Dr. Atul Thakur
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Patna
Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics & Automation Letters | Associate Editor, ASME JCISE
Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics & Automation Letters | Associate Editor, ASME JCISE
📍 R115 Block 3 Academic Area, IIT Patna, Bihta, Bihar - 801106
📧 IITP: athakur@iitp.ac.in | Personal: atul.thakur@gmail.com
📞 +91-611-523-3158
Summary & Biography
Summary
Research Interests: Bio-inspired robotics, microrobotics, machine learning.
Biography
Atul Thakur is an Associate Professor specializing in Robotics and Automation at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Patna. He has been actively engaged in the research involving the design, motion planning, and control of bio-inspired robots, application of robotics in the area of solid waste management, and selective micromanipulation of biological cells using magnetic microrobots.
He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park, Master of Technology (M.Tech.) from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) from the University of Mumbai. Atul is a recipient of prestigious awards like the 2013 Best Dissertation Award from ASME-CIE Division and the Elsevier Journal of Computer-Aided Design 2012 most cited paper award. He is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) since 2009 and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) since 2011.
Currently, he is directing the Biorobotics and Artificial Intelligence (BRAIn) Lab at IIT Patna.
Connect with me to explore collaborations and cutting-edge research opportunities.
Research Interests (Detail)
Dr. Thakur's research spans several interconnected domains within robotics and automation, with a strong emphasis on drawing inspiration from biological systems and applying advanced computational techniques:
- Bio-inspired Robotics: Design, motion planning, and control of robots that mimic biological organisms (e.g., fish, lizards, alligators) for enhanced locomotion and adaptability in complex environments, including amphibious and wall-climbing robots.
- Microrobotics: Development and application of magnetic microrobots for precise, non-prehensile manipulation of biological cells and microscopic objects. This includes research into mechanophenotyping, cell sorting, and understanding cell-cell interactions at the micro-scale.
- Machine Learning in Robotics: Application of machine learning algorithms, including deep learning and Bayesian optimization, for tasks such as gait parameter tuning, sensor data interpretation (e.g., acoustic emissions for boiling crisis prediction, hyperspectral imaging for waste sorting), and autonomous navigation.
- Robotics for Societal Applications: Exploring the use of robotics in areas like solid waste management (automated sorting of recyclables), surveillance systems, and the development of assistive technologies like ergonomic exoskeletons.
- Dynamics and Control: Fundamental research into robot dynamics, simulation (including GPU-based acceleration), and the development of advanced control strategies for various robotic platforms, from unmanned surface vehicles to micro-manipulators.
- Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): Past work includes developing human-following robotic platforms and addressing challenges in look-ahead trajectory planning and human motion prediction for collaborative tasks.
Experience
Indian Institute of Technology, Patna
Associate Professor
December 2019 - Present (5 years 6 months) | Patna Area, India
Assistant Professor
September 2012 - December 2019 (7 years 4 months) | Patna
NAMTECH
Associate Director, School of Robotics
September 2024 - September 2025 (1 year) | Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
University of Maryland
Postdoctoral Research Associate
September 2011 - September 2012 (1 year 1 month) | University of Maryland, College Park
- Developed automated indirect pushing-based micromanipulation of cells using dielectric silica beads to minimize photo-damage, with experimental validation.
- Created lattice-based trajectory planning for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) for autonomous follow tasks, improving computation with multiresolution action sets and hybrid state spaces.
- Engineered a human-following wheeled robotic platform with Kinect sensing, addressing terrain interaction, trajectory planning, and human motion prediction.
Research Assistant
August 2007 - August 2011 (4 years 1 month) | University of Maryland, College Park
Focus: Physics-aware model simplification for interactive virtual environments.
- Designed an accessibility-based algorithm to remove non-interactive portions of geometric models, speeding up rigid body simulations.
- Developed a spatial decomposition-based clustering algorithm to reduce fluid pressure computations in rigid body-fluid interaction simulations.
- Implemented a temporal coherence algorithm to reuse force calculations in fluid interaction simulations.
- Utilized GPU parallel algorithms to accelerate simulations.
- Theoretically established relationships between simplification parameters, speed-up, and error, enabling real-time, high-fidelity USSV simulations for various applications.
General Electric
Design Engineer
August 2006 - June 2007 (11 months)
- Designed and implemented a Java-based integrated performance engineering tool (digital workbench prototype).
- Developed an aircraft engine performance monitoring and visualization tool in Java.
- Contributed to an inter-team web-based code repository and search tool.
Godrej Industries Limited
Engineer Trainee
June 2002 - December 2002 (7 months) | Vikhroli
- Applied Six Sigma for improving incoming inspection procedures.
- Developed MS Excel tools for vendor data analysis.
- Created audit procedures for vendor certification and conducted audits.
Education
University of Maryland College Park
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Mechanical Engineering
2007 - 2011
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
M-Tech, Manufacturing Engineering
2003 - 2006
University of Mumbai
B.E., Production Engineering
1999 - 2003
Birla College of Arts, Science, and Commerce
Higher Secondary School, Physical Sciences
1997 - 1999
Top Skills
- Simulations (Rigid Body Dynamics, Fluid Interaction, GPU-based)
- Robotics (Bio-inspired, Microrobotics, Mobile Robotics, Motion Planning, Control)
- Dynamics (Mechanical Systems, Robot Dynamics)
- Machine Learning (Deep Learning, Bayesian Optimization, ANNs)
- Automation & Control Systems
- CAD Model Simplification
- Algorithm Development
Publications
For a comprehensive and up-to-date list, please refer to Dr. Thakur's Google Scholar profile or his Curriculum Vitae.
