Nikhil Deshpande
Researcher
Research Scientist, Project Co-ordinator - INAIL-Teleoperazione project
About
I am a Researcher in the Advanced Robotics research line, leading the VICARIOS group, to develop novel, mixed reality user interfaces for advanced robotic teleoperation systems.
I am currently leading the "SISTEMI CIBERNETICI COLLABORATIVI - TELEOPERAZIONE" project, which will create next-generation, collaborative teleoperation systems for intuitive operation in hazard-prone environments and industry. Specifically, the objectives are the development and integration of technologies including: (i) novel hydraulic quadruped field robot; (ii) new dexterous robotic manipulator arm; (iii) novel master hand exoskeleton haptic device; and (iv) new user interaction interfaces with augmented and virtual reality systems.
My previous research focused on the design and development of robot-assisted surgical tools for microsurgery, particularly, transoral laser microsurgery. The research also involved holistic design, development, and assessment of novel devices and intuitive user interfaces for robot-assisted technologies using GUI software, computer vision techniques, and human factors and usability studies. My research background is in distributed wireless sensing, autonomous navigation, sensor fusion, mechanical design, and user interface development.
Originally from Pune, India, I graduated with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Government College of Engineering (COEP), in 2003. The bug to tinker with robots led me to an applications engineering position with Rockwell Automation India Ltd., in New Delhi, India, which introduced me to the basics of plant automation and industrial robots for manufacturing processes and automobile assembly lines. The curiosity to design robots and improve them got me to pursue graduate studies in USA.
Beginning with my Master’s in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in 2005, I got the opportunity to design and program mobile robots, and work on state-of-the-art technologies including wireless sensor networks. Here, under the guidance of Prof. Steve Jackson, I developed a smart-home automation solution for in-situ wall-moisture sensing using low-power WSNs. Subsequently, I joined the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (CRIM) at NCSU to continue on for my PhD in Electrical Engineering with Prof. Edward Grant. My dissertation was on sensor-network assisted mobile robot navigation.
In the summer of 2011, I interned at the Robert Bosch Robotics Research Center in California, working manipulator state estimation using low cost sensing technology - accelerometers and gyroscopes. I collaborated with the Stanford Biorobotics group (Prof. Kenneth Salisbury) and adapted my solution for the PR2 robot arm as well as the new low-cost Stanford Arm.
Projects
(1) "Sistemi Cibernetici Collaborativi - Teleoperazione" (2017 - 2020), https://advr.iit.it/projects/inail-scc/teleoperazione.
in collaboration with INAIL ("Istituto Nazionale per l'Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro")
(2) μRALP (2012 - 2014, www.microralp.eu)
European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 – Challenge 2 – Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics
Selected Publications
Journal Publications:
- Manish Chauhan, Nikhil Deshpande, Darwin G. Caldwell, Leonardo S. Mattos, "Design and Modeling of a Three-Degree-of-Freedom Articulating Robotic Microsurgical Forceps for Trans-Oral Laser Microsurgery", ASME Journal of Medical Devices, Vol. 13, Iss. 2, 2019, pp. 021006-021006-9.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Giorgio Peretti, Francesco Mora, Luca Guastini, Jinoh Lee, Giacinto Barresi, Darwin G. Caldwell, Leonardo S. Mattos, "Design and Study of a Next Generation Computer Assisted System for Transoral Laser Microsurgery", OTO Open, Vol. 2, SAGE Publications Inc., 2018.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Jesús Ortiz, Ioannis Sarakoglou, Claudio Semini, Nikos Tsagarakis, Anais Brygo, Jorge Fernandez, Marco Frigerio, Lorenzo Saccares, Stefano Toxiri, and Darwin G. Caldwell, "Next Generation Collaborative Robotic Systems for Industrial Safety and Health", in Safety and Security Engineering VII, C. A. Brebbia, F. Garzia, M. Lombardi (eds.), WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, Vol. 174, 2017, pp. 187-200.
- Leonardo S. Mattos, Nikhil Deshpande, Giacinto Barresi, Luca Guastini, and Giorgio Peretti, "A Novel Computerized Surgeon-Machine Interface for Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery", The Laryngoscope, Vol. 124, Iss. 8, DOI: 10.1002/lary.24566, John Wiley & Sons, Aug. 2014, pp. 1887-94.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Edward Grant, and Thomas C. Henderson, "Target Localization and Autonomous Navigation using Wireless Sensor Networks - A Pseudo-Gradient Algorithm Approach", IEEE Systems Journal Special Issue on Sensor Networks for Advanced Localization Systems, Vol. 8, Iss. 1, March 2014, pp. 93-103.
