Avinash Satish Nair
Verified Expert in Engineering
Robotics Developer
Mexico City, Mexico
Toptal member since August 20, 2019
Avinash is an expert in C++ and a passionate engineer with experience working on autonomy, robotics, and computer vision projects. His most recent engagement involved leading the development of an entire multi-domain technology stack as the co-founder of a startup in the aviation sector. Avinash has worked in roles that include working on self-driving cars, autonomous delivery robots, and vision-based automation solutions for the test and measurement industry.
Portfolio
Experience
- C++ - 10 years
- Robotics - 7 years
- Computer Vision - 6 years
- OpenCV - 6 years
- Python - 5 years
- Robot Operating System (ROS) - 5 years
- Machine Learning - 3 years
- Software Architecture - 2 years
Preferred Environment
Git, Ubuntu, Robot Operating System (ROS), CircleCI, Python
The most amazing...
...thing I've led is the development of an entire platform for a startup, including robotics, mobile and web apps, and associated infrastructure.
Work Experience
Senior C++ Developer
NDT Solutions LLC
- Enhanced a mesh generation algorithm to create meshes from point clouds of parts.
- Improved the path generation algorithm to actuate a robotic arm across a part that needs to be scanned and implemented states within a state machine to handle path planning for the robotic arm.
- Added unit and end-to-end tests to verify the quality and functionality of the mesh and path generation steps.
Principal Systems Architect
Beacon AI
- Designed and built the initial version of the Robotics Edge system and led the development of the initial version of the web app.
- Grew the team to build the initial prototype that led to successfully raising a multi-million dollar seed round and landing multiple million dollar contracts.
- Architected and oversaw the development of the entire software stack of the company across multiple domains, including Edge Robotics, web app, iOS, cloud infrastructure, and the back end to build our functional end-to-end prototype.
Senior Software Engineer
Cruise Automation
- Played a key role in ensuring the successful upgrade of the LiDAR sensor suite across our fleet of autonomous vehicles (AVs).
- Led a cross-team project to automate, measure and improve the performance of the machine-learning pipeline for our team.
- Improved the close-range detection capabilities and general data validation for the LiDAR sensors.
Systems Engineer
Zippy, Inc.
- Composed feature-matching algorithms for the visual-inertial odometry (VIA) system.
- Developed the interface between a robot's software and hardware components, including creating drivers for cameras and embedded devices.
- Built key parts of the platform, such as data logging and messaging.
Senior Project Engineer
Soliton Technologies
- Created a machine vision system for the assembly line of a client company to image and identify small components they manufacture. The work involved selecting imaging equipment and developing the front end and back end using LabVIEW and C++.
- Constructed a 3D vision system to measure the wheel alignment of cars for a client. The system was taken to market by the client as their product.
- Built a low-cost 3D scanner for a client and wrote algorithms to measure features of interest from the generated 3D model.
Experience
YouTube Video Q&A
3D Measurement Systems
https://www.ats-elgi.com/products/elegant-sp/The former was developed using a Texas Instruments DLP and a camera to allow the client to make 3D measurements of plastics they manufacture.
The latter was used to measure the wheel alignment of automobiles and was taken to market by the client as their product.
Stereo and Refocusing Components for a Reconfigurable Camera
Motion-controlled Robotic Arm
Custom Chatbot for Supporting an Affiliate Marketing Lead Magnet
Education
Master's Degree in Computer Science
Columbia University - New York City, NY, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University - Kerala, India
Skills
Libraries/APIs
OpenCV, TensorFlow, Gradio
Tools
ChatGPT, Git, LabVIEW, CircleCI, MATLAB, NVIDIA Jetson, MailerLite
Languages
C++, Python, C, C#, Embedded C
Paradigms
Automation, Real-time Systems, Desktop App Development
Platforms
Linux, Docker, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Linux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS IoT
Frameworks
Botpress.io, Qt
Other
Computer Vision, Robotics, Image Processing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Development, 3D, Retrieval-augmented Generation (RAG), Robot Operating System (ROS), Machine Learning, Computer Vision Algorithms, Calibration, Deep Learning, CTO, Image Analysis, LiDAR, Technical Leadership, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), Team Leadership, Chatbot Conversation Design, Chatbots, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), OpenAI GPT-4 API, Language Models, AI Design, Leadership, OpenAI, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Autonomous Navigation, Machine Vision, Autonomous Robots, Embedded Systems, Software Architecture, Image Search, Stereoscopic Video, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Web Development, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), LangChain, Hugging Face, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Internet of Things (IoT), Video Streaming, Architecture, Mathematics
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