Journal Articles
2025
- Thakur, A., Kaipa, K., Banerjee, A. G., Cappelleri, D. J., Krovi, V. N., and Gupta, S. K. (2025). Physical AI for Powering the Next Revolution in Robotics. ASME. J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. doi: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4070122
- Pandey, K. D., Kamble, Y., Thakur, A., & Thakur, A. D. (2025). An Image-Guided Untethered Approach for in-situ Force Measurement using Non-prehensile Deformation of Hydrogel. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 116995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2025.116995
- Ojha, P., & Thakur, A. (2025). Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance using Path Reshaping on Probabilistic Roadmaps for High-Degree-of-Freedom Robots. IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAI.2025.3584023
- Suriyaprasaad, B., Upadhyay, A., Thakur, A., & Raj, R. (2025). Explainable boiling acoustics analysis using Grad-CAM and YAMNet for robust pool boiling regime classification. Applied Thermal Engineering, 278 (Part B), 127220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127220
- Kamble, Y., Raj, A. & Thakur, A. (2025), Minimally invasive microrobotic system for mechanophenotyping of live zebrafish embryos. J Micro-Bio Robot 21, 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-025-00186-3
- Mani Sankar, K., and Thakur, A. (2025), SomerBot: A Two-Legged Somersaulting Robotic Climber With Compliant Footpad. ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics, 17(8): 081009. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4068242
- Sharma, N. K., Tiwari, M., Thakur, A., & Ganguli, A. K. (2025). Evaluating biomechanical risks in manual material handling: an ergonomic intervention approach. Ergonomics, 1-13., 37. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2473678
2024
- Yadav, R., Halder, R., Thakur, A., & Banda, G. (2024). SIRD-YOLO: An enhanced deep learning model for weapon detection using spatial interactions and diverse receptive fields. Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11334-024-00580-3
2023
- Agarwal, D., Kamble, Y., Raj, A. et al. Biomechanical parameter estimation using untethered nonprehensile magnetic microrobot. J Micro-Bio Robot (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-023-00164-7
- Sinha, K. N. R., Kumar, V., Kumar, N., Thakur, A., Raj, R. (2023) Dataset for boiling acoustic emissions: A tool for data driven boiling regime prediction, Data in Brief, 109793, ISSN 2352-3409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109793.
- Singh, M., K., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., (2023) Hyperspectral imaging-based classification of post-consumer thermoplastics for plastics recycling using artificial neural network, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 179, Pages 593-602, ISSN 0957-5820, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2023.09.052.
- Thakur, A. (2023) Gait Parameter Tuning Using Bayesian Optimization for an Alligator Inspired Amphibious Robot. Defence Science Journal, 73(5), 519-530. https://doi.org/10.14429/dsj.73.18315
- Ojha, P., Thakur, A. AD*-Based Dynamically Feasible Replanning Technique for Anguilliform-Inspired Robot. (2023) J Intell Robot Syst, 108, 53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-023-01902-6
- Thakur, A., Sahoo, S., Mukherjee, A., and Halder, R. (2023). Making robotic swarms trustful: A blockchain-based perspective. ASME. J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. doi: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4062326
- Kamble, Y., Raj, A., and Thakur, A. (2023). ANN-Aided computational approach for mechanophenotyping of biological cells using AFM. ASME. J Biomech Eng. doi: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4056916
2022
- Nishad, S. R., Halder, R., Banda, G., and A. Thakur, Development of a lizard-inspired wall-climbing robot using pressure sensitive adhesion, IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 72535-72544, 2022, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3189162.
- Agarwal, D., Thakur, A.D. and Thakur, A. Magnetic microbot-based micromanipulation of surrogate biological objects in fluidic channels. J Micro-Bio Robot (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-022-00151-4
- Agarwal, D., Thakur, A. D., and Thakur, A., A feedback-based manoeuvre planner for nonprehensile magnetic micromanipulation of large microscopic biological objects, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 148, 2022, 103941, ISSN 0921-8890, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2021.103941.
- Zhang, H., Thakur, A., and Wei, X., Patch-size segmentation of small-scaled magnetic resonance images of the prostate with prior information, Computer-Aided Design & Applications, 19(1), 2022, 38-53
- Feng, R., Jiang, J., Thakur, A. and Wei, X. (2023), "Lightweight design of two-level supports for extrusion-based additive manufacturing based on metaheuristic algorithms", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 850-866. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-01-2022-0038
2021
- Sinha, K. N. R., Kumar, V., Kumar, N., Thakur, A., Raj,R., Deep learning the sound of boiling for advance prediction of boiling crisis, Cell Reports Physical Science, Volume 2, Issue 3, 2021, 100382, ISSN 2666-3864, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100382.
