I envision a future where robots work closely with humans across various industries, seamlessly generating and executing complex motion trajectories in real-time while reasoning deeply across tasks. Achieving this level of human-like intelligence requires not only advanced engineering but also innovative approaches to motion planning algorithms. This vision led me to pursue a master’s degree in Robotics under Prof. Jonathan Kelly in the STARS Laboratory at the University of Toronto. My research focuses on exploring how geometric approaches can be leveraged to solve long-horizon motion planning problems. I am deeply fascinated by the mathematical elegance these methods offer and their potential to transform robotics.

Before joining UofT, I worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Dyson in the Upstream Robotics team, where I contributed to the design and maintenance of the high-level software stack and scalable distributed system architectures for Dyson’s next-generation robots. I focused on ensuring software quality and fostering a collaborative engineering culture across the team.

Prior to Dyson, I worked at LionsBot International, where I played a key role in developing high-performance autonomy systems for autonomous cleaning robots. I took great pride in ensuring our team adhered to software best practices while providing guidance for their professional growth. At LionsBot, we deployed thousands of robots globally, and I’m proud to have contributed to such innovative work.

Originally pursuing a mechatronic engineering degree at Yangon Technological University, Myanmar in 2014, with an expected graduation in 2020, I encountered challenges due to the COVID pandemic and political events. As a result, I made the decision to transfer to the University of Portsmouth and enrolled in the final year Bachelor’s degree program, majoring in Electronic Engineering. In 2023, I successfully graduated from the University of Portsmouth with first-class honours, marking a significant achievement in my academic journey.

In addition to my academic pursuits, I actively engage in the robotics community by participating in top robotic conferences. I had the privilege of attending IROS 2022 in Kyoto, Japan, and ICRA 2023 in London, UK. Attending these conferences presented invaluable opportunities for me to remain at the forefront of the latest advancements in the field, while also fostering connections with fellow robotics enthusiasts and professionals.

During my studies, I had the honor of interning at the Robotics and Automation Research (ROAR) Laboratory at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) under the guidance of Prof. Mohan Rajesh Elara. In collaboration with other talented researchers, we published research articles in the domains of robotics, computer vision, and path planning. I also worked on autonomous service robots and developed their planning and control systems (our achievements were showcased in a post from the Straits Times, highlighting the capabilities of our service robots at Singapore food courts).

In 2017, I had the privilege of leading the team representing Myanmar at the First Global Challenge 2017, a truly global robotics competition held in Washington DC. Our team’s exceptional performance led us to achieve an impressive 6th place out of 163 competing teams, the top among ASEAN countries. This achievement earned me the ‘Certificate of Honor Award’ from the Ministry of Education Myanmar and was honorably mentioned by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, during the 43rd Singapore Lecture in 2018. Moreover, I have also received the ‘Certificate of Excellence Award’ from the International FIRST Committee Association, being recognized for outstanding representation of Team Myanmar and excellence in the Inaugural 2017 FIRST Global Robotics Challenge. All our achievements and the thrilling competition were recognized and celebrated in a feature article by nationthailand, shedding light on our remarkable accomplishments and showcasing our dedication to robotics excellence. Additionally, I have been honored with the ‘Best Presenter Award’ during the Autonomy Week 2022 held by LionsBot International in Singapore. In 2018, I mentored a team of students from Yangon Technological University to participate in the Myanmar STEM Competition, resulting in our team winning the ‘Senior Championship Award’. These experiences, along with the recognition of my achievements have fueled my passion for robotics and innovation, propelling me to pursue further contributions in the field.

I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and experience with others. I give talks, hold workshops, and mentor students in Myanmar. Teaching is something I really enjoy and find incredibly fulfilling. It’s just so rewarding to see others grow and develop their skills. I was an instructor of the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Python programming online courses at Lae Lar (online learning platform). I was also a teaching assistant of the Computer Vision and Machine Learning (CVML) Lab at Yangon Technological University, Myanmar and one of the instructors of McE-51069 (Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision) course, offered by the CVML Lab.