Robotics,
2013. (Accepted).
[2] Geoffrey A. Hollinger, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Learning uncertainty models for
reliable operation of autonomous underwater vehicles. In International Conference on Robotics and Automation
(ICRA). 2013.
[3] Geoffrey A. Hollinger, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Valerio Ortenzi, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Towards
improved prediction of ocean processes using statistical machine learning. In Robotics: Science and Systems
Workshop on Robotics for Environmental Monitoring. Sydney, Australia, 2012 Jul.
[4] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Jonathan Binney, Burton H. Jones, Matthew Ragan, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme.
Toward risk aware mission planning for autonomous underwater vehicles. In International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pages 3147–3153. 2011 Sep.
[5] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Estimation of wave parameters from accelerometry data
to aid AUV-shore communication. In IEEE OCEANS. Sydney, Australia, 2010 May.
[6] Hordur K. Heidarsson Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira Filippo Arrichiello Ivona Cetinic Lindsay Darjany MarieEve Garneau Meredith D. Howard Carl Oberg Matthew Ragan Erica Seubert Ellen C. Smith Beth Stauffer Astrid
Schnetzer Gerardo Toro-Farmer David A. Caron Burton H. Jones Ryan N. Smith, Jnaneshwar Das and Gaurav S.
Sukhatme. USC CINAPS builds bridges: Observing and monitoring the southern california bight. IEEE Robotics
and Automation Magazine (RAM), 17(1): 20–30, 2010 Mar.
[7] Ryan N. Smith, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Yi Chao, Peggy P. Li, David A. Caron, Burton H. Jones, and
Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Autonomous underwater vehicle trajectory design coupled with predictive ocean models:
A case study. In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages 4770–4777. 2010.
[8] Antonio P. Pedro Aguiar, Joao F. Almeida, Mohammadreza Bayat, Bruno Cardeira, Rita Cunha, Andreas Hausler,
Pramod K. Maurya, Antonio Oliveira, Antonio Pascoal, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Manuel Rufino, Luis
Sebastiao, Carlos Silvestre, and Francisco Vanni. Cooperative control of multiple marine vehicles theoretical
challenges and practical issues. In Maneuvering and Control of Marine Craft (MCMC). Guaruja (SP), Brazil,
2009 Sep.
[9] Antonio P. Pedro Aguiar, Joao F. Almeida, Mohammadreza Bayat, Bruno Cardeira, Rita Cunha, Andreas Hausler,
Pramod K. Maurya, Antonio Oliveira, Antonio Pascoal, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Manuel Rufino, Luis
Sebastiao, Carlos Silvestre, and Francisco Vanni. Cooperative autonomous marine vehicle motion control in the
scope of the EU GREX project: Theory and practice. In IEEE OCEANS. 2009.
[10] Filippo Arrichiello, Jnaneshwar Das, Hordur K. Heidarsson, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Stefano Chiaverini,
and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Multi-robot collaboration with range-limited communication: Experiments with two
underactuated ASVs. In The 7th International Conference on Field and Service Robots (FSR-2009). Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 2009 Jul.
[11] Filippo Arrichiello, Daniel N. Liu, Srinivas Yerramalli, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Jnaneshwar Das, Urbashi
Mitra, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Effects of underwater communication constraints on the control of marine
robot teams. In International Conference on Robot Communication and Coordination (ROBOCOMM). Odense,
Denmark, 2009 Mar.
[12] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Hordur K. Heidarsson, Carl Oberg, David A. Caron, Burton H. Jones, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. A communication framework for cost-effective operation of AUVs in coastal regions. In The
7th International Conference on Field and Service Robots (FSR-2009). Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2009 Jul.
[13] Ryan N. Smith, Jnaneshwar Das, Hordur K. Heidarsson, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, David A. Caron, Burton H. Jones, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Implementation of an embedded sensor network for the coordination of
slocum gliders for coastal monitoring and observation. In ACM International Workshop on UnderWater Networks
(WUWNet). Berkeley, CA, 2009 Nov.
[14] Ryan N. Smith, Beth Stauffer, Jnaneshwar Das, Hordur K. Heidarsson, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Yi Chao,
Lindsay Darjany, Ivona Cetinic, Deborah Estrin, Carl Oberg, Matthew Ragan, Burton H. Jones, Gaurav S.
Sukhatme, and David A. Caron. Design and implementation of sensor networks for the observation and research
of harmful algal blooms in southern california coastal waters. In Proceedings of the Conference on Coastal
Environmental Sensing Networks (CESN 2009), pages 5–7. Boston, MA, 2009 Jul.
[15] David A. Caron, Beth Stauffer, Steffi Moorthi, Amarjeet Singh, Maxim Batalin, Eric Graham, Mark Hansen,
William Kaiser, Jnaneshwar Das, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Amit Dhariwal, Bin Zhang, Carl Oberg, and
Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Macro- to fine-scale spatial and temporal distributions and dynamics of phytoplankton and
their environmental driving forces in a small subalpine lake in southern california, usa. Journal of Limnology
and Oceanography, 53(5): 2333–2349, 2008.
[16] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Jnaneshwar Das, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. An experimental study of station
keeping on an underactuated asv. In International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pages
3164–3171. 2008.
[17] Jonathan Kelly, Jonathan Binney, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Omair Khan, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Just
add wheels: Leveraging commodity laptop hardware for robotics and AI education. In AAAI 2008 AI Education
Colloquium. Chicago, Il, 2008 Jul. Also appears in AAAI Technical Report WS-08-02 pp. 50-55. AAAI Press,
Menlo Park, CA.
[18] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira. Navigation and Guidance of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle. Electrical engineering, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2007 May.
[19] Elgar Desa, Pramod K. Maurya, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Antonio Pascoal, R G. Prabhudesai, Antonio
Mascarenhas, Ehrlich Desa, R Madhan, S G. P. Matondkar, Gajanan Navelkar, Shivanand Prabhudesai, and
Sanjeev Afzulpurkar. A small autonomous surface vehicle for ocean color remote sensing. IEEE Journal of
Oceanic Engineering (IEEE-JOE), 32(2): 353–364, 2007 Apr.
[20] Amarjeet Singh, Maxim Batalin, Michael Stealey, Bin Zhang, Amit Dhariwal, Beth Stauffer, Steffi Moorthi, Carl
Oberg, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, Victor Chen, Y Lam, David A. Caron, Mark Hansen, William Kaiser, and
Gaurav S. Sukhatme. Human assisted robotic team campaigns for aquatic monitoring. Journal of Field Robotics,
24(11): 969–989, 2007.
[21] Antony Joseph, J T. Odametey, E K. Nkebi, Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, R G. Prabhudesai, Prakash Mehra,
A B. Rabinovich, Vijay Kumar, Shivanand Prabhudesai, and P Woodworth. The 26 December 2004 sumatra
tsunami recorded on the coast of west africa. African Journal of Marine Science (AJMS), 28(3): 705–712, 2006
Nov.
[22] Arvind A. de Menezes Pereira, R G. Prabhudesai, Ehrlich Desa, Antony Joseph, Vijay Kumar K. Kanojia, Anand
Methar, Anil Shirgaonkar, and Vimala Damodaran. Rabbit-core based sea-level logger using semiconductor
transducer. In Proceedings of the National Symposium on Ocean Electronics (SYMPOL), pages 60–70. Allied.
New Delhi, India, 2003 Dec.
REFERENCES
References provided upon request.