I'm

Bontalakoti Venkata Harshavardhan

Resume

Aiming for "A Future Beyond Our Star"
I am presently a graduate student pursuing robotics engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

I specialize in the design, development, and implementation of robotic systems.

My work focuses on enabling robots to understand their environment through computer vision, multi-sensor integration, and SLAM systems. From building a vision-based quadruped robot with real-time pose estimation to developing human-guided SLAM that maps 25% faster, I'm passionate about perception systems that work in the real world.

I believe in multi-disciplinary approach to robotics where I try to understand both hardware and software aspects of these wonderful machines.

My main areas of interest are:

  • Perception and Computer Vision
  • Planning and Navigation
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Deep Learning and AI

Skills & Frameworks

Python MATLAB & Simulink C & C++ C# & Unity ROS 1/2 & Gazebo SolidWorks ANSYS (CFD & FEA) Arduino & ESP32 Machine Learning & AI MuJoCo PyTorch TensorFlow Git & GitHub Reinforcement Learning OpenCV Raspberry Pi Linux Control Systems & Optimization SLAM Mechanical Design

Check out my Constructs

CERBRUS- Open Source Quadruped Robot Platform

Built as a solo project, this robot is designed for navigating and interacting with cluttered environments, with potential applications in search and rescue, space robotics, and agriculture.

CLIPSORT- DeepSort Multiobject Tracking Framework with CLIP features

A from-scratch implementation of DeepSORT for multi-object tracking, featuring CLIP, DINOv2, and ResNet feature extractors..

Proximal Policy Optimization(PPO) for Bipedal Walker from Scratch

Solved the Bipedal Walker environment using PPO algorithm built from scratch using PyTorch.

Learning to Push - Deep RL for Robot Manipulation
Learning to Push: Deep RL for Robot Manipulation

Implemented SAC and PPO RL algorithms for robot manipulation task of learning to push an object to desired place.

Soft Actor Critic(SAC) for Half Cheetah from Scratch

Solved the Half Cheetah environment using SAC algorithm built from scratch using PyTorch.

Time Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradients(TD3) for Inverted Pendulum from Scratch

Solved the Inverted Pendulum environment using TD3 algorithm built from scratch using PyTorch.

Cyclops- Personal Desktop Assistant Bot

A bot based on quantized Mistral 7B LLM running locally.

Rapidly Exploring Random Trees(RRT) Algorithm for Drone in WeBots

Implemented RRT algorithm for drone navigation in WeBots using PyMavLink for Ardupilot SITL.

Quasar- A Solar Powered Bot

ASME EFX Student Design Competition 2023. Created the radio module and power train using solar panels and super capacitors.

BADOSE: Boat and Drone Ocean Simulated Environment

Open-source Unity simulator with ROS 2 interface for drones and boats, simulating ocean turbulence and winds.

Human Navigator Based Cartography in ROS2.

Turtlebot3 follows human pose and performs SLAM autonomously.

ABB Robot Arm Simulation and Control.

Simulated ABB 1200 arm and performed path/trajectory planning using Moveit in C++.

SurviveRL- A multiagent reinforcement learning environment.

Pygame-based RL environment for multi-agent training (swarm robotics, interactions).

Transonic Flow Modelling in Ansys.

Modeled transonic air flow over airfoil using ANSYS Fluent (CFD).

Blood Flow Analysis in a Bifurcated Artery using Ansys

Modeled blood flow in bifurcated artery using ANSYS Fluent (CFD). Useful for micro/nano robot drug delivery.

Design of Stair Climber Robot.

Inspired by caterpillar and snake locomotion. Designed in SolidWorks.

Mandelbrot Set Simulation.

Zooming of Mandelbrot set (fractal).

Conways Game of Life Simulation

Cellular automata evolution using a set of rules.

Experience

Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Summer Fellow — May 2024 – Jul 2024
  • Won the prestigious Summer Fellowship (SFP-2024) at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, standing out among 1000 plus applicants for excellence in robotics research.
  • Designed and implemented an open-source ocean environment for ship & drone simulation using Unity.
  • Integrated ROS2 Bridge to enable real-time data exchange between simulation and robotics middleware.

