Education
- Ph.D, Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, 2016
- M.E, Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, 2013
- B.E, Aerospace Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai, India, 2011
Work Experience
- National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA 2016 – Present
- Research Assistant, Autonomous Aerospace Systems Lab, Univ of Michigan 2012-2016
Research Areas/Expertise
- Decision making for autonomous systems.
- Path planning for robotic systems.
- State estimation, navigation, localization and mapping (SLAM).
- Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.
- Application of formal methods for system/software verification.
Current Research
Dr. Balachandran’s current research falls under the broad category of applying techniques in formal methods and artificial intelligence to develop safety critical software applications for autonomous systems. Specifically using theorem provers to verify complex algorithms for safety critical applications.
Publications
[1] Balachandran, S., Muñoz, C., Consiglio, M., Feliú, M., and Patel, A., “Independent Configurable Architecture for Reliable Operation of Unmanned Systems with Distributed On-Board Services”, Proceedings of the 37th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC 2018), London, England, UK, 2018.
[2] Balachandran, S., Narkawicz, A., Muñoz, C., and Consiglio, M., “A geofence violation prevention mechanism for small UAS”, Proceedings of the 31st Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2018), Bello Horizonte, Brazil, 2018.
[3] Balachandran, S., Muñoz, C., and Consiglio, M., “Distributed Consensus to Enable Merging and Spacing of UAS in an Urban Environment”, Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS 2018), Dallas, Texas, USA, 2018. DOI: 10.1109/ICUAS.2018.8453460
[4] Moore, A.J., Balachandran, S., Young, S., Dill, E., Logan, M., Glaab, L., Muñoz, C., Consiglio, M., “Testing Enabling Technologies for Safe UAS Urban Operations”, Proceedings of the 2018 Aviation, Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, 2018. DOI:10.2514/6.2018-3200
[5] Moore, A.J, Schubert, M., Rymer, N., Balachandran, S., Consiglio, M., Muñoz, C., Smith, J., Lewis, D., Schneider,P., “Inspection of electrical transmission structures with UAV path conformance and lidar-based geofences”, Proceedings of the 2018 IEEE Power Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT), 2018. DOI: 10.1109/ISGT.2018.8403395
[6] Balachandran, S., Narkawicz, A., Muñoz, C., Consiglio, M. “A Path Planning Algorithm to Enable Well-Clear Low Altitude UAS Operation Beyond Visual Line of Sight”, In Twelfth USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminar (ATM2017). Available at: http://www.atmseminarus.org/seminarContent/seminar12/papers/12th_ATM_RD_Seminar_paper_16.pdf
[7] Feliú, M.A, Rocha, C., Balachandran, S. “Verification-driven development of ICAROUS based on automatic reachability analysis: a preliminary case study”, Proceedings of the 24th ACM SIGSOFT International SPIN Symposium on Model Checking of Software, 2017. DOI: 10.1145/3092282.3120995
[8] Balachandran, S., Munoz, C., Consiglio, M. “Implicitly Coordinated Detect and Avoid Capability for Safe Autonomous Operation of Small UAS”, In AIAA Aviation 2017 Conference, Denver CO, 2017. DOI:10.2514/6.2017-4484
[9] Consiglio, M., Munoz, C., Hagen, G., Narkawicz, A., Balachandran, S. “Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems”, 2016 IEEE/AIAA 35th Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Sacramento, CA, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/DASC.2016.7778033
[10] Balachandran, S. and Atkins, E. M. “An Autonomous Override System to Prevent Airborne Loss of Control”, Innovative Applications in Artificial Intelligence (IAAI), Phoenix, AZ, 2016. Available at: https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/IAAI/IAAI16/paper/view/12161/12318
[11] Balachandran, S. and Atkins, E. M. “Flight Safety Assessment and Management to Prevent Loss of Control Due to InFlight Icing”, AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, San Diego, CA, 2016. DOI: 10.2514/6.2016-0094.
[12] Balachandran, S. and Atkins, E. M. “A Constrained Markov Decision Process Framework for Flight Safety Assessment and Management” AIAA Infotech@Aerospace conference, Kissimmee, FL, 2015. DOI: 10.2514/6.2015-0115
[13] Balachandran, S. and Atkins, E. M. “An Evaluation of Flight Safety Assessment and Management to Avoid Loss of Control during Takeoff”, AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, National Harbor, MD, 2014. DOI: 10.2514/6.2014-0785.
[14] Balachandran, S. and Atkins, E. M. “Flight Safety Assessment and Management during Takeoff” AIAA Infotech@Aerospace conference, Boston, MA, 2013. DOI: 10.2514/6.2013-4805.
[15] Moore, A.J, Schubert, M., Rymer, N., Balachandran, S., Consiglio, M., Muñoz, C., Smith, J., Lewis, D., Schneider,P., “UAV Inspection of Electrical Transmission Infrastructure with Path Conformance Autonomy and Lidar-based Geofences”, NASA Report on UTM Reference Mission Flights at Southern Company Flights November 2016, Technical Memorandum, NASA/TM-2017-219673, October