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)
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)
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