Bala Kumaravel | HCI Researcher

Education

PhD in Computer Science - University of California, Berkeley, CA   2017-

Research domain: Human-Computer Interface
Advisor: Björn Hartmann

 

B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering - Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India             2012-2016
Bachelor’s Thesis: IoT enabled CNC milling machine
GPA: 9.18/10

Skills

Programming: C, C++, Python, JavaScript, C#, HTML, CSS, MATLAB, G-Codes

Development: Arduino, Atmel & TI MCUs, HoloLens, Android, iOS, RaspberryPi (and related)

Software: Eagle PCB Design, Solidworks, AutoCAD, CREO, Unity

Others: CNC Machines, PCB Mills, 3D Printing, Laser cutting, Photoshop & Illustrator, LaTeX
 

Selected Coursework

• Interactive Device Design

• User Interface Design

• Instrumentation and control

• Manufacturing Technology

• Foundations of Operations Research

• Research topics – HCI

• Algorithmic Human-robot Interaction

• Data structures and algorithms

• Design of electro-mech devices

Selected Recent Projects

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• Loki: Facilitating Remote Instruction of Physical Tasks Using Bi-Directional Mixed-Reality Telepresence     At Autodesk | Mentors: Fraser Anderson, George Fitzmaurice, Tovi Grossman, Bjoern Hartmann        Dec'18-Apr'18  Contributed a design space  that  explores  real-time  bi-directional mixed-reality based remote training of physical tasks. Developed  a  real-time  bi-directional  depth-capture based mixed-reality telepresence system and associated set  of  interaction  techniques that help users navigate across the contributed design space. Will be presented at UIST 2019                                                                                                                         

• TutoriVR: A video-based tutorial system for design applications in VR                                             At Adobe Research, UC Berkeley | Mentors: Cuong Nguyen, Stephen DiVerdi, Bjoern Hartmann          May'18-Sep'18  Develop VR-embedded tutorial system that supplements video tutorials with 3D and contextual aids directly in the user’s VR environment to help with learning design applications in VR. Presented at CHI 2019

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• AR Mediated Human Drone Interaction at UC Berkeley                                                            Current
  Solving problem of navigation with drones in a shared human-drone environment using Microsoft HoloLens

• IoT enabled CNC machine at IIT Madras & Massachusetts Institute of Technology     Jul'15-May'16
  Developed an Internet enabled CNC milling machine capable of real-time control and data acquisition

• Energy Harvesting Powered Wireless Sensor Networks at UC Berkeley              Fall'16 & Spring'17
  Built low power wireless sensor motes capable of being powered by energy harvesters & having dual power reservoir

• Voice User Interface Design at UC Berkeley                                                                           Spring '17
  Designed VUI for Amazon Alexa for some specific use-case scenarios – First Aid, Recipe app, Mood Diary

• Machine Field data analysis and Prediction at Advanced Research, Caterpillar India      Winter'15 
  Optimized the performance of caterpillar excavators through data driven analytics of the various machine operations

Publications

• Thoravi Kumaravel B., Nyugen C., DiVerdi S., Hartmann B., - " A video-based tutorial system for design applications in Virtual Reality" – Accepted for the ACM CHI 2019 conference

• Balasaravanan T. Kumaravel, R. Bhattacharyya, J. Siegel, S.E. Sarma, Arunachalam N. - "Development of an Internet of Things enabled Manufacturing system for tool wear characterization" - Accepted and Presented in IEEE Robotics and Manufacturing Automation (ROMA) 2017, Awaiting publication

• M. E. Kiziroglou, M. Cowell, B. T. Kumaravel, D. E. Boyle, J. W. Evans, P. K. Wright, and E. M. Yeatman - "Speed vs efficiency and storage type in portable energy systems" - Accepted and Presented in International Conference on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (Power MEMS 2017).

Scholastic Achievements

• Won the 50,000$ Vive Center Seed grant for AR/VR Research​​

• Received the Graduate Division Block Grant Award for Summer 2017

• Won the best interdisciplinary bachelors thesis project across all engineering departments; best thesis project in Mechanical engineering; Gold medal in Aditya Birla Regional Manufacturing summit

• All India Rank 297 (out of 1 million students), State Rank 11 in All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE)

• Among top 10 students in IIT Madras to qualify for the prestigious DAAD (’German Academic Exchange Program’)

• Top 10% of the branch to get a Branch Change in the first semester at IIT Madras

• National Top 1% and Qualified in National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP 2011 )

• Top 20 in the country to qualify Indian National Astronomy Olympiad 2010, attended Indian team selection camp

Positions of responsiblity

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• Core, Events, Shaastra 2016 (Annual Technical Festival of IIT Madras, ISO9001:2000 Certified)     2015-2016
  Spearheaded a team of about 200 members towards carrying out 55 top quality events and tech workshop

• Core and Head of Electronics Club, Centre For Innovation (Student run Makerspace of IITM) 2014-2015                                                                                                                                                   Mentored & Facilitated training of over 300 students in the fields of Electronics and Robotics through various student projects

• Received the star volunteer award from NSS for commendable performance in voluntary activities

• Won 3rd Position in U-19 Chess tournament of the KVS Chennai cluster and represented the cluster in the state meet

• Won 1st Position in South India and 3rd Position in India in KVS National Science Exhibition

Voluntary and Extra-Curricular Activities