- Abdeldjallil Naceri, Dario Mazzanti, Joao Bimbo, Domenico Prattichizzo, Darwin G. Caldwell, Leonardo S. Mattos, and Nikhil Deshpande, "Towards a Virtual Reality Interface for Remote Robotic Teleoperation", In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR 2019), pp. -, Dec 2-6, 2019, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Leonardo S. Mattos, and Darwin G. Caldwell, "New Motorized Micromanipulator for Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery", In Proceedings of 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2015), pp. 4755-4760, May 26-30, 2015, Seattle, USA.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Edward Grant, Mark Draelos, and Thomas C. Henderson, "Received Signal Strength based Bearing-only Robot Navigation in a Sensor Network field", In Proceedings of 2014 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2014), pp. 4618-4623, Sept. 14-18, 2014, Chicago, USA.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Jesus Ortiz, Darwin G. Caldwell, and Leonardo S. Mattos, "Enhanced Computer-Assisted Laser Microsurgeries with a “Virtual Microscope” based surgical system", In Proceedings of 2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2014), pp. 4194-4199 , May 31-Jun 7, 2014, Hong Kong, China.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Leonardo S. Mattos, Giacinto Barresi, Andrea Brogni, Giulio Dagnino, Luca Guastini, Giorgio Peretti, Darwin G. Caldwell, "Imaging based Metrics for Performance Assessment in Laser Phonomicrosurgery", In Proceedings of 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2013), pp. 4850 - 4856, May 6-10, 2013, Karlsruhe, Germany.
- Philip Roan, Nikhil Deshpande, Yizhou Wang, and Benjamin Pitzer, "Manipulator State Estimation with Low-cost Accelerometers and Gyroscopes", In Proceedings of 2012 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2012), pp. 4822-4827, Oct. 7-12, 2012, Vilamoura, Portugal.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Edward Grant, and Thomas C. Henderson, "Target-directed Navigation using Wireless Sensor Networks and Implicit Surface Interpolation", In Proceedings of 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2012), pp. 457-462, May 14-18, 2012, St. Paul, USA.
- Nikhil Deshpande, Edward Grant, and Thomas C. Henderson, "Experiments with a “Pseudo-Gradient” Algorithm for Target Localization Using Wireless Sensor Networks", In Proceedings of 2010 IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems (MFI 2010), pp. 74-79, Sept. 5-7, 2010, Salt Lake City, USA.
IIT Publications
- 2020
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DOI
Microscale Precision Control of a Computer-Assisted Transoral Laser Microsurgery System
IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, vol. 25, (no. 2), pp. 604-615 - 2019
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DOI
A robotic microsurgical forceps for transoral laser microsurgery
Computer-Assisted Radiology and Surgery, vol. 14, (no. 2), pp. 321-333 -
DOI
Design and Modeling of a Three-Degree-of-Freedom Articulating Robotic Microsurgical Forceps for Trans-Oral Laser Microsurgery
Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME, vol. 13, (no. 2) -
Design and study of a next-generation computer-assisted system for transoral laser microsurgery
9th CRAS + 30th SPIGC joint conference -
The CALM System: New Generation Computer-Assisted Laser Microsurgery
2019 19th International Conference on Advanced Robotics -
Towards a Virtual Reality Interface for Remote Robotic Teleoperation
2019 19th International Conference on Advanced Robotics -
Towards Sound-source Position Estimation using Mutual Information for Next Best View Motion Planning,
2019 19th International Conference on Advanced Robotics - 2018
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Design and Study of a Next Generation Computer Assisted System for Transoral Laser Microsurgery
OTO Open, vol. 2, (no. 2), pp. 1-10 -
DOI
Human in the Loop of Robot Learning: EEG-Based Reward Signal for Target Identification and Reaching Task
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4473-4480 -
DOI
Next-generation collaborative robotic systems for industrial safety and health
WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, vol. 174, pp. 187-200 - 2017
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A Magnetic Laser Scanner for Non-Contact Endoscopic Ablations
The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics -
DOI
Design and control of a novel robotic microsurgical forceps for Transoral Laser Microsurgery
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, AIM, pp. 737-742 -
Design of a Robotic Microsurgical Forceps for Transoral Laser Microsurgery
7th Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery -
Innovative Laser Control in Transoral Laser Microsurgery
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting -
RALP: Robot-assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery provides precise and intuitive laser micromanipulation for uniform resections
21st ENT World Congress, International Federation of ORL Societies -
DOI
Towards a Magnetically Actuated Laser Scanner for Endoscopic Microsurgeries
Journal of Medical Robotics Research, vol. 3 - 2016
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DOI
Autonomous navigation using received signal strength and bearing-only pseudogradient interpolation
Robotics and Autonomous Systems, vol. 75, pp. 129-144 -
DOI
Design and modeling of novel modular 2 DOF microsurgical forceps for transoral laser microsurgeries
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, AIM, vol. 2016-September, pp. 1339-1344 -