- Gundupalli, S.P., Shukla, R., Gupta, R., Hait, S., Thakur, A., Optimal sequence planning for robotic sorting of recyclables from source-segregated municipal solid waste, Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 2021, 21(1), 014502
- Feng, R., Li, X., Zhu, L., Thakur, A., Wei, X., An improved two-level support structure for extrusion-based additive manufacturing, Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 2021, 67, 101972
- Feng, R., Jiang, J., Sun, Z., Thakur, A. and Wei, X. (2021), "A hybrid of genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization for reducing material waste in extrusion-based additive manufacturing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 27 No. 10, pp. 1872-1885. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2020-0292
2020
- Raj, A., and Thakur, A., Hydrodynamic parameter estimation for an anguilliform-inspired robot, Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems: Theory and Applications, 2020, 99(3-4), pp. 837-857.
- Kumar, A., Gunjan, M.R., Jakhar, K., Thakur, A., Raj, R. Unified framework for mapping shape and stability of pendant drops including the effect of contact angle hysteresis, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2020, 597, 124619
- Sharma, N. K., Tiwari, M., Thakur, A., and Ganguli, A. K., A systematic review of methodologies and techniques for integrating ergonomics in development and assessment of manually operated equipment, International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2020, DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2020.1862552
Older Journal Articles
- Raj, A., and Thakur, A., Dynamically feasible trajectory planning for anguilliform-inspired robots in the presence of steady ambient flow, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 118:144-158, 2019.
- Sinha, K. N. R., Ranjan, D., Raza, M. Q., Kumar, N., Kaner, S., Thakur, A., and Raj, R., In-situ acoustic detection of critical heat flux for controlling thermal runaway in boiling systems, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 138:135-149, 2019.
- Gundupalli, S., P., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., Classification of metallic and non-metallic fractions of e-waste using thermal imaging-based technique Article reference, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 118:32-39, 2018.
- Jakhar, K., Chattopadhyay, A., Thakur, A., and Raj, R., Spline based shape prediction and analysis of uniformly rotating sessile and pendant droplets, Langmuir, 33(22):5603-5612, 2017.
- Gundupalli, S., P., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., Multi-material classification of dry recyclables from municipal solid waste based on thermal imaging, Waste Management, 70:13-21, 2017.
- Gundupalli, S., P., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., A review on automated sorting of source-separated municipal solid waste for recycling, Waste Management, 60:56-74, 2017.
- Raj, A., and Thakur, A., Fish-inspired robots: design, sensing, actuation, and autonomy-a review of research. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 11(3):dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/11/3/031001, 2016.
- Thakur, A., Chowdhury, S., Švec, P., Wang, C., Losert, W., and Gupta, S., K., Indirect pushing based automated micromanipulation of biological cells using optical tweezers. International Journal of Robotics Research, 33(8):1098-1111, 2014.
- Chowdhury, S., Thakur, A., Švec, P., Wang, C., Losert, W., and Gupta, S., K., Automated Manipulation of Biological Cells Using Gripper Formations Controlled By Optical Tweezers, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 11(2), 338-347, 2014.
- Švec, P., Thakur, A., Raboin, E., Shah, B., C., and Gupta, S., K., Target Following with Motion Prediction for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Operating in Cluttered Environments. Autonomous Robots, 36(4), 383-405, 2014.
- Thakur, A., Švec, P., Gupta, S., K., GPU based generation of state transition models using simulations for unmanned surface vehicle trajectory planning. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 60(12), 1457-1471, 2012.
- Thakur, A., Gupta, S., K., Improving performance of rigid body dynamics simulation by removing inaccessible regions from geometric models. Computer-Aided Design, 44(12), 1190-1204, 2012.
- Thakur, A., and Gupta, S., K., Real-time dynamics simulation of unmanned sea surface vehicle for virtual environments. Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 11(3), 2-11, 2011.
- Thakur, A., Banerjee, A., G., Gupta, S., K., A survey of CAD model simplification techniques for physics-based simulation applications. Computer-Aided Design, (41):2, 65-80, 2009.
Conference Articles
2025
- Bhanwala, P., Ojha, P., & Thakur, A. (2025). Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation Using Double Deep Q-Network: Efficient Goal-Seeking and Obstacle Avoidance. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '25), IIT Jodhpur, India, July 2–5.
- Ojha, P., Verma, N., & Thakur, A. (2025). Design, Fabrication, and Control of an Anguilliform-Inspired Underwater Fish Robot. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '25), IIT Jodhpur, India, July 2–5.
- Vutukuri, C., Ojha, P., & Thakur, A. (2025). LoMoCar: A BYOD-Powered, Low-cost Modular Self-Driving Research Platform. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '25), IIT Jodhpur, India, July 2–5.
- Kamble, Y., Sarkar, S., & Thakur, A. (2025). Deep Learning-Based Microrobot Detection and Segmentation for Localization. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '25), IIT Jodhpur, India, July 2–5.
- Kamble, Y., Murudkar, S., Sarkar, S., & Thakur, A. (2025). Overcoming Stick-Slip in Magnetic Microrobot via Levitation Enabled by Deep Learning-Based Localization. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '25), IIT Jodhpur, India, July 2–5.
