Howdy! I am Syed Izzat Ullah, a PhD Candidate in Computer Science (Focus: Robotics & AI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, working with Prof. José Baca at the Collaborative Robots and Agents Laboratory. My dissertation research focuses on developing a predictive navigation system that enables UAVs to safely operate alongside unpredictable dynamic obstacles, such as birds, by forecasting their motion in real-time. I employ traditional motion planning techniques alongside machine learning approaches, including Reinforcement Learning, and transformer-based multi-modal forecasting, to generate long-horizon trajectory predictions. I am also advancing an uncertainty-aware framework to account for real-world factors like sensor noise and wind disturbances. One of the primary outcomes of my research is POF+MADER, a novel trajectory planner that has reduced collisions by up to 39% in complex simulations.

Before my Ph.D., I was working as a Team Lead at National Centre of Robotics and Automation (NCRA). I mainly worked on an autonomous socially assistive robot and a search and rescue snake like robot. From June 2019 to September 2019, I worked as a visiting researcher at the Robotics Research Lab (RRLab) at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany, where I developed realistic simulation environments in Unreal Engine for autonomous navigation.

My research Interests lie broadly at the intersection of robotics, autonomy, and machine learning, with a focus on motion planning, control, and multi-model trajectory forecasting. I have good hands-on ROS, programming (C++/Python, PyTorch), simulation environments(CoppeliaSim, Gazebo, Unreal engine, CARLA), robotic platforms (Crazyflie drones, Leo Rovers, Universal Robots Manipulators), and motion capture systems(VICON/Opti-track).

My goal is to leverage these skills to build safe, intelligent, and scalable autonomous systems that can tackle industry challenges in urban air mobility, logistics, and beyond. I am actively seeking postdoctoral positions and industry roles where I can apply my research to solve real-world robotics challenges.