“If the dream is big enough , then facts doesn’t matter “

----------- Unknown

It took a bold dream by Wright brothers to give humankind wings to fly, It took a dream by few
thoughtful human beings to let human race take first step on moon, Ability to create, to think beyond
facts, the gift to dream are what set us apart in evolution hierarchy. The history is replete with events
where a big dream changed the way coming generations lived for next centuries. I am a dreamer I
believe in seeing dreams far from existing reality and then pursuing them with all my strength and
will to realize them. From my early childhood I am fascinated by Robots and machines which can
reason think and behave like human beings, I want to realize these dream machines.

Career plans and long-term goals…

The eighteenth century belonged to explorers and ships, the nineteenth century belonged to steam,
the twentieth century belonged to computers, the Twenty-first century is going to belong to intelligent
robots which reason, think and behave like human beings. The desire to become a part of this
revolution, to collectively tackle the challenge of imparting intelligence to machines has motivated
me to opt for a career in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

I want to take up an exacting position, either in the academia or the industry, where I can do
independent research and development work and can create new standards in Intelligent robotics.
Bearing these long-term goals in mind, my immediate objective is to work towards a PHD, whose
importance in laying a strong foundation for a successful career in research is paramount.

What I want to contribute…

A through understanding and advanced research in fields like Automated reasoning , Inference
kernel , knowledge management systems and autonomous distributed coordination strategies are
bottom-lines for advancement in intelligent robotics, With this in mind I want to contribute in the
“Intelligence” part of Robotics. The problem of limited memory availability and processing power
make the on-system implementation of AI algorithms, coordination strategies much more difficult, I
want to contribute with optimization of algorithms and knowledge management strategies actually I
want to make, remake, remodel, create, invent and innovate robots for applications in diverse fields
to make bots smarter, cheaper, practical and more efficient in all sense possible.

What I have…

I believe that the fruitful past academic, research and hands-on experiences I have had, the present
grooming I am going through and a focused, determined and passionate approach towards future
are the main ingredients for success in my long-term goals.

Consistently the overall topper at school, I have always performed my best in academics (Refer
resume). I have always tried and implemented academic knowledge to innovate solutions to existing
real life problem. I conceived, designed and implemented a “Automated trolley system for charging
cupola” in my very high school years and Won National Level Science Exhibition,1999 at Amritsar ,
India.

To add to my good academic performance, I have background in doing research work, whose
invaluable experience should help me in my academic and research pursuits in the graduate school.
At college my research interests were kindled when I got an opportunity to work on “Optimizing
Virtual Keyboards for people with Neuro-Motor Disorders” under Prof. Anupam Basu (Head , Media
Lab Asia , IIT Kharagpur Chapter). The problem was to optimize virtual screen keyboards for use by
disabled people according to their disability level and personal preference. During my work, the
interactions with fellow researchers, Senior investigators and Disabled people have not only helped
me crystallize my fundamentals and further widen my horizons of understanding real life problems
and then in molding them into suitable mathematical models, they have also effectively taught me
the importance of collaborative work. Based on the efforts of the group a paper has been
communicated to the International Conference on Communication, Devices and Intelligent Systems
(CODIS 2004, refer resume for details). The project acquainted me with the research-oriented
approach and the success fostered in me a keen desire to further explore and excel on the research
front. Currently I am working on my senior year project on “Formal methods for solving Keyboard
optimization problem” under the guidance of Prof. Anupam Basu (refer resume for details).

In the summers after the junior year I joined an industrial project “Computer Generated Forces”
under the aegis of the Institute of system studies and analyses (ISSA), DRDO Delhi. Working on the
project exposed me to problem of Automated reasoning, Knowledge base design and reasoning
kernel implementation. I conceived and designed a new model for emulating human rational thinking
in machines with learning capabilities, the design was well applauded and work is being done at
ISSA for successful implementation of design.

I believe that a career in robotics requires first and foremost a love and a passion for robots, I was
fascinated with toys from my early childhood and was always eager to know how they actually work,
the number of toys disassembled by me still carries the proof for same, The infatuation nurtured and
developed into a Passion at IIT Kharagpur, where I participated in numerous robotics events and
won prizes. I made a basic line-follower in my very second year using Basic Stamp microcontroller
and won the first prize in Autonomous segment , The next year followed with a third prize for
Autonomous segment and second prize in Robosoccer ( held at IIT Kgp ). I have hands-on
experience of making numerous other bots( refer resume). I believe that my passion for robotics will
steer me through any kind of challenge should I face in my career as a robotics engineer.

Why Robotics Institute, CMU …

Robotics Institute, CMU has the topmost ranked dedicated programs in Robotics in terms of
experienced faculty and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Of particular interest to me is the high quality
fundamental and pioneering research being done at the Multi-Robot Lab , Mobile robot Lab ,
Software agents group and Advanced Mechatronics Lab. RI , CMU has a very special place in my
heart and I am sure that a chance to work at these centers of excellence would give me an in-depth
understanding of the challenges involved in Intelligent Robotics and would also provide me with a
golden opportunity to make original contributions to my field of interest.

I firmly believe that I am well equipped with the necessary technical skills and adequately prepared
for the kind of dedication and resolve I will need for so demanding research environment as the
Robotics Institute, CMU offers to its students. I strongly believe that postgraduate studies at RI, CMU
would be an important step towards realizing my career and research goals. This is my Dream.