2024
- Sankar, K.M., A. K., A., Thakur, A. (2024). A Two-Legged Robot for Climbing Vertical Surfaces Based on Pressure-Sensitive Adhesion and Peeling. In: Youssef, E.S.E., Tokhi, M.O., Silva, M.F., Rincon, L.M. (eds) Synergetic Cooperation Between Robots and Humans. CLAWAR 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 810. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47269-5_23
- Saxena, S, Ojha, P. and Thakur, A., An Underwater Gliding Robot Using Origami-Inspired Buoyancy Regulator, 48th International Conference on Mechanisms and Robotics (MR) at 2024 ASME-IDETC, Washington DC, USA, August 25-28, 2024
- Kodidasu, P, Kadali, M. and Thakur, A., Improving Climbing Performance Using Passive Tail in Lizard-Inspired Robot, 48th International Conference on Mechanisms and Robotics (MR) at 2024 ASME-IDETC, Washington DC, USA, August 25-28, 2024.
2023
- Verma, N., Ojha, P., Sharma, A. K., and Thakur, A., "ROS-based Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Framework for Fish-Inspired Robot for Safe Control Gain Tuning," 2023 IEEE 7th Conference on Information and Communication Technology (CICT), Jabalpur, India, 2023, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/CICT59886.2023.10455219.
- Yadav, R., Halder, R., Banda, G., and Thakur, A., A Lightweight Deep Learning-based Weapon Detection Model for Mobile Robots. Proc. of the 6th International Conference on Advances in Robotics (AIR '23), IIT Ropar, India, 5-8 July 2023. ACM Press.
- Anugrah, A. K. and Thakur, A., Bio-Inspired gait trajectory design for lizard inspired wall climbing robot 47th International Conference on Mechanisms and Robotics (MR) at 2023 ASME-IDETC, Boston, MA, USA, August 20-23, 2023.(accepted).
2022
- Sharma N.K., Tiwari M., Thakur A., Ganguli A.K. (2022) Biomechanical simulation and a detailed analysis of the roadside cleaning activity. In: Black N.L., Neumann W.P., Noy I. (eds) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). IEA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 223. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74614-8_22
2021
- Das, A., Halder, R., and Thakur. A., Deep reinforcement learning-based 3D exploration with a wall climbing robot. Proc. of the IEEE International Region 10 Technical Conference (IEEE TENCON '21), Auckland, New Zealand, 7-10 Dec 2021. IEEE Press.
- Sarwar, M. M. S., Yadav, R., Samanta, S., Ray, R., Halder, R., Banda, G., Bhattacharya, A., and Thakur, A., A robotic software framework for autonomous navigation in unknown environment, 2021 International Symposium of Asian Control Association on Intelligent Robotics and Industrial Automation (IRIA), 2021, pp. 345-350, doi: 10.1109/IRIA53009.2021.9588693.
- Rishikesh, Bhattacharya, A., Thakur, A., Banda, G., Ray, R., and Halder, R., Secure communication system implementation for robot-based surveillance applications, 2021 International Symposium of Asian Control Association on Intelligent Robotics and Industrial Automation (IRIA), 2021, pp. 270-275, doi: 10.1109/IRIA53009.2021.9588788.
- Ojha, P., and Thakur, A., Real-time obstacle avoidance algorithm for dynamic environment on probabilistic road map, 2021 International Symposium of Asian Control Association on Intelligent Robotics and Industrial Automation (IRIA), 2021, pp. 57-62, doi: 10.1109/IRIA53009.2021.9588792.
- Nishad, S., Halder, R., Banda, G., Ray, R., Bhattacharya, A., and Thakur, A., A lizard-inspired quadruped robot based on pressure sensitive adhesion mechanism for wall climbing, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Robotics 2021, June 30-July 4, 2021. Kanpur, UP, India.
- Darekar, A. Y., and Thakur, A., Trajectory planning in the presence of dynamic obstacles for anguilliform-inspired robots, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Robotics 2021, June 30-July 4, 2021. Kanpur, UP, India.
- Kumar, B., Bhatt, C., and Thakur, A., Deep learning based real-time computation of thrust for a robotic fish, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Robotics 2021, June 30-July 4, 2021. Kanpur, UP, India.
- Pedapudi, B. R. B., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., Multi-Layer perceptron-based classification of recyclable plastics from waste using hyperspectral imaging for robotic sorting, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Robotics 2021, June 30-July 4, 2021. Kanpur, UP, India.
Older Conference Articles
- H. Shaw and A. Thakur, “Shape memory alloy based caudal fin for a robotic fish: Design, fabrication, control and characterization,” in Proceedings of the Advances in Robotics 2019, ser. AIR 2019. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3352593.3352666
- Thati, S., Raj. A., and Thakur, A., Optimal and dynamically feasible path planning for an anguilliform fish-inspired robot in presence of obstacles. ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, Quebec City, Canada, August 26-29, 2018.
- Agrawal, K., Jain. K., Gupta, D., Shrivastav, R., Agnihotri, A., and Thakur, A., Bayesian optimization based terrestrial gait tuning for an 12-dof alligator-inspired robot with active body undulation. ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, Quebec City, Canada, August 26-29, 2018.
- Raj, A., Kumar, A., and Thakur, A., Automated Locomotion Parameter Tuning for an Anguilliform-inspired Robot. In Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 2016 IEEE International Conference on, Budapest, Hungary, October 9-12, 2016.
- Paulraj, S.G., Hait, S., and Thakur, A., Automated municipal solid waste sorting for recycling using a mobile manipulator, 40th International Conference on Mechanisms and Robotics (MR) at 2016 ASME-IDETC, Charlotte, NC, USA, August 21-24, 2016.
