Hi! Thank you for visiting my website. I am Mani (Manikandasriram is too long for people to use on a regular basis :D), born and brought up in Chennai, India. As a spirited researcher, passionate roboticist, tech geek, dancer & nature lover, I am looking forward to the next 5 years of my life as a doctoral student amid fellow innovators who share my zeal for Robotics.

I am in the final year of my 5-year Dual Degree (B.Tech & M.Tech) program in Electrical Engineering department at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. I am currently working under Dr. Jerome Le Ny (Polytechnique Montreal, Canada) and Dr. Bharath Bhikkaji (IIT Madras, India) on motion planning strategies for mapping unknown 3D structures (more info can be found in the research section).

I am fascinated by Intelligent agents. My first experience with embedded systems was in my first year in college when my hostel seniors introduced me to Atmega 16 micro-controller. Since then, my enthusiasm for control, automation, robotics have been ever increasing. Having spent four years of my college taking part in competitions and working on various projects, I can now tell with confidence that I am no newbie to this field. At the same time, I am aware that Robotics is a highly multi-disciplinary field which is still in its youth. I am excited to work in this field that I am deeply passionate about.

On the flipside, I love physics and in particular, Astrophysics. I still get goosebumps thinking about the vastness that lies beyond our perceivable senses. If you have read The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, you would be able to relate to this more easily. It is a beautifully written text which is a must-read for anyone who is curious about the Space!