Hi There! I'm Yulun.

I am a graduate student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, advised by Professor Jonathan How. Previously I was an undergraduate student studying Computer Science at UC Berkeley. My interests lie broadly in robot autonomy and machine learning. 

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For a complete list of my publications, please visit my Google Scholar page.

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News:

[05/18/2021] Our paper, "Asynchronous and Parallel Distributed Pose Graph Optimization", received a 2020 honorable mention from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)!

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EXPERIENCE

Fall 2017 - Present

Research Assistant

Aerospace Controls Lab, MIT

I currently work as research assistant at MIT's Aerospace Controls Lab (ACL). My research focuses on collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (CSLAM) and multi-agent exploration.

Spring 2017

Teaching Assistant

UC Berkeley

I served as an undergraduate student instructor for EE 122 - Communication Networks. My main duties include holding regular office hours,  designing exam questions, and helping with class logistics.

UC Berkeley

I worked as an undergraduate research assistant with Ming Jin and Professor Costas Spanos. Our projects aim to use agile robots to accomplish tasks in the emerging field of smart buildings. 

Spring 2016 - Spring 2017

Undergraduate Researcher

Summer 2016

Software Engineering Intern

Oracle

I joined Oracle's Solaris Platform QE group as a software engineering intern. I worked on projects related to test automation, for which I implemented a template-based test suite integration process. I also laid the groundwork for an extensible smart failure analysis tool.

RESEARCH

Distributed Pose Graph Optimization

• Distributed Certifiably Correct Pose-Graph Optimization
  [Paper] 
  Y. Tian, K. Khosoussi, D.M. Rosen, J.P. How

• Asynchronous and Parallel Distributed Pose Graph Optimization
  [Paper] 
  Y. Tian, A. Koppel, A.S. Bedi, J.P. How
  IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
  Best paper award honorable mention

Forest Search and Rescue using multiple UAVs

• Search and Rescue under the Forest Canopy using Multiple UAVs
  [Paper] [MIT News]
  Y. Tian, K. Liu, K. Ok, L. Tran, D. Allen, N. Roy, J.P. How
  International Journal of Robotics Research
  Invited to special issue of IJRR

Resource-Aware Collaborative SLAM ​

• Near-Optimal Budgeted Data Exchange for Distributed Loop Closure Detection [Paper]
  Y. Tian, K. Khosoussi, M. Giamou, J.P. How, J. Kelly
  Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS) 2018

• Resource-Aware Algorithms for Distributed Loop Closure Detection with Provable Performance Guarantees [Paper]
  Y. Tian, K.Khosoussi, J.P. How
  Int. Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) 2018
  Invited to special issue of IJRR

SKILLS

Fall 2019-Present

Ph.D

Aeronautics & Astronautics, MIT

Courses: Nonlinear Optimization, Optimization Algorithms for Machine Learning

2017-2019

M.S.

Aeronautics & Astronautics, MIT

Courses: Principles of Autonomy and Decision Making, Optimal Control and Estimation, Machine Learning, Algorithms for Inference, Real Analysis

2013-2017

B.A. High Distinction

Computer Science, UC Berkeley

Courses: Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, Optimization Models, Systems and Signals, Operating Systems, Communication Networks, Databases, Computer Security

EDUCATION