- Kulkarni, P., Kumar, A., Thakur, A., D., and Thakur, A., Automated non-prehensile magnetic micromanipulation in presence of spatially varying flow field, 10th International Conference on Micro- and Nanosystems (MNS)at 2016 ASME-IDETC, Charlotte, NC, USA, August 21-24, 2016.
- Shah, B., C., Švec, P., Thakur, A., and Gupta. S., K., Path Planning for Unmanned Vehicles Operating in Time-Varying Flow Fields. ICAPS Workshop on Planning and Robotics (PlanRob 2016), London, UK, June 13-14, 2016.
- Sathish, G.P., and Thakur, A., Automated Municipal Solid Waste Sorting for Recycling using a Mobile Manipulator, 40th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference (MR), ASME-IDETC, Charlotte, UNC, USA, August 21-24, 2016.
- Das, A., Thakur, A., D., and Thakur, A., Image guided automated non-prehensile magnetic micromanipulation of cells, 9th International Conference on Micro- and Nanosystems (MNS) at 2015 ASME-IDETC, Boston, MA, USA, August 2-5, 2015.
- Shriyam, S., Mishra, A., Nayak, D., and Thakur, A., Design, fabrication and gait planning of alligator-inspired robot, International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Sciences, Hyderabad, AP, India, January 9-11, 2014.
- Chowdhury, S., Thakur, A., Švec, P., Wang, C., Losert, W., and Gupta, S., K., Enhancing range of transport in optical tweezers assisted microfluidic chambers using automated stage motion. ASME International Conference on Micro and Nanosystems, Portland, Oregon, August 4-7, 2013.
- Chowdhury, S., Thakur, A., Wang, C., Švec, P., Losert, W., and Gupta. S., K., Automated indirect manipulation of irregular shaped cells with optical tweezers for studying collective cell migration. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA '13), Karlsruhe, Germany, May 6-10, 2013.
- Thakur, A., Chowdhury, S., Švec, P., Wang, C., Losert, W., and Gupta, S., K., Automated indirect optical micromanipulation of biological cells using indirect pushing for minimizing photo-damage. ASME International Conference on Micro and Nanosystems, Chicago, Illinois, August 12 -15, 2012.
- Švec, P., Thakur, A., Shah, B., C., and Gupta. S., K., USV trajectory planning for time varying motion goals in an environment with obstacles. ASME Mechanism and Robotics Conference, Chicago, Illinois, August 12-15, 2012.
- Chowdhury, S., Thakur, A., Wang, C., Švec, P., Losert, W., Gupta, S., K., Automated indirect transport of biological cells using planar gripper formations. IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2012), Seoul, Korea, August 20-24, 2012.
- Švec, P., Schwartz, M., Thakur, A., and Gupta, S., K., Trajectory planning with look-ahead for unmanned sea surface vehicles to handle environmental disturbances. In Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on, San Francisco, California, September 25-30, 2011.
- Thakur, A., Švec, P., and Gupta, S., K., Generation of state transition model using simulation for unmanned sea surface vehicle trajectory planning. ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, Washington DC, August 28-31, 2011.
- Thakur, A., Gupta, S., K., A computational framework for real-time unmanned sea surface vehicle motion simulation. ASME Computers in Engineering Conference. Montreal, Canada, August 15-18, 2010.
- Gupta, S., K., Anand, D., K., Thakur, A., Švec, P., and Schwartz, M., A simulation based framework for discovering planning logic for Unmanned Surface Vehicles. ASME Engineering Systems Design and Analysis Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, July 12-14, 2010.
- Schwartz, M., Švec, P., Thakur, A., and Gupta, S., K., Evaluation of automatically generated reactive planning logic for unmanned surface vehicles. Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems Workshop September 21 - 23, Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 2009.
- Thakur, A., Gupta, S., K., Context dependent contact preserving off-line model simplification for interactive rigid body dynamics simulations. ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, San Diego, August 30-September 2, 2009.
- Pavanaskar, S., S., Thakur, A., Sunil, V., B., and Pande, S., S., WebNC: An internet based system for global product development. Proceedings of 7th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, 2009, Chennai, India, December 1-4, 2009.
- Thakur, A., Gupta, S., K., Anand, D., K., Brough, J., E., Kavetsky, R., A., and Schwartz, M., A survey of the virtual environments-based assembly training applications. Proceedings of Virtual Manufacturing Workshop, Turin, Italy, October 7-8, 2008.
- Thakur, A., S., S., Pande, A web based system for sheet metal modeling and process planning, Proceedings of 1st International and 22nd All India Conference on All India Manufacturing Technology Design and Research, 2006, Roorkee, India, December 21-26.
- Thakur, A., Pande, S., S., SIBAM: A web based feature modeler for sheet metal components. Proceedings of 22nd International Conference on CAD/CAM, Robotics and Factories of future, Vellore, India, July 19-23, 2006.
- Pavanaskar, S., S., Thakur, A., Sunil, V., B., and Pande, S., S., FBMod: A web based feature modeler for prismatic components, Proceedings of the National Conference on Design for Product Cycle (DPLC-2006), Pilani, India, February 17 - 18, 2006.
