Meet the team

Vibhor builds Burros and his software controls them. He develops many of the computer-vision approaches to localization and autonomy at Augean Robotics. Prior to Augean, Vibhor worked as a researcher at Lehigh’s Vader Labs where he specialized in accurate infrastructure free outdoor localization, and as a software engineer at Samsung. He received an M.E.E from Lehigh University, and a B.S. Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering from Manav Rachna International University in Faridabad, India.

Gary leads the Hardware team at Burro in the development of the next generation of collaborative robots. Gary has more than 30 years of high-tech product development experience, including low cost, high volume satellite radio receivers, biometric (iris) scanners, Digital Television receivers and test systems, automotive safety and convenience systems, and autonomous aerial robots.  Gary earned a B.S. Eng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UConn, and an M.S.E.E from Johns Hopkins.

Mona is a robotics engineer at Burro, where she focuses on robot localization and mapping. Before joining Burro, she worked as a software developer at Quandl Inc. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, where her research centered on long-term visual localization. Mona also completed an M.S. in Computing Science at the University of Alberta and a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Toronto.

Shreshtha is a robotic software engineer at Burro. She builds motion planning and perception algorithms that leverage computer vision and AI, enabling Burros to better understand, travel through, and manipulate their environments. Prior to joining Burro, she developed pick and place applications using robot manipulators and perception features for autonomous vehicles for Wipro Limited, and held engineering roles with Refraction AI and Honda. She received her Masters Degree in Robotics from University of Michigan, and her B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from R.V. College of Engineering in Bangalore. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, playing basket ball and singing with her guitar.

Ron leads the integration team at Burro, bringing his experience and enthusiasm to all aspects of the software development lifecycle. Prior to working at Burro, Ron spent the last 20 years bringing new and innovative medical imaging devices and computer-controlled scientific instruments to market. He obtained his B.S. in Computer and Information Science from Temple University, where he discovered his love for teaching and mentoring. Ron enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys, making projects such as 3D printing, electronics, and woodworking, and wondering if this is finally the year that our Philadelphia Phillies will make it back to the postseason.

Dinesh, a Staff Robotics Software Engineer at Burro, is leading the software architecture. Leveraging over 15 years of experience in robotics, from academic research on various platforms (drones, ground robots, manipulators) to leading industry projects, Dinesh brings a unique blend of research and practical expertise. His passion for innovation is evident in his 2 patents and over 30 research papers. Outside of work, Dinesh enjoys exploring new cities by bike, motorcycle adventures, capturing moments through photography, and social dancing (Salsa, Bachata, and Tango).

Ian works on Burro’s sensors and processing data from them, making sure that Burro’s brain has the information it needs to make good decisions.  Previously, he worked at the GRASP lab at UPenn on teams of robots in the air and on the ground, building algorithms to get them to collaborate.  He double majored in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at Lafayette College, received an MS in Robotics from UPenn, and is working towards a PhD in Electrical and Systems Engineering at UPenn as well.  When he isn’t wrangling robots, he can often be found reading SF and Fantasy novels, playing board games, or riding a tandem bike with his wife!

Josh is a staff robotics autonomy engineer at Burro and is passionate about all things robots. He builds the brains of the bots which includes sensor fusion, perception, localization, path planning, and control. His prior experience in autonomy includes an aerostat for surveillance, drones for special operations, autonomous cars, and agriculture robots. Before his career in robotics, he had a career in the nuclear industry as a nuclear, electrical, instrumentation, and control engineer. Prior to that, he was a nuclear reactor operator and electronics technician for six years in the US Navy. When not working, he’s reading something scientific, adventuring in nature, or traveling.

Craig is developing Burro’s robotic simulation and integration testing capabilities. Prior to Burro, Craig has spent over eight years developing robotic and autonomous systems at Triton Systems, designing electromechanical hardware at Princetel, and integrating complex, multidisciplinary systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Craig holds an M.S. in Robotics Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and a B.S.M.E. from Temple University. His graduate studies included coursework in robotic control systems, advanced robot navigation, and deep learning for robot perception. Craig worked with WPI’s Manipulation and Environmental Robotics (MER) Lab to implement vision-based key insertion algorithms for robotic manipulators.

Logan is one of our passionate software engineers working on user interface and experience as well as software architecture. Before working at Burro, Logan worked in software architecture internships and conducted research at Northwestern University investigating IoT device privacy, energy harvesting, and brain-computer interface design. Logan received his B.S. in Computer Engineering and Neuroscience from Northwestern University and is completing his Master’s degree in Computer Engineering at Northwestern, with a thesis on the analysis of modern neural sensing technology for use in consumer applications. Outside of work, Logan enjoys cooking, music, and spending time with his two cats, Pepita and Pringles.

Malavika is a robotic software engineer at Burro, and develops behaviors across obstacle handling, path planning, perception, and localization. Prior to joining the company, Malavika held software engineering roles with Wells Fargo and ZF Group. She received her M.S. in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania, where she focused on task allocation and navigation with multi robot systems and vision-based navigation. Additionally, she received her B.S. in Instrumentation and Control Engineering at PSG College of Technology, in Coimbatore, India. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, hiking and dancing.

Sarah Allen is a software engineer on the Robotics Infrastructure Team, creating tools to improve robot health monitoring and system testing. Prior to joining Burro, Sarah worked at Exyn Technologies as a Robotics Software Engineer on similar projects. She received her Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University and her B.S.E. at the University of Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Sarah helps to run the Philadelphia Riichi Mahjong Club.

