Open Project

Published:

Problem

If you have a problem or idea, we may consider it for your bachelor’s or master’s project. For this purpose, prepare a 10-minute elevator pitch of the idea and a literature review of the problem you aim to study. We may also discuss if I am a suitable candidate to supervise your project.

My areas of interest for this open project are reinforcement learning, deep learning, estimation and control, and applications in cyber-physical systems. Visit the Publications or Projects tabs for more information about my work.

Innovation stages.
Innovation stages. Image is taken from Wikimedia Commons

First Step: Choosing a Project

Open projects require an extra step to understand the context behind the problem or motivation, so, I follow the Heilmeier questionnaire to evaluate ideas:

  • What are you trying to do? You should be able to explain your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
  • How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
  • What is new in your approach, and why do you think it will be successful?
  • Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make?
  • What are the risks?
  • How much will it cost?
  • How long will it take?
  • What are the mid-term and final “exams” to check for success?

source: www.darpa.mil/…

Tasks and Timeline

Stage 1:

  • Define the problem;
  • Delimitate the solution concept;
  • Review the state-of-the-art and proposed solutions in the literature;
  • Brainstorm potential solutions for the problem.

Stage 2:

  • Plan the experiments and test for the expected solution;
  • Design a proof-of-concept for potential solutions via minimum viable product concept;
  • Analyze the proposed proof-of-concept.

Stage 3:

  • Evaluate the proof-of-concept with the proposed experiments and tests;
  • Benchmark the proof-of-concept against other solutions in the literature.

Stage 4:

  • Document the problem description and solution-design methodology;
  • Show the results to reviewers and non-technical audiences.

Expected Outcomes

Mandatory Products

  • Technical report with problem description, proposed solutions, experimental results, and project conclusions by following the University guidelines;
  • Software and hardware with documentation associated with the project;
  • A public dissertation following the University guidelines.

Optional Products

  • Summary paper from the technical report suitable for conferences or journals;
  • 3-minute elevator pitch video of the project;
  • Blog post or video explaining the problem and proposed solution for a general audience.

Bibliography

As you propose the project, send me at least one (1) survey paper with a well-described problem and state-of-the-art solutions. Furthermore, if you consider that the project requires special topics out of the bachelor’s or master’s curriculum, send me the proposed literature