Book Chapters
- Chowdhury, S., Thakur, A. and Gupta, S.K. Manipulation of biological cells using optical tweezers: Challenges and solutions. In Autonomous Robot-Aided Optical Manipulation for Biological Cells, Elsevier Science, 2021.
- Schwartz, M., Svec, P., Thakur, A., and Gupta, S. K., Simulation based synthesis of planning logic for autonomous unmanned sea surface vehicles. Simulation Driven Innovation and Discovery, Energetics Applications, CALCE EPSC Press, College Park, 2011.
Patents
- Raj, R., Thakur, A., Banerjee, S., and Pandey, U., A System and Method for Controlling Buoyancy of an Underwater Submersible, Indian Patent Office 453932, Patent granted on 22/09/2023.
- Anugrah AK, Thakur, A. Halder, R., Design of adhesion based omni orientation surface traverse mechanism in crawling quadruped trot-gaited robot" Published.
Teaching
Present Teaching
- Mobile Robotics (ME512)
- Robot Motion Planning (ME510)
- Modeling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems (MH504)
- Mechatronics Labs I and II (MH519 and MH520)
Past Teaching
- System Dynamics and Control (ME312)
- Fundamentals of Mechatronics (MH501)
- Control Systems (ME309)
- Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines (ME304)
- Engineering Mechanics (ME101)
- Engineering Drawing (ME111)
Students Advised
Present Students
Doctoral
- Neelesh Sharma (jointly guided with Dr. Mayank Tiwari, ME)
- Mukesh Kumar Singh
- Pritam Ojha
- Yuvaraj Kamble (jointly guided with Dr. Abhishek Raj, ME)
- Kadali Manisankar (jointly guided with Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, ME)
- Shantmanu (jointly guided with Dr. Anirban Mahato, ME)
Masters
- Aditya Singh Chauhan
- Abhijit Singh Chauhan
Bachelors
- Shuchi Saxena
- Arti Dewangan
- Ansh Singh
Past Students
Doctoral
- Dharmveer Agarwal, 2024
- Thesis Title: Robotic Nonprehensile Magnetic Micromanipulation of Large Microscopic Biological Objects
- Sathish P. Gundupalli, 2019
- Thesis title: Automated segregation of recyclables from solid waste stream using thermal imaging technique
- Aditi Raj, 2019
- Thesis title: Trajectory planning for underwater anguilliform-Inspired robots operating in presence of ambient flow
Masters
- Purusottam Pradhan, 2024
- Simultaneous Localization and Mapping of the Unknown Environment using Kobuki Robot and LiDAR Sensor
- Kodidasu Purna Rama Sai Usha Pranav, 2024
- Improving the Performance of Climbing Robots with Tail
- Anugrah A. K., 2023
- Miniaturization and Rapid Prototyping of Lizard Inspired Robot for Swarm Application
- Ajayan, 2022
- Thesis title: Development of experimental setup for robotic sorting of plastic waste
- Ninad Kuware, 2022
- Thesis title: Prognosis and control of boiling crisis by leveraging acoustic emissions and deep learning.
- Pedapudi Bharath Raja Bhoopal, 2021
- Thesis title: Classification of recyclable plastic from waste using hyperspectral imaging technique
- Akshay Y. Darekar, 2021
- Thesis title: Trajectory planning for fish-inspired robots in the presence of dynamic obstacles
- Aditya Sudeep Ratnaparkhi, 2020
- Thesis title: Model-based backtepping leader-follower formation control of unmanned surface vehicles
- Abhishek Sharma, 2020
- Thesis title: Design and control of haptic interface for laparoscopic simulator
- Shubham Pathak, 2019
- Thesis title: Control of boiling-based variable buoyancy robot
- Sushrut Lingayat, 2019
- Thesis title: Laparoscopic simulator with haptic feedback
- Amit Kumar, 2019
- Thesis title: Design of a dragonfly-inspired micro air vehicle
- Aaditya Asati, 2018
- Thesis title: Haptic feedback from virtual environment for laparoscopic surgical simulation using cutaneous and kinesthetics haptic Interface
- Rajan Sippy, 2018
- Thesis title: Development of android powered eye tracking-based wheelchair control with autonomous navigation
- Adnan Jawed, 2018
- Thesis title: Design and fabrication of carangiform robotic fish
- Sumit Banerjee, 2017 - Joint guidance with Dr. Rishi Raj, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Thesis title: Boiling-based buoyancy controlled underwater robot
- Biswaranjan Das, 2017
- Thesis title: Anguilliform-inspired robot
- Himansu Shaw, 2017
- Thesis title: A shape-memory alloy actuated robotic fish
- Kishan Gopal Karwa, 2017
- Thesis title: Magnetic microrobot for non-prehensile manipulation of cells
- Krishna Agrawal, 2017
- Thesis title: Automatic gait adaptation for alligator-inspired robot
- Akash Das, 2015 – Joint guidance with Dr. Ajay D. Thakur, Department of Physics
- Thesis title: Automated motion planning of magnetic microrobot
- Guddi Kumari, 2015 – Joint guidance with Dr. Rishi Raj, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Thesis title: Temperature feedback control for enhancing critical heat flux during pool boiling.