Supervisor: Dr. Devaprakash Muniraj

Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO)
Summer Intern — May 2023 – Jul 2023
  • Designed and analyzed ammunition mounting systems for UAVs, UGVs, and naval vessels.
  • Prototyped an autonomous coastal surveillance system using distributed sensor-equipped ocean buoys.
  • Assisted in developing a scalable hardware-software integration pipeline for deploying multi-sensor payloads (EO/IR cameras, LiDAR) on mobile defense platforms.
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Undergraduate Project — Aug 2024 – May 2025
  • Designed and built a 12-DOF quadruped robot from the ground up.
  • Developed an ant-inspired gripper for the quadruped—improved the task of object retrieval.
  • Implemented control architecture on Raspberry Pi 5 (Ubuntu, ROS2) for autonomous locomotion.

Supervisor: Dr. R. Prasanth Kumar

National Institute of Technology Silchar
Undergraduate Research Assistant — Aug 2022 – Aug 2023
  • Set up and calibrated a micro-stereolithography 3D printer for high-precision fabrication.
  • Benchmarked printed outputs against Nitinol-spring actuators to assess performance.
  • Developed complete printer control firmware—boosted print speed by 12%.

Supervisor: Dr. Yogesh Singh

Education

Johns Hopkins University
2025 – Present

M.S.E in Robotics
GPA: 3.7/4.0

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
2024 – 2025

B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering Exchange Student
CGPA: 9.63/10 || GPA: 3.9/4.0

NIT Silchar
2021 – 2024

B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering
CGPA: 9.20/10 || GPA: 3.85/4.0

Doon International School
2019 – 2021

Class 12 (CBSE)
93.8%

Bright Lands School
2009 – 2019

Class 10 (ICSE)
98%

Publications

Improvement in Multi-Resident Activity Recognition System in a Smart Home Using Activity Clustering.

Authors: E.Ramanujam, Sivakumar Kalimuthu, B.V.Harshavardhan, Thinagaran Perumal

Journal/Conference: Internet of Things,Advances in Information and Communication Technology (IFIP)

Year: 2023

CERBRUS: An Open-Source Quadruped Robot with a Front-Mouthed Gripper Inspired by Ant Morphology

Authors: B.V.Harshavardhan, R Prasanth Kumar

Journal/Conference: KirIITH (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, ISSN: 2583-7222)

Year: 2025

Certificates

Aerial Robotics Course

Paper Presentation Certificate

ASME Student Design Challenge 2023 Participation

Aerothon Drone Design Competition Participation

Arduino Certification

ASME Membership

AWS Deep Learning Fundamentals

Hackathon Participation

Winner Smart India Hackathon 2024

Extra

Position of Responsibility

> Team Captain for the Team Four Squared. Our team took part in ASME EFX 2023 held in Bangalore and was among the top 5 teams.

> Took the initiative to teach the students Prototyping using Arduino as a part of Innovation Courses under ASME Student Section.

> Teaching Maths to primary school students in the Henderson Hopkins School in Baltimore as a part of Campus Program.

Achievements

> Selected for the Student Exchange Program at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad(IITH). This opportunity was given to only the top 10% of the students from the batch of 2021-2025.

> Our team emerged as one of the winners out of more than a 100 teams in the prestigious Smart India Hackathon 2024 Hardware Edition. We secured the win for our innovative solution to the Smart Automation problem statement.

> Won the second place overall at YCP Hacks held at York College Pennsylvania (MLH 2025). Also our team was the winner of the hardware track.

Writings

> I write articles on Medium.com on various projects.


> I also have a blog dedicated to robotics and concepts behind my projects.


> Science Fiction is also something I am fond of and am trying to write down the stories in my head.

Book Recommendations

> The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

> 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R Covey)

> Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind (Yuval Noah Harari)

> Neuromancer (William Gibson)

> The Three Body Problem (Liu Cixin)

> Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Contact