Design of robot-assisted microsurgical forceps for Transoral Laser Microsurgery
6th Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery -
DOI
Novel modular 2-DOF microsurgical forceps for transoral laser microsurgeries: Ergonomic design and preliminary evaluation
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology - Proceedings, vol. 2016-October, pp. 5216-5219 -
DOI
Robot-assisted microsurgical forceps with haptic feedback for transoral laser microsurgery
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology - Proceedings, vol. 2016-October, pp. 5156-5159 - 2015
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Microsurgery Systems
The E-Medicine, E-Heath, M-Health, Telemedicine, and Telehealth Handbook – Volume II – Telehealth and Mobile Health, Publisher: CRC Press -
Motorized 2-DOF Spherical Orienting Mechanism for Laser Micromanipulation in Trans-oral Laser Microsurgeries
The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics 2015, pp. 25 - 26 -
DOI
New motorized micromanipulator for robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, vol. 2015-June, (no. June), pp. 4755-4760 -
Next Generation Robot Enhanced Microsurgical System for Transoral Laser Surgeries
3rd Congress of European ORL-HNS -
Novel Micromanipulator for Robot-assisted Microsurgical System for Transoral Laser Surgeries
World Congress on Larynx Cancer -
Novel modular 2-DOF microsurgical forceps for Trans-oral Laser Microsurgeries
5th Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery, (no. 2015) -
Novel Robotic Micromanipulator for Transoral Laser Surgery
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting - 2014
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DOI
A novel computerized surgeon-machine interface for robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery
Laryngoscope, vol. 124, (no. 8), pp. 1887-1894 -
DOI
Enhanced computer-assisted laser microsurgeries with a 'virtual microscope' based surgical system
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4194-4199 -
DOI
Received signal strength based bearing-only robot navigation in a sensor network field
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 4618-4623 -
Redesign of the Microsurgical Interface with a Novel, Computer-Assisted “Virtual Microscope” System in Laser Phonomicrosurgery
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting -
DOI
Target localization and autonomous navigation using wireless sensor networks - A pseudogradient algorithm approach
IEEE Systems Journal, vol. 8, (no. 1), pp. 93-103 - 2013
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A 'Virtual Microscope' Surgeon Interface in Computer-Assisted Laser Microsurgeries
In Co-SuR Workshop on Cognitive Surgical Robotics: From Virtual Fixtures to Advanced Cooperative Control -
Comparative Ergonomic Evaluation of User Interfaces for Laser Phonomicrosurgery
Eurosurge Workshop on Evaluating Effectiveness and Acceptance of Robots in Surgery: User-centered Design and Economic Factors -
DOI
Comparative usability and performance evaluation of surgeon interfaces in laser phonomicrosurgery
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 3610-3615 -
Human-factor oriented approach to improve surgeon-machine interface design
1st Russian-German Conference on Biomedical Engineering -
DOI
Imaging based metrics for performance assessment in laser phonomicrosurgery
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4850-4856 -
On-line estimation of ablation depth during CO2-laser exposure
In Co-SuR Workshop on Cognitive Surgical Robotics: From Virtual Fixtures to Advanced Cooperative Control -
Usability and Performance: Comparative Evaluation of Surgeon Interfaces in Laser Phonomicrosurgery
3rd Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery - 2012
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DOI
Manipulator state estimation with low cost accelerometers and gyroscopes
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 4822-4827 -
DOI
Perimeter detection in wireless sensor networks
Robotics and Autonomous Systems, vol. 60, (no. 2), pp. 266-277 -
DOI
Symmetry as a basis for perceptual fusion
IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems, pp. 101-107 -
DOI
Target-directed navigation using wireless sensor networks and implicit surface interpolation
Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 457-462 -
DOI
The Kinect up close: Adaptations for short-range imaging
IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems, pp. 251-256 - 2011
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Symmetry: A Basis for Sensorimotor Reconstruction
Technical Report UUCS-11-011, School of Computing, University of Utah -
The Cognitive Symmetry Engine: An Active Approach to Knowledge
Workshop on Knowledge Representation for Autonomous Robots -
The Role of Symmetry in Structural Bootstrapping
Bridges between the Methodological and Practical Work of the Robotics and Cognitive Systems Communities - From Sensors to Concepts, Publisher: Springer - 2010
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DOI
Experiments with a "pseudo-gradient" algorithm for target localization using wireless sensor networks
IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems, pp. 74-79 -
WSN-assisted Multi-robot Coordination in Event Response Mechanisms
Workshop on Smart Sensor Networks and Robotics
Scientific Talks
- 2019
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Assistive Interfaces for High Precision Surgery
Awards
- Mentored Teaching Assistantship - NCSU - 2011
- Alumni Graduate Fellowship Award - NCSU - 2005
- Best Graduate Trainee Award - Rockwell Automation - 2004