- Anand Kumar Mishra, 2014
- Thesis title: Design, fabrication and planning of bio-inspired quadruped robots
- Sherbahadur Yadav, 2014
- Thesis title: Design and planning of unmanned ground vehicles for human following
Bachelors
- Shreya Murudkar, 2025
- o Design and Fabrication of a Magnetic Actuation System for Independent Multi-Microrobot Manipulation
- Anubhav Roy and Priyanshu Kumar, 2025
- Development and Implementation of an Underground Water Monitoring Data Logger
- Aditya Baberwal and Krishna Raj, 2024
- Development of a Prototype of Self-Driving Car
- Anushkha Singh and Gogineni Charishma, 2023
- 3D Object Reconstruction from Multiview Monocular Images
- Kritadhi Maity and Ayush Gupta, 2023
- Advance Prediction of Boiling Crisis through Acoustic Signal Analysis
- Pranay and Hareesh, 2022
- Thesis title: Sanitization robot
- Maria and Anisha, 2022
- Thesis title: Animal health monitoring tool
- Aman Kumar and Akshat Jain, 2022
- Thesis title: Modelling and simulation of adhesive force and climbing in a lizard-inspired robot
- Bansal Kumar and Chandan Bhatt, 2021
- Thesis title: A deep learning-based real time computation of thrust for fish-inspired robot
- Rishabh Shukla and Rohit, 2019
- Thesis title: Sorting of municipal solid saste using robotic hand
- Rajendra Verma and Rahul Dilare, 2019
- Thesis title: Quadruped robot based on mammalian gait
- Santhosh Thati, 2018
- Thesis title: Optimal trajectory planning for an anguilliform-inspired robot
- Kushagra Jain, 2018
- Thesis title: Gait parameter estimation using Bayesian-optimization for an alligator-inspired robot
- Amit Kumar and Maneesh Meena, 2018
- Thesis title: Stair-climbing gait control of a 12-DOF quadruped robot
- Ashwin Goyal and Chirag Jain, 2017
- Thesis title: Estimation of crowd density using a quadcopter
- Abhijeet Agnihotri and Raunak Srivastava, 2017
- Thesis title: Control of quadruped gait in an alligator-inspired robot
- Pranav Kulkarni, 2016 – Jointly guidance with Dr. Ajay Thakur, Department of Physics
- Thesis title: Control of magnetic microrobot in the presence of environmental flow
- Samiran Mondal, 2015
- Thesis title: Design, control and fabrication of an alligator-inspired underwater swimming robot
- C. Nitish, 2015
- Thesis title: Design and fabrication of glove for augmented reality applications
- Ashesh Chattopadhyay, 2015 – Joint guidance with Dr. Rishi Raj, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Modeling of droplet geometry on surfaces exhibiting different contact angles
- Shivam Chourey and Vora Nishant, 2014 – Joint guidance with Dr. Ajay D. Thakur, Department of Physics
- Thesis title: Development of magnetic microrobot
- Delip Thomas and Srinivas Gunti, 2014
- Thesis title: Design and fabrication of snake-inspired robots
Research Engineers
- Subham Kumar (2025-Ongoing)
- Development of Affordable Ergonomic Exoskeleton for Ameliorating Manual Work for Improving Safety and Dignity
- Batchu Madhu Sri Kiran (2023-2024)
- Development of Affordable Ergonomic Exoskeleton for Ameliorating Manual Work for Improving Safety and Dignity
- Ravi Shekhar Tiwari (2022-23)
- Demand Forecasting in a Themal Power Plant based on LSTM
- Harshang Shah (2023)
- Development of Pipe Inspection Robot for Thermal Power Plant
- Satyendra R. Nishad (2018-2020)
- Development of Lizard-Inspired Wall Climbing Robot
- Amarjeet Kumar (2013-16)
- Development of Fish-Inspired Robot
Awards & Recognitions
- 2024 Outstanding Associate Editor Award from ASME Journal of Computing and Information Engineering
- 2024 Star Chair Award from ASME
- 2013 Best Dissertation Award from ASME-CIE Division
- Elsevier Journal of Computer-Aided Design 2012 Most Cited Paper Award
- Outstanding Associate Editor - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
- Outstanding Associate Editor - ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering (JCISE)
R&D Projects
- Robust Motion Planning for Amphibious-Inspired Robots, 2013-2016, Sponsor: DST, Status: Completed
- Development of Low Cost, Efficient, Mechanism for Collection of Garbage and Dirt for Municipal Corporations, Panchayats, 2018-2021, Sponsor: SAP, MHRD, Status: Completed (PI Prof. Mayank Tiwari)
- Development of Lizard-like Robotic Spy Surveillance System, 2019-2022, Sponsor: IMPRINT, Sponsor: SERB, Status: Completed (PI with Dr. Raju Halder)
- Intelligent Partition of Complicated Multiscale 3D Models for Rapid Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing, 2018-2022, Sponsor: Shanghai Municipality, (PI Dr. Xiangzhi Wei, Shanghai Jiao Tang University)
- Assessment of the Use of Modern Robotic and Machine Learning Tools for Addressing Operational Challenges at 3 x 660 MW Capacity Coal Fired Supercritical Power Plant, 2022-2023, Sponsor: Prayagraj Power Generation Corp. Ltd., Status: Completed
- Development of Affordable Ergonomic Exoskeleton for Ameliorating Manual Work for Improving Safety and Dignity, 2023-2026, Sponsor: SAP, MHRD, Status: Ongoing
Short-Term Training and FDPs Conducted
- Organized a Short-term Training Program for the Engineers of Building Construction Department, Govt. of at IIT Patna in collaboration with Dr. Subrata Hait, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Patna during May 20 to June 12, 2013. Number of participants was 25.
