Swastik Mahapatra

Swastik Mahapatra is a recognized AI and robotics professional with extensive experience in edge AI, deep learning, and computer vision. He is a graduate researcher at AirLab, where he is developing autonomous robotic systems for the DARPA Triage Challenge and the Allegheny County Fire Academy. These systems are capable of navigating challenging environments with perceptual degradation, such as smoke and darkness, and are designed to collect critical data that supports medical triage and enhances rescue operations.

Professional Achievements:
During his six-year tenure at Analog Devices (2018-2024), he spearheaded several groundbreaking projects, including overhead human tracking, scene segmentation, microcontroller and DSP CNN inference, the development of a real-time hand gesture recognition system for robotic manipulator control and various industrial robotics safety applications. His innovative work led to a patent for running convolutional networks on memory-constrained embedded devices.

Technical Expertise:
His technical prowess spans multiple domains:
Edge AI Development: Led critical projects involving deep learning implementation on edge devices.
Robotics Applications: Specialized in human-robot interaction and industrial robotics safety systems.
Computer Vision: Developed advanced algorithms for people counting and multi-sensor aggregation systems Recognition.
His contributions to the field have earned him notable recognition, including the Analog Devices India Ten Young Professionals Under Ten Award and the Best Paper Award at ADI India Technical Conference 2022. He has authored over 14 publications in Deep Learning, Edge AI, Computer Vision, and Robotics.

Education:
Currently pursuing a Master of Science in Robotic Systems Development at Carnegie Mellon University, he previously completed his Bachelor’s in Computer Science Engineering at Visvesvaraya Technological University. He also completed a prestigious summer fellowship at the Indian Institute of Science, where his undergraduate project was recognized as one of the top four projects nationwide.