Héctor Azpúrua

Ph.D. graduate from DCC/UFMG
Computer Research Scientist at Komatsu (Modular Mining Systems)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

HECTOR_AZPURUA_300x300_acf_cropped.jpg

I’m a Ph.D. graduate from the Computer Vision and Robotics Laboratory (VeRLab) at the Department of Computer Science (DCC) of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. I previously was an assistant researcher in robotics and AI at the Instituto Tecnologico Vale (ITV), and currently, I’m a Computer Research Scientist at Komatsu’s group (Modular Mining Systems). I have a bachelor’s in Computer Science from Universidad Nueva Esparta (2011), an MSc in Robotics from UFMG (2015), and currently pursuing an MBA in project management at Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

My research interest includes Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Security, emphasizing mobile robotics, machine learning, and real-time strategy games.

Education

  • PhD - Computer Science, 2022

    Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

  • MBA - Master in Business Administration, 2022

    Universidade de São Paulo

  • MSc - Computer Science, 2015

    Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

  • BSc - Computer Science, 2010

    Universidad Nueva Esparta

Research interests

  • Robotics
  • Computer Vision
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine learning
  • Deep learning
  • Cyber security

Selected publications [full list]

  1. Journal: Rob
    A Survey on the Autonomous Exploration of Confined Subterranean Spaces: Perspectives from Real-word and Industrial Robotic Deployments
    Azpúrua, Héctor, M. Freitas, Gustavo, Clark, Lillian, Agha-mohammadi, Ali-akbar,  Pessin, Gustavo and 2 more authors
    Journal of Robotics and Autonomous Systems 2022

    (Under revision)

  2. Journal: Field Robotics
    An Addendum to NeBula: Towards Extending TEAM CoSTAR’s Solution to Larger Scale Environments
    Agha, Ali, Otsu, Kyohei, Morrell, Benjamin, Fan, David D.,  Kim, Sung-Kyun and 84 more authors
    Journal of Field Robotics 2022

    (Under revision)

  3. Journal: T-ASE
    EKF-LOAM: An Adaptive Fusion of LiDAR SLAM With Wheel Odometry and Inertial Data for Confined Spaces With Few Geometric Features
    Júnior, Gilmar P Cruz, Rezende, Adriano MC, Miranda, Victor RF, Fernandes, Rafael,  Azpúrua, Héctor and 3 more authors
    IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering 2022
  4. Journal: JCAE
    Autonomous navigation system for a delivery drone
    Miranda, Victor RF, Rezende, Adriano, Rocha, Thiago L,  Azpúrua, Héctor,  Pimenta, Luciano CA and 1 more author
    Journal of Control, Automation and Electrical Systems 2022
  5. Journal: JINT
    Towards semi-autonomous robotic inspection and mapping in confined spaces with the espeleorobô
    Héctor, Azpúrua, Adriano, Rezende, Guilherme, Potje, Cruz, Júnior Gilmar Pereira,  Fernandes, Rafael and 9 more authors
    Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems 2021
  6. Journal: Field Robotics
    Cooperative digital magnetic-elevation maps by small autonomous aerial robots
    Azpúrua, Héctor, Potje, Guilherme A, Rezeck, Paulo AF, Freitas, Gustavo M,  Uzeda Garcia, Luis G and 3 more authors
    Journal of Field Robotics 2019
  1. Conf: ICRA
    Three-dimensional terrain aware autonomous exploration for subterranean and confined spaces
    Azpúrua, Héctor, Campos, Mario FM,  and Macharet, Douglas G
    In 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2021
  2. Conf: ICAR
    EspeleoRobô-a robotic device to inspect confined environments
    Azpurua, Hector, Rocha, Filipe, Garcia, Gabriel, Santos, Alexandre Souza,  Cota, Eduardo and 4 more authors
    In 2019 19th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR) 2019