- Organized a CEP course “Introduction to robotics: Mechanics, Control, and Programming” during October 26 – 28, 2018. Number of participants was 31.
- Conducted an FDP on Mobile Robotics funded by AICTE under its ATAL program during June 16-20, 2021. Number of participants was 200.
- Conducted an FDP on Advanced Mobile Robotics funded by AICTE under its ATAL program during September 20-24, 2021. Number of participants was 88.
Academic Service
- Serving as Associate Editor of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)
- Serving as Associate Editor of Journal of ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering (JCISE)
Administrative Service (IIT Patna)
- Associate Dean Academic Affairs, July 2021-July 2022
- Secretary, Department Academic Program Committee of Mechanical Engineering Department, 2016-2020.
- Member, Department Purchase Committee of Mechanical Engineering Department, 2016-2019.
- Member, Committee for Developing Executive M-Tech Program in Mechatronics, 2021
- Member, Committee for Developing Dual Degree B-Tech (Mechanical)+MBA Program in collaboration with National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) 2022
- Member, Institute Wellness Center, 2018-2022
Invited Talks
- Real-Time Path Reshaping Over PRMs for Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance in Manufacturing Environment, Embodied AI for Robot-Powered Manufacturing Systems Workshop at IEEE CASE 2025, August 17, 2025, Los Angeles (online)
- Robotics Across Scales: Lizard-Inspired Climbing Robots and Microrobots that Measure Biomechanics of Zebrafish Embryos, December 2024, University of Massachussets, Lowell
- Lizard-Inspired Climbing Robots and Microrobots for Biomechanical Analysis of Zebrafish Embryos, November 2024, IIT Gandhinagar
- Actuation and Control of Micro- and Nano- Robots for Biomedical Applications, March 2024, NIT Jamshedpur
- Fundamentals of Robotics: Mechanisms and Kinematics of Manipulators, March 2024, NIT Sikkim
- Autonomous Underwater Robotics at Various Size Scales: Challenges and Opportunities, November 2023, Paris-Saclay University & UEVE University (online)
- Bioinspired Mobile Robotics: Sensing, Actuation and Autonomy, Darbhanga College of Engineering, October 2023, Darbhanga, Bihar, India
- Teaching Methodology in Engineering Education, Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development, July 2023, Gaya, Bihar, India.
- Applications of AI and ML in Robotics: Basic Concepts, NIMS Jaipur, November 2022, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
- Mechatronics and Robotics Research at IIT Patna, Prayagraj Power Generation Co. Ltd., April 2022, Prayagraj, UP, India.
- Structural Health Monitoring: Collaboration proposal between IIT Patna and NTPC, National Thermal Power Generation Ltd., Vaibhav Singhal, Udit Satija, and January 2022, India. (online)
- Actuation and Control of Micro- and Nano- Robots for Biomedical Applications, IIT BHU, August 2021, Varanasi, UP, India. (online)
- Actuation and Control of Micro- and Nano- Robots for Biomedical Applications, NIT Silchar, June 2021, Silchar, Assam, India. (online)
- Actuation and Control of Micro- and Nano- Robots for Biomedical Applications, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, MP, December 2020, Indore, India. (online)
- Underwater Robotics at different size-scales, GIET Gaya, December 2020, Gaya, India. (online)
- Underwater Robotics at different size-scales, Shanghai Jiaotong University, December 2019, Shanghai, China.
- Underwater Robotics at different size-scales, NIT Silchar, May 2019, Silchar, Assam, India.
- Underwater Robotics at different size-scales, IIT Bombay, February 2019, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
- Research on Fish-Inspired Underwater Robot at IIT Patna, IIT Gandhinagar, October 2017, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
- Introduction to Mobile Robotics, Bhagalpur College of Engineering, November 2016, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
- Introduction to mobile robots and research on fish-inspired underwater robots, G H Patel College of Engineering & Technology, December 2016, Surat, Gujarat, India.
- Dynamics-aware online motion planning for mobile robotic systems operating in stochastic environment, System and Controls Group, IIT Bombay, October 2014, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
- Magnetic Microrobot Assisted Selective Non-Prehensile Cell Micromanipulation, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, December 2015, Bhopal, MP, India
- Physics-Aware Planning of Robot Motion: Unmanned Surface Vehicles to Bio-Inspired Robots, 11th National Conference on Industrial Problems on Machines and Mechanisms (IPRoMM-2014), February 2014, Delhi, India.
- Robotics based indirect optical manipulation of biological cells for studying collective migration, Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, September 2013, Patna, Bihar, India.
- Robotics Research at IIT Patna, Center for Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, March 2013, Durgapur, WB, India.
- Robotics Research at IIT Patna, Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
- Advances in Modeling and Simulation for Physics-Aware Planning in Robotics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, April 2012, Delhi, India. February 2013,
- Real-Time High Fidelity Rigid Body Simulations for Virtual Environments, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, August 2011, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Research Videos
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