Sophie is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Burro designing the next generation of robots. Prior to working for Burro, Sophie worked 7 years at another robotics startup as well as stints at power systems and industrial automation companies. She holds an Aerospace Engineering degree from Georgia Tech.

After completing a Ph.D. thesis at Université Paris-Saclay on data localization and fusion, Salim joined Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to work on ADAS and autonomous driving topics for L2 and L3 projects. Salim worked on the major parts of the algorithmic stack of the multi-sensor data fusion software component for five years, primarily vehicle dynamic estimation and object tracking for active emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. He also successfully led a team of eight people for two years in the development of a Lidar point cloud algorithmic stack using deep learning for a level three autonomous driving project. Salim is happy to be part of the Burro team, helping tackle new challenges around autonomous robots. He is passionate about resolving real-world issues that have a significant impact on people.

Chun is a Robotics Software Engineer at Burro, currently focusing his work on dexterity. His goal is to help automate tedious work, and is doing so by helping to improve the autonomy in our technology stack. Prior to Burro, Chun was a research assistant at the GRASP lab and had robotics software internships at iRobot and Humatics. Chun obtained his M.S in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and considers himself a curious, lifelong learner with a passion for robotics.

Myles is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Burro, working on robots and modules. He has experience at previous startups helping develop products from conception through launch. Myles’ previous designs include biotech instrumentation carefully balancing mechanical and electrical components. He obtained his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from George Washington University.

Chao designs and develops the electrical and embedded systems of Burro. Prior to working at Augean, Chao obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. Minor in Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University where his research focused on developing wireless sensor systems and computer vision based systems for structural health monitoring. Chao also worked as a research assistant in the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at Tsinghua University in China where he developed a high-speed wafer transfer robotic system. Chao received his B.S. in Automation Engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology, China.

Alan designs and develops Burro’s electrical and embedded systems. Prior to working at Burro, Alan developed embedded software and accelerated image processing algorithms using low SWaP FPGA and GPU SoCs for onboard satellite processing. He also has experience developing electronics at a previous startup. Alan received his M.S. E.E. from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.S. degree from Drexel University. In his free time, Alan enjoys playing video and board games and going to Quizzo. 

Safy graduated with a M.Sc. degree in artificial intelligence and robotics from University of La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, where he focused his studies on robot localization and mapping, computer vision and neural networks. His work experience is in developing autonomous drones and ground robots for agriculture and environmental assessment solutions. Safy enjoys surfing, kayaking, snowboarding and being out in nature.

Gabriel Smith is a software engineer at Burro, tasked with the challenge of maintaining and refining our ever-growing full stack codebase. Prior to joining Burro, Gabe worked on the development of Ver – a patent-pending computer vision based VR software stack for strabismus therapy, and also taught Python to middle schoolers. Gabriel received a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of tinkering with robots and developing software, he enjoys watching baseball, building Lego vehicles and buildings and reading books by authors like J. R. Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson.

Victoria is a robotics software engineer at Burro and works on perception systems. Prior to joining the company, Victoria worked as a robotics software engineer at CreateMe Technologies. She received a M.S. in Robotics from the University of Michigan, where she focused on computer vision for robotics, and a B.S. in computer engineering from The University of Tennessee. During her studies, she held internships at Amazon Robotics, Garmin International, and the Boeing Company.

Paul is a Full-Stack Developer at Burro and works on tools that help manage Burros and their data. Prior to joining Burro, Paul worked as a freelance developer on projects including mobile ordering for small merchants to audio plugins for music production. Outside of working hours, you can find Paul at coffee shops and enjoying live music.

Shirley is a Senior Mechanical/Industrial Engineer at Burro, working on robot design and upscaling production to the next level. Prior to Burro, she worked in the Manufacturing and Defense Industry, learning a lot about machinery and best practice manufacturing. She has her B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, she loves to play video games, try new foods, and powerlift.

Matt works on the backend systems that keep Burros operating at their best. Before joining Burro he spent several years working on infrastructure for distributed systems at Pixar where he helped to manage, maintain, and improve their render farm. Matt grew up in the Philadelphia area, and completed a Masters of Engineering program in Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania, which is where he was introduced to the wonderful world of robotics. In his spare time, Matt enjoys climbing, woodworking, building electronics, and caring for his two moderately well-behaved dogs.

Meghna works on ensuring that Burro remains intelligent by understanding and introspecting all that it perceives, to make good and safe autonomy decisions. She has a Master’s in Robotics Engineering from UPenn and is working towards wrapping up her PhD in Computer Science at UPenn as well. Meghna has been a part of the Burro in previous years; as a Robotics Engineering in 2018 and then again as Deep Learning Intern in 2022. She has also had prior tenures at Cessna and Indian Institute of Science. When not working on Burro’s intelligence, you can find her in the woods, running or climbing some good crags and mountains.

Shuai Li is a Robotics Software Engineer at Burro AI, where he specializes in developing perception and motion planning algorithms to enhance the autonomy of the robotic systems. Prior to joining Burro AI, Shuai earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Robotics and Automation from Stevens Institute of Technology, where his research concentrated on quadrotor UAV motion planning and control. Shuai also holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from Zhejiang University of Technology. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring new electronic devices and outdoor activities like hiking and he has a strong sense of humor.