Lakshay Sharma
Robotics Engineer
I am a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and will be graduating in May 2021 with the following: BSE in Computer Engineering and Physics, MS in Physics and Astronomy and MSE in Robotics.
I look for thrill and excitement in my research: be it launching high-power rockets, designing hardware for NASA to be used by astronauts on the ISS, hunting for Planet Nine in Dark Energy Survey data or advancing the state of HMI in autonomous driving technology. Having held several leadership positions has shown me the immense value of collaboration and teamwork, and has instilled in me a fierce sense of ownership and responsibility towards my projects. My main areas of interest are autonomous robotics and space engineering.
Feel free to reach out via the link above, email or text!
work Experience
undergraduate astrophysics researcher: Dark energy survey
May 2018 - Present
Explored Planet Nine’s existence and discovered new minor planets using astronomical data from the Dark Energy Survey
Devised a novel algorithm to link detections of transient objects accurately using trees, regression and orbit fitting methods
Implemented a highly efficient photometry-based Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) linker in C, turning multiple day runtimes into sub-second executions using efficient data structures, memory allocation/reallocation and data manipulation techniques
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Undergraduate Autonomous DRIVING Researcher: USDOT Mobility21
May 2018 - Present
Focused on the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) aspect of autonomous driving and developed a dashboard in Python to present a behavioral controller's decision making process live to the driver. Used industry standard tools: LGSVL and Apollo.
Enabled the driver being informed of decisions multiple seconds in advance, enabling trust formation in the technology
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Teaching assistant: University of pennsylvania
January 2019 - Present
Took over mentoring and grading roles as a TA for the following courses:
ESE 150: Digital Audio Basics (January - May 2019)
ESE 215: Electrical Circuits and Systems (August - December 2019)
ESE 350: Real-Time Embedded Systems (January - May 2020)
ESE 519: Real-Time Embedded Systems (August - December 2020)
ESE 650: Learning in Robotics (January - May 2021)
Projects
Highly Precise Measurement System for Laptop Keypress Latency (NASA)
March 2019 - February 2020
Designed and implemented a bare metal, real-time embedded system running C++ on an ARM Mbed to measure keypress latency, with highly precise results: a standard deviation of 0.32 milliseconds for a 41.63 millisecond mean response
Designed robust, portable mechanical system using extruded aluminum with a spring-mounted linear solenoid
Presented and demoed the finished device at the NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop in Jan. 2020, as the standardized calibration setup for laptops that are used by astronauts for psychomotor vigilance tests on the ISS
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Limitless – Intelligent time management app for students
May 2020 - Present
Built an app to solve the COVID-induced time-management problems of college students with intelligent schedule creation
Used Flutter and Firebase for the initial release with PDF parsing, assignment fetching and GCal and Canvas integrations
Surveyed a diverse group of students to ensure effective direction for the development efforts and target user stories
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Engineering Senior Design: Delivery Drone
August 2020 - Present
Working on an autonomous delivery drone for the senior design project, currently specializing in the control and planning of the autonomous systems on the drone
Leadership
Penn aerospace club: Rocket team avionics lead
August 2017 - Present
Implemented a Kalman filter and PID control in C++ on an STM32 board for real-time apogee prediction using IMU and altimeters. Designed a radio communication system and a dual-deploy GPS recovery system for a high-power rocket.
Used these embedded systems in the Spaceport America Cup 2019 to achieve an apogee of 13,000 feet with the rocket
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Physics and Astronomy Club: Co-Founder and President
August 2017 - Present
Founded the club in freshman year to facilitate socialization among students and talks by physics professors
Designed and presented a lecture series to make advanced physics accessible to non-majors, led trips to stargazing spots
Skills: Programming
C/C++
Python
Java
MATLAB
Node.js
Dart
Assembly
Shell Script
Skills: Specialized Software
SolidWorks
Altium
Skills: Robotics
Sensor Fusion
State Estimation
Flight Control
SLAM
Deep Learning
Control and Optimization
Selected coursework
Optimal Control
Feedback Control
Machine Learning
Advanced Robotics
Real-Time Embedded Systems
Materials and Manufacturing
Product Design
Operating Systems
Algorithms
Electrical Circuits
Computer Architecture
Computer Networks
Internet and Web Systems
Software Engineering
Quantum Mechanics
General Relativity and Gravitation
Statistical Mechanics
Condensed Matter Physics
Theoretical Neuroscience
Education
University of Pennsylvania (graduating may 2021)
M.S.E. ROBOTICS
M.S. PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
B.S.E. COMPUTER ENGINEERING
B.S.E. PHYSICS