Stephen BarkbyLead Robotics Researcher

Experience2015–Present Lead Robotics Researcher, Sharp Laboratories of Europe, Oxford, UK.

Primarily responsible for setting up the new robotics group at SLE. This involves developinglinks with industry to foster collaborative projects, researching funding opportunities, projectmanagement and leading software development. Detailed responsibilities/achievementsinclude:{ The identification of computer vision and machine learning for precision horticulture as a

suitable research direction for the group, after analysing the strong forecasted growth inthis industry, SLE’s relevant research strengths and the opportunities for collaborationwith local industry members.

{ Arranging meetings with industry experts to discuss and identify challenges in their lineof work where robotics innovation would provide an economic and/or societal benefit.

{ Formulating, being technical lead to and securing government funding for a £1.3 Millioncollaborative (five company) project developing a robotic product for automation incommercial greenhouses, thereby aligning our research strengths with real challenges inindustry.

{ Project Management to breakdown the project into defined work packages that can bedeveloped, tracked and validated against customer requirements.

{ Identification and development of robotic algorithms with solid theoretical foundations tosolve real world problems, incorporating additional heuristics and engineering to ensurethis is done robustly until proof of concept (POC) is achieved.

{ Supporting the continued development of POC technologies by other Sharp businessgroups up until product delivery.

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2013–2015 Senior Robotics System Engineer, Dyson, Malmesbury, UK.In addition to the role and responsibilities of a Robotics System Engineer (please see nextentry) I was also tasked with the mentoring and project management of other team members,recruitment/interviewing, auditing deliverables of external contractors and taking a pivotalrole in critical design decisions that shape the robotic product.Detailed achievements:{ Sent to our manufacturing headquarters in Malaysia to train the staff in sensor calibration

and optics technology.{ Sent overseas three times to perform week-long site audits of external contractors, giving

recommendations as to whether or not to proceed with the buy-off of their deliverables.{ Jointly responsible for the recruitment of over eight members in our Robotics team,

resulting in praise from the HR department as to the effectiveness of my interviewingtechnique and choice of team members.

{ Asked to be the project lead of a small group of Robotic Engineers. This has involvedchairing discussions that break the project goal down into quantifiable tasks while followingan agile software development methodology (incremental development that promotesadaptive planning). Tasks are then allocated to team members and their progress ismonitored along with the progress of the overall project.

{ Mentoring and project management of junior team members to ensure all roboticsalgorithms are thoroughly validated, as well as offering ideas for improvement andtutelage of current robotic algorithms.

{ Adherence to the V-model Systems Engineering Process to ensure the project evolvesas efficiently as possible while continuing to satisfy the original high level customerrequirements that drive the project.

2011–2013 Robotics System Engineer, Dyson, Malmesbury, UK.Primarily responsible for the development of a robotic vacuum cleaner that conducts vision-based Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), allowing for precise navigation andefficient cleaning.Detailed achievements:{ Research and implementation of practical navigation, mapping, path planning and com-

puter vision algorithms for a low cost robotic platform operating within dynamic indoorenvironments.

{ Research and discussion of future robotic technologies that should be further investigatedby Dyson, along with recommendations for future Dyson robotic products.

{ Extensive design and implementation of C++ software libraries in large repositories withstrict coding standards and unit testing strategies.

{ Methodical design, execution and documentation of acceptance tests for the robot inboth simulated and real world environments.

{ Calibration and commissioning of optical sensors and technologies.

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2007–2011 PhD Researcher, Australian Centre for Field Robotics, Sydney, Australia.Along with completing my PhD I was deeply involved in the field operations of the ACFR’sAutonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in both on and off shore campaigns. Duringthis time I was additionally commissioned by the Hydrographic Office of the AustralianDepartment of Defense to design a portable rig that can be strapped to small vessels forthe collection of surface and subsurface coastline profiles.Detailed achievements:{ Designed and implemented software programs for automated collection, cleaning and

visualisation of bathymetric (sonar) data, as well as delivery of these data products tomarine organisations such as AIMS, WHOI and TAFI.

{ Designed and implemented a practical software program based on my research to correctnavigation and mapping errors in real AUV and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)surveys.

