PhD Profile: Meet Sudarshan Samarasinghe

What led you to this topic?

My supervisory team and I were interested in researching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) autonomous control, especially in critical applications such as in load transportation. After a deep literature review, I found that fault tolerant cooperative UAVs under a loaded condition was under researched.

Why is your research important and how will it make a difference?

UAVs are fast becoming an integral part of day-to-day life. The ability to have a low cost, versatile, easily operatable flying devices is a revolutionary phenomenon. However, as more UAVs are being used the issue of their safety and resilience is becoming an increasing concern. As UAV missions become autonomous and travel longer distances it is critical that they can respond well to sudden changes or incidences with minimal damage. My research focuses on cooperative UAVs carrying a load in critical transportation related applications. During flight, UAVs are exposed to various external disturbances, such as gusts of wind, and are also vulnerable to actuator faults, such as motor or rotor degradation. These events can compromise the system’s stability, leading to hazardous conditions like load swing, rope failure, or inter-UAV interference. My research makes significant contributions to the field of fault-tolerant aerial robotics by proposing a comprehensive and scalable control strategy for critical load transport missions. The outcomes are expected to enhance the safety, reliability, and autonomy of UAV teams deployed in high-risk environments such as disaster relief, military logistics, and remote area deliveries.

What inspired you to start a career in research?

I worked in the industry prior to starting my PhD. While I worked with very advanced industrial automated equipment and well-developed software, it was clear that while industrial automation solutions are very good at giving accurate, precise and repeatable results, they cannot deal with highly dynamic and non-linear problems. Advanced machine learning algorithms and non-linear control methods developed in research fields to deal with such problems have not been translated into easily usable industrial solutions. The desire to be able to bridge such a gap lead me back to research from the industry.

Why did you choose to complete a PhD at IISRI?

While looking for PhD opportunities, I was attracted by IISRI as it was a research institute dedicated to autonomy and robotics. After exploring the research profile of the researchers here I was impressed by the level of expertise and diversity of projects. The high-quality research and industry relevance ensured that I was on board the moment I received my offer, and the journey so far has been delightful.

What have been your highlights so far?

I have been blessed to be supported by a great principal supervisor in Dr Ahmad and an expert supervisory panel. It was a great joy to be given the opportunity to present my work at the SMC conference in Hawaii, USA in my first year. Even though the PhD journey takes a lot of patience and work, I have enjoyed gradually formulating these research problems, developing robust solutions and implementing them to get results. Working together with my supervisors has been a great strength coupled with the comfortable environment at IISRI, great colleagues and most importantly the coffee! Another rewarding experience is being part of Deakin’s IEEE student branch and organising a multitude of events together with fellow PhD students, with the generous support of Dr Shady and the other IISRI staff. Finally, taking part in the 3MT competition and getting an opportunity to present my work in a more exciting manner has been a great experience.