Minahil Raza
I am an AI and Robotics Researcher, currently working as a Robotics Software Developer at Hiab Oy, where I develop automated driving solutions for electric vehicles (load-handling trucks with forklifts and hooklifts). Recently, I finished an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree (EMJMD) in Engineering of Data-intensive Intelligent Software Systems (EDISS), which consists of two programmes:
- Computer Engineering (Åbo Akademi University)
- Intelligent Systems (University of the Balearic Islands)
My research interests lie at the intersection of robotics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence(AI). I am interested in application of AI (specifically reinforcement learning (RL)) to embodied agents (including robots, autonomous driving e.t.c.). Currently, I am inclined towards methods that:
- learn robust representations for dynamic scenes
- reuse low level skills through hierachical planning
- reduce the gap between Simulation and the real world
- focus on generative modelling for embodied agents (for tasks relevant to grasping, navigating, driving e.t.c)
News
| November 29, 2023 | I received my diploma from Åbo Akademi upon completion of my master's degree. |
| October 26, 2023 | Our paper titled "Environmental stiffness restores mechanical homeostasis in vimentin-depleted cells" has been published in Scientific Reports. I had the opportunity of working with a great time from TU Eindhoven for this work. The article can be accessed on Nature. |
| October 19, 2023 | I successfully defended my thesis titled "Whole-body manipulation using Reinforcement Learning" at the University of the Balearic Islands. The thesis can be accessed here. |
| August 01, 2023 | I started a new position at Hiab where I would be working as a Robotic Software Developer. Hiab works in automated load handling for multilifts and hooklifts electric trucks. Within this role, I would be a part of developing software for automated driving of trucks. |
| February 01, 2023 | I started working as a Master's Thesis Student Researcher at Nokia Bell Labs, Finland. For the next 6 months, I would be working in exploring RL-based solutions for jointly navigating and manipulating mobile manipulators. |
| January 20, 2023 | Our paper SACPlanner: Real-World Collision Avoidance with a Soft Actor Critic Local Planner and Polar State Representations was accepted to the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA) 2023. |
| October 20, 2022 | I presented our paper at OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads virtually. The recording can be accessed here. |
| October 10, 2022 | Our article on the application of digital twins in the autonomous vessel development has been published in MDPI Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (JMSE). It can be accessed here. |
| September 11, 2022 | I will be attending the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain for the 2nd year of my master's degree. I would specialize in the computer vision and mobile robots track. |
| August 25, 2022 | I spoke to ÅA's instagram regarding my experience in Finland. |
| August 01, 2022 | I got selected amongst the top 20 interns (10%) during the Global Intern Program 2022 at Nokia Bell Labs. I would be presenting my topic in front of the global Bell Labs audience." |
| May 01, 2022 | I have accepted a research internship at Nokia Bell Labs where I would be working on "Dynamic Local Navigation of Ground Robots using Reinforcement Learning." |
Education
Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters, Finland & Spain
Engineering of Data-intensive Intelligent Software Systems
Universities: Åbo Akademi University (FI), University of the Balearic Islands (ES)
Funded by: EU Commission
Thesis: Whole-body Manipulation using Reinforcement Learning
Advised by: Dr. Murtaza Hazara(Nokia) and Dr. Alberto Ortiz Rodriguez(UIB)
National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan
Major: Bachelor in Electrical Engineering
Thesis: Autonomous Landing of Fixed Wing UAV using Computer Vision Techniques
Advised by: Dr. Faisal Shafait
Western Carolina University (WCU), USA
Exchange Studies
Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD)
Funded by: US Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Publications
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Environmental stiffness restores mechanical homeostasis in vimentin-depleted cells
Janine Grolleman, Nicole CA van Engeland, Minahil Raza, Sepinoud Azimi, Vito Conte, Cecilia M Sahlgren, Carlijn VC Bouten
Scientific Reports
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SACPlanner: Real-World Collision Avoidance with a Soft Actor Critic Local Planner and Polar State Representations
Khaled Nakhleh*, Minahil Raza*, Mack Tang*, Matthew Andrews, Rinu Boney, Ilija Hadžić, Jeongran Lee, Atefeh Mohajeri, Karina Palyutina
2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
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Towards Integrated Digital-twins: An Application Framework for Autonomous Maritime Surface Vessel Development
Minahil Raza*, Hanna Prokopova*, Samir Huseynzade, Sepinoud Azimi, Sebastien Lafond
MDPI Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
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SimuShips - A High Resolution Simulation Dataset for Ship Detection with Precise Annotations
Minahil Raza*, Hanna Prokopova*, Samir Huseynzade, Sepinoud Azimi, Sebastien Lafond
IEEE OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads [Accepted]
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QuantYOLO: A High-Throughput and Power-Efficient Object Detection Network
Muhammad Gohar Javed*, Minahil Raza*, Muhammad Mohsin Ghaffar, Christ Weis, Norbert Wehn, Muhammad Shahzad, Faisal Shafait
Proceedings of the Digital Image Computing: Technqiues and Applications (DICTA), 2021
Experience
Hiab@Cargotec, Finland
Manager: Dr. Juho Vihonen
Working in planning, perception and visualization of data for automated load handling solutions.
Nokia Bell Labs, Finland
Supervised by: Dr. Murtaza Hazara and Dr. Mikko Honkala (in collaboration with Dr. Alberto Ortiz Rodriguez (UIB))
The objective of my thesis research was to study the effectiveness of hierachical reinforcement learning in joint navigation and manipulation of mobile manipulators. The deevloped solution successfully performed whole-body manipulation to reach a target location outisde the reach of the manipulator.
Nokia Bell Labs, Finland
Supervised by: Dr. Rinu Boney and Dr. Mikko Honkala
The research project was a collaboration between two teams at Nokia Bell Labs -Espoo, Finland and Murray Hills, USA. The objective was to compare the performance of ROS local planners against vision-based reinforcement learning agents for the navigation of mobile robots.
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), the Netherlands
Collaborated with: Dr. Janine Grolleman
Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Supervised by: Dr. Sepinoud Azimi and Dr. Sebastien Lafond
Åboat is a project of Åbo Akademi's Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, which is led by the Department of Information Technology. Novia University of Applied Sciences (Mast Institute) is also involved in research and development work
Teradata GDC, Pakistan
Manager: Dr. Salman Shahid, Project Lead: Dr. Bilal Khaliq
Collaborated with: Andrea Kline, Trent Seashore and Trish Lugtu
National Center of Artificial Intelligence, Pakistan
Supervised by: Dr. Faisal Shafait and Dr. Muhammad Shahzad
Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
Supervised by: Dr. Nobert Wehn and Muhammad Mohsin Ghaffar
Selected Awards & Achievements
- Top intern (20 selected out of 275) - Nokia Bell Labs Global Intern Programme 2022
- Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Scholarship 2021-2023- EU Commission
- Global Undergraduate Exchange Program Scholarship- US Department of States
- NUST Merit Scholarship- National University of Sciences and Technology
- Silver Medal- District High School Examination (HSE)
Talks and Presentations
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Paper Presentation at ICRA 2023:
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Paper Presentaton at OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads:
Selected Press Coverage
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Students from Pakistan Studying on Campus this Semester
February 2019 - WCU stories -
NUST Merit#01 Interview
October 2016 - FUNG Entry Test
Hobbies
I like to travel and explore different cultures. So far, I have been lucky to visit over 20 countries across 3 continents. I love to hear the quirky stories and forktales associated with different regions. I also love to dance, hike and play board games (Catan and scrabble are my favourites). I don't play any sport, however, I love to watch cricket.
Last Updated: 01 December 2023
