MIT’s Russ Tedrake presents “Mixed-Integer Convex Formulations for Planning Nonlinear Dynamics in Complex Environments” as part of the IRIM Robotics Seminar Series. The event will be held in the Marcus Nanotechnology Bldg., Rooms 1116-1118, from 12-1 p.m. and is open to the public.

Abstract

Humanoid robots walking across intermittent terrain, robotic arms grasping multifaceted objects, or UAVs darting left or right around a tree — many of the dynamics and control problems we face today have an inherently combinatorial structure. In this talk, I’ll review some recent work on planning and control methods that address this combinatorial structure without sacrificing the rich underlying nonlinear dynamics. I’ll present some details of our explorations with mixed-integer convex- and SDP-relaxations applied to hard problems in legged locomotion over rough terrain, grasp optimization, and UAVs flying through highly cluttered environments.

Bio

Russ Tedrake is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Mechanical Engineering at MIT; the director of the Center for Robotics at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab; and the leader of Team MIT’s entry in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Additionally, Tedrake is the director of Simulation and Control at the new Toyota Research Institute. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the MIT Jerome Saltzer Award for undergraduate teaching, the DARPA Young Faculty Award in Mathematics, the 2012 Ruth and Joel Spira Teaching Award, and was honored as a Microsoft Research New Faculty Fellow.

Tedrake received his B.S.E. in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1999, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2004, working with Sebastian Seung. After graduation, he joined the MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department as a postdoctoral associate. During his education, he also spent time at Microsoft, Microsoft Research, and the Santa Fe Institute.