Sonny Li

858-***-**** adjxs5@r.postjobfree.com

Education

University of California, Berkeley May 2020

M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering Controls, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems Honors 3.8/4.0 GPA Berkeley, CA

- Berkeley-Fung Excellence Scholarship: In recognition of outstanding academics and leadership University of California, Irvine June 2016

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering Dual Degree Honors 3.6/4.0 GPA Irvine, CA

- 7 Dean’s Honor List Awards: Awarded for term GPA above 3.5 Professional Experience

Robotics Researcher – Bipedal Locomotion Aug 2019 – Present Hybrid Robotics Laboratory (Advisor: Dr. Koushil Sreenath) Berkeley, CA Awarded Berkeley-Fung M.Eng Institute Mission Award for best project poster and paper

- Developed full-stack autonomous system (perception, planning, and control) with 3 researchers for robotic autonomy

- Formulated nonlinear trajectory optimization with numerical solver IPOPT in MATLAB for whole-body motion planning

- Imbued decision-making behavior for automatic transition between walking and riding control with finite state machine

- Tested gait trajectory on hardware with ROS and walking controller composed of inner-loop PD controllers

- Simulated and constructed optimal trajectory planning for Cassie as a vehicle using Model Predictive Control in Python Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Flight Controls Engineer Jun 2016 – Aug 2019 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems San Diego, CA

- Matured R&D pathing, maneuvering, and control capabilities for autonomous vehicles into robust, widely-used product by optimizing embedded, safety-critical autopilot algorithms in MATLAB and implemented in C for real-time systems

- Distilled large data, from fleet logs, and data logs, produced through Monte Carlo Simulations execution and 6-DOF testing, for statistical analysis, validate automation stack, improve simulation models, and drive future autopilot design

- Wrote Python scripts to unit test, regression test, and run MC simulations on developmental GNC code, written in C

- Debug root cause for filtering, navigation, and flight control anomalies though time-series analysis from flight log data

- Streamlined communication between GNC, software, and systems pipelines by effectively conveying decision-making information, promptly answering time-critical issues, and promoting transparent inter-departmental communication Controls Intern Research Co-op Aug 2015 – Jun 2016 Air Force Research Laboratory Irvine, CA

- Built testbed and implemented impedance control for robotic arm and testbed to simulate satellite orientation Relevant Projects

Path Planning and Routing for Electric, Autonomous Vehicles Aug 2020 – Aug 2020

- Minimized travel time for vehicle routing across the nation while remaining above 25% charge threshold by implementing A* path planning algorithm

Advanced State Estimation for Autonomous Driving Jan 2020 – May 2020

- Localized vehicle to within 1m under intermittent measurement dropouts via sensor fusion by implementing an Unscented Kalman Filter in Python for state estimation

- Assessed tracking performance by implementing and comparing to standard Kalman Filter and Particle Filter Driving Planning and Control for Autonomous Driving Parking Aug 2019 – Dec 2019

- Developed nonlinear Model Predictive Control to yield optimal acceleration and steering angles to autonomously park

- Modeled vehicle dynamics as a efficient reduced-order bicycle model for control and simulation Model Predictive Control of Aerial Vehicle for Urban Air Mobility Sep 2019 – Dec 2019

- Tracked aerial vehicle within 30m of desired trajectory for altitude-tracking and lane-keeping using MPC in Python

- Formulated Constraint Finite-Time Optimal Control problems (MPC) for comparison to LQR for vehicle control Contact Force Optimization-based Whole-Body Balancing Control of Bipedal Robot System Aug 2019 – Dec 2019

- Achieved perturbation rejection by implementing optimization-based control policy that regulates balance in MATLAB

- Formulated Quadratic Programs to minimize desired wrench and grasp mapped forces under contact friction constraint Technical Skills

Technical Knowledge: Dynamics & Modeling, Classical & Modern Control Theory, Motion/Path Planning, Model Predictive Control (MPC), Optimization Theory, Vehicle Dynamics, Probabilistic Robotics, State Estimation, Artificial Intelligence Graduate-Level Coursework: Linear System Theory, Nonlinear Systems & Control, Model Predictive Control & Optimization, Advanced Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Hybrid Systems & Robotics Software Development: Linux, ROS, Git, Agile, Cmake, Scripting Programming Languages: C, Modern C++, Python

Simulation & Analysis Software: MATLAB, Simulink, OpenCV, Solidworks

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