Robotics Seminar @ Illinois: Learning, Hierarchies, and Reduced Order Models

Title: Industrial Research at Amazon Robotics

Abstract: Interest in automated warehouses with robots has risen with the surge in E-commerce. Modern warehouses operate continuously, managing large and variable order volumes, and overseeing millions of unique items. With advancements in deep learning and enhancements in robotic hardware and sensing technologies, the industry has seen a rise in the adoption of high-speed and reliable robotic platforms for warehouse operations. Notable examples include Amazon's Sparrow and Robin robotic platforms. The latter, for example, managed an impressive 10 billion packages globally. In this presentation, we will delve into Amazon's approach to warehouse automation, showcasing our diverse range of robotic solutions. We will also offer insights into the process and challenges of conducting research within the industrial domain. To conclude, we will discuss some of our notable research and innovations that have been recognized through publications in leading robotics conferences.

Bio: Xupeng Zhu is an Applied Scientist at Amazon Robotics, where he works on manipulation foundation models for warehouse automation. He received his Ph.D. from the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, where he was advised by Prof. Robert Platt. His research focuses on robotic visuomotor policy learning, geometric deep learning, and reinforcement learning. His work has been published in leading robotics and machine learning venues, including Science Robotics, RSS, ICML, CoRL, and NeurIPS. He previously interned at Amazon Robotics and the Robotics and AI Institute.

Bio: Fan Wang received her B.Sc. (Hons.) in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh, U.K., followed by an M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Delaware, USA. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University. Currently, she is a Senior Research Scientist at Amazon Robotics, where she focuses on robot manipulation for warehouse automation. Her research interests include robotics, planning, manipulation, machine learning, computer vision, and perception-based control of autonomous systems. 

Passcode: 746892