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Hi, I am William

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William C Francis

Robotics Graduate Student at GRASP Lab, University of Pennsylvania

Greetings! I am a robotics student passionate about the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry. My main area of focus lies in prediction and machine learning. I also have a lot of experience in robotics perception, such as computer vision and LiDAR. Hope to see you in the future!

Skills

Experiences

1
Graduate Research Assistant
xLab, University of Pennsylvania

Dec 2021 - May 2022, Philadelphia, PA

xLab is a research lab at University of Pennsylvania lead by Prof. Rahul Mangharam targeting at developing critical systems and autonomous systems

Responsibilities:
  • Developed lane segmentation and obstacle avoidance algorithms using Python and PyTorch to improve the autonomous Go-kart’s ability to navigate through complex racing tracks, resulting in a 40% improvement in obstacle avoidance rate
  • Optimized code for speed using C++, resulting in 15% reduction in response time and real-time processing on Jetson AGX
  • Led the Autonomous Go-kart team to a top-5 finish in the Autonomous evGrandPrix and presented at International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), securing sponsorship from the Autoware Foundation
Machine Learning Intern
Vision Cultura

Dec 2019 - May 2020, Bangalore, India

Vision Cultura is a start-up that works on IoT-based farming solutions which interconnects sensors, cloud and a mobile app

Responsibilities:
  • Redesigned AI-based farming solution utilizing PyTorch and IoT integration, resulting in 18% crop yield increase and 90% labor cost reduction through real-time monitoring of sunshine, water, and nutrient levels for each plant
  • Deployed models using AWS SageMaker and monitored data in real-time using CloudWatch for optimal analysis
  • Upgraded the perception stack using advanced object detection models (YOLO, RetinaNet, Faster R-CNN) leading to 33% boost in sales team productivity, translating to 100K increase in revenue, earning recognition as outstanding intern
  • Worked in a cross-functional with Mechanical and Computervision engineers, Manager and manufacturers to ensure that product specification, performance, durability, safety, quality, cost, and manufacturing requirements are met
2
3
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Center for Industrial Automation (CIA) Lab, Vellore Instiitute of Technology

Jan 2019 - Dec 2019, Chennai, India

CIA Lab is a research lab at Vellore Institute of Technology lead by Prof. Umayal that builds embedded systems for Industrial Automation and Robotics applications

Responsibilities:
  • Engineered TensorFlow-based deep neural network for blink detection in EEG signals, resulting in 25% increase in signal-to-noise ratio for Brain-Controlled Wheelchair with camera-based collision avoidance
  • Implemented adaptive algorithm for personalized blink detection and control sensitivity, leading to enhanced user experience
  • Conducted user testing and gathered feedback to continually improve the prototype, utilizing a user-centered design approach
Embedded Systems Intern
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

May 2018 - Aug 2018, Bangalore, India

Siemens Gamesa is a leader in the renewable energy industry, working to provide the world’s best offshore and onshore wind turbines and services

Responsibilities:
  • Led design and implementation of miniature windmill model using ATtiny85 microcontroller showcasing novel sensor applications
  • Mounted sensors to optimize windmill performance, designed a PCB using Eagle to control turbine and implemented blade angle detection for Heli-hoist
  • Collected and analyzed sensor data using Parallax Data Acquisition
  • Designed and 3D printed a highly detailed and proportionate model of a wind turbine including the turbine shaft, blades, and tower
4

Education

University of Pennsylvania
2021-2024
M.S.E. in Robotics, M.S.E in Computer Science
GPA: 3.8 out of 4
Taken Courses
  • ESE 546 Principles of Deep Learning
  • CIS 581 Computer Vision & Computational Photography
  • CIS 520 Machine Learning
  • ESE 650 Learning in Robotics
  • CIS 522 Deep Learning for Data Science
  • ROBO 599 Independent Study - Build & Race a self-driving Go-Kart
  • CIS 680 Advanced Topics in Machine Perception
  • ESE 514 Graph Neural Networks
  • MEAM 520 Introduction to Robotics
  • CIS 700 Neuro-Symbolic AI
  • CIS 523 Ethics in Algorithms
Vellore Institute of Technology
2016-2020
B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a Minor in Computer Science Engineering
GPA: 8.99 out of 10
Publications
Taken Courses
  • CSE 4020 Machine Learning
  • EEE 1007 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic
  • CSE 2003 Data Structures and Algorithms
  • CSE 1001 Problem Solving and Programmingg
  • CSE 1002 Problem Solving and Object Oriented Programming
  • MAT 2001 Statistic for Engineers
  • MAT 3003 Complex Variables and Partial Differential Equations
  • EEE 1020 Engineering Optimization
  • EEE 4016 Electric Vehicles
  • CSE 1004 Network and Communication
  • CSE 2002 Theory of Computation and Compiler Design
  • CSE 2001 Computer Architecture and Organization
Extracurricular Activities
  • Captain of the university Tennis team, leading the team to win several tournaments
  • Member of the VIT Quiz Club
  • Awarded the Best Delegate in the inter collegiate Model of United Nations debate competition

Projects

Efficient Panoptic Segmentation with SOLOv2
Developer Aug 2022 - Dec 2022

Improved state-of-the-art EfficientPS model by replacing its instance head (Mask RCNN) with SOLOv2.

image segmentation academic computer vision pytorch street scene understanding
Machine Learning for EEG Prosthetic Arm Control
Owner Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

Benchmarking 9 ML algorithms for identifying hand motions from EEG recordings.

pytorch academic robotics kaggle competition sklearn
Image Super Resolution with improved ESRGAN
Developer Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

Pytorch Implementation of proposed improvements to the state-of-the-art image super resolution model ESRGAN.

pytorch generative networks super resolution deep-learning academic
Blind Motion Deblurring using deep learning
Developer Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

A novel approach to blind motion deblurring - converting a non-blind method (Weiner Deconvolution) to a blind method using Deep Learning

Tensorflow motion deblurring computer vision license plate detection
Robot Localization using PF-LSTM in HabitatAI
Developer Jan 2022 - May 2022

Robot localization using LSTM in HabitatAI simulator, employing particle filter as the embedded algorithmic prior.

pfrnn localization habitatai academic robotics
Handwritten Digit Recognition using VAE
Owner Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

Variational Autoencoder that learns from MNIST dataset and generates altered handwritten digits.

pytorch academic generative model deep learning
Particle Filter SLAM for Humanoid Robot
Owner Jan 2022 - May 2022

Indoor SLAM using an IMU and a LiDAR sensor of a humanoid called THOR.

SLAM robotics LIDAR IMU academic
YOLOv3 from scratch
Owner Aug 2022 - Dec 2022

Bottom-up implementation of YOLOv3 for Object Detection.

pytorch robotics computer vision deep learning academic
SOLO and FPN from scratch
Owner Aug 2022 - Dec 2022

pyTorch implementation of Segmenting Objects by LOcation (SOLO) and FPN for COCO dataset.

object segmentation computer vision pytorch deep learning academic
RNN language model from scratch
Owner Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

Recurrent Neural Network trained on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace to imitate his language style.

natural language processing pytorch deep learning academic
Email spam classifier using SVM
Developer Mar 2019 - May 2019

Detects spam emails with 98.7% accuracy using Support Vector Machines

MATLAB natural language processing machine learning hobby
Neural network from scratch
Developer Aug 2021 - Dec 2021

Numpy implementation of a neural network for digit recognition

numpy deep learning pytorch academic
EKF and UKF for 3D orientation tracking
Developer Jan 2022 - May 2022

Robot orientation tracking using EKF and UKF on VICON motion capture system

robotics kalman filtering python academic