About Me

I’m Srikumar Brundavanam, an autonomy engineer currently working at Oshkosh Corporation, where I contribute to the development and testing of Level 3 self-driving systems. I recently earned my Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where I specialized in control systems, robotics, and machine learning.

My work bridges theory and implementation across real-world autonomy challenges. At Oshkosh, I’ve led the integration of features like Request to Intervene (RTI)—a safety-critical module prompting manual takeover during edge-case scenarios—and improved our Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) localization system for enhanced on-road accuracy. I’m also actively involved in evaluating next-gen compute platforms and benchmarking their performance against NVIDIA Jetson systems to future-proof our autonomy stack.

Before joining Oshkosh, I interned at Monarch Tractor, integrating distributed software with hardware platforms like the Jetson Orin AGX, and developing ROS-to-CAN test tools for robust vehicle communication. My academic path has included contributions to CMU’s Computational Engineering and Robotics Lab (CERLAB), where I developed vision-based planning and collision avoidance systems for quadcopters using deep reinforcement learning.

My core interests lie in perception-aware control, real-time embedded systems, and robotics software integration. I enjoy tackling challenges where performance, safety, and scalability intersect—especially in autonomous vehicles and robotics platforms.

Previously, I worked with Professor Zhaodan Kong at UC Davis on UAV systems for wildfire air quality data collection and with the Laboratory for AI, Robotics, and Automation on a retractable-wing drone-kite hybrid. Other projects have included MPC-based multi-vehicle control, point-cloud based map estimation using neural networks, and advanced aircraft control systems—from tiltrotor designs to canard configurations aiming to redefine next-gen aviation.

Beyond engineering, I love exploring origami, cheering at soccer matches, and connecting with people at community events. I believe the best solutions come from blending precision with creativity—and I’m always looking for ways to apply that mindset in the pursuit of building smarter, safer, and more sustainable systems.