{ Operations experience with AUVs and ROVs in both on and off coast campaigns.2010 Navigator and Data Processing Technician, EV Nautilus Deep Sea Expedition

- Dr. Robert Ballard and the Institute for Exploration, Woods Hole, USA.In September 2010 I was invited to take part in a research cruise off the southern coast ofTurkey and Greece. During this time my responsibilities included:{ Ensuring the smooth progress of all underwater exploratory exercises.{ Formulation and communication of low level mission objectives to the pilots of multiple

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) based on the science goals of the mission.{ Monitoring inter-vehicle operations and communicating course corrections to the bridge

to ensure safe operations at all times.{ Design and implementation of software programs for automated processing and visualisa-

tion of mission path summaries.2007–2010 Academic Tutor, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

During my time at the University of Sydney I was head tutor for two undergraduate courses.These were 3rd Year System Dynamics and Control and 4th Year Experimental Robotics.My responsibilities included:{ Teaching course material such as robot kinematics and dynamics, computer vision,

estimation and data fusion (Kalman Filters), obstacle avoidance, path planning andfeedback control system design using frequency domain and state space techniques.

{ Creating, solving, marking and discussing tutorial problems with students.{ Acting as intermediary to address student concerns and questions with lecturers.

2006 Diagnostics Technician, Thales Australia, Sydney, Australia.This is a division of the Thales Group that specialises in training and simulation softwarefor the military and for commercial aviation. As part of my 13 week placement here myresponsibilities were:{ Running diagnostic tests in tank simulators to ensure correct operations are maintained

after uploading new software.{ Design and implementation of a software program which automatically runs unit tests on

existing software and notifies the author if failure occurs.

Education2007–2011 PhD of Engineering, Australian Centre For Field Robotics, University of Sydney,

Sydney, Australia.{ Recipient of the Australian Postgraduate Award and ACFR supplementary scholarship.{ Awarded University of Sydney Travel Grant in Aid to present and undertake collaborative

research in the USA.{ Awarded IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society student poster competition stipend.

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2002–2006 BE Mechatronics (Space) Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia,Graduated top of the class, receiving 1st Class Honours.{ Recipient of the University Medal for outstanding achievement.{ Maintained a high distinction average in course subjects.{ Placed on the Deans List of Excellence in Academic Performance each year of the degree.

2002–2005 BSc Advanced Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.{ Maintained a distinction average in course subjects.{ Awarded two summer research placements in the plasma physics department investigating

oscillation modes in coulomb clusters.

PhD thesistitle Efficient and Featureless Approaches to Bathymetric Simultaneous Localisation and

Mappingsupervisors Stefan Williams, Oscar Pizarro and Michael Jakubadescription My thesis investigates efficient forms of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping

(SLAM) that do not require explicit identification, tracking or association of mapfeatures. The specific application considered here is subsea robotic bathymetricmapping. In this context, SLAM allows a GPS-denied robot operating near thesea floor to create a self-consistent bathymetric map. This is accomplished usinga Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter (RBPF) whereby each particle maintains ahypothesis of the current vehicle state and map that is efficiently maintained usingDistributed Particle Mapping. Through particle weighting and resampling, successiveobservations of the seafloor structure are used to improve the estimated trajectoryand resulting map by enforcing map self consistency.

SkillsProgramming C/C++ (C11 standard), MATLAB, bash/shell scripting, AWK, Latex, Assembly

Programs Linux, Subversion, Bazaar, Git, Qtcreator, Scrumworks, BugzillaTheory Computer Vision, Random Forests, Bayesian probability and its applications to

robotics (e.g. Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping), Path Planning, GaussianProcesses

Hardware PCB basic design and development, Fault testing

InterestsSports Golf, Tennis, Badminton, Rock Climbing, Scuba Diving

Hobbies Poker, Photography, Gardening, Board Games, Jigsaw Puzzles, XboxLanguages English(Native), Spanish(Beginner), German(Beginner)

PublicationsS.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. An efficient approach tobathymetric SLAM. In Proceedings of the Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS’09) Conference, pages 219–224, St Louis, MO, Oct. 2009.

S.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. Incorporating prior

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bathymetric maps with distributed particle bathymetric SLAM for improved AUVnavigation and mapping. In Proceedings of the OCEANS ’09 Conference, pages1–7, Biloxi, MS, Oct. 2009.

S.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. Bathymetric slam with nomap overlap using gaussian processes. Proceedings of the Intelligent Robots andSystems (IROS ’11) Conference, pages 1242–1248, Sep. 2011.

S.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. A featureless approach toefficient bathymetric SLAM using distributed particle mapping. Journal of FieldRobotics, 28(1):19–39, Jan. 2011.

S.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. Performing simultaneouslocalisation and mapping with dvl bathymetry: An approach to driftless navigationfor unmanned underwater vehicles. Proceedings of the Teledyne ADCP’s in ActionConference, Oct. 2011.

S.A. Barkby, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro, and M. Jakuba. Bathymetric particle filterSLAM using trajectory maps. International Journal for Robotics Research, Sep.2012.

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