Peanut Robotics | Mrunal J. Sarvaiya

Peanut Robotics builds mobile manipulators for autonomous cleaning and disinfecting. Check out their robot at https://www.peanutrobotics.com/

A photo from my early days at Peanut when we used a Kinova manipulator. The following year we developed a custom robot arm at a fraction of the cost.

During my 4 years at Peanut, I built and integrated a number of core features for our autonomy stack:

Developed the motion planning software architecture for a custom-built mobile manipulator.
Selected, integrated, and fine-tuned a trajectory tracking controller along with a time-optimal trajectory generator (TOPPRA).
Designed and implemented a custom navigation planner for hotel hallways, generating human-like and aesthetically pleasing motions.
Trained a neural network model to estimate manipulator currents, adding torque constraints to the trajectory generator for improved system reliability.
Engineered optimization tools to smooth robot paths, minimize joint-space distances, and adjust input configurations using advanced optimization techniques.
Developed the communication architecture between controllers and the main onboard computer, ensuring efficient data exchange.
Implemented error recovery mechanisms and safety features for mobile base motors to enhance operational robustness.
Created state machines for mission execution during deployment, streamlining task automation.
Designed an RViz-based tool for recording, modifying, and replaying Cartesian paths, aiding in testing and debugging.
Integrated collision-checking tools via MoveIt to support other planners in the robotic stack.

Working at Peanut during it’s early growth stages (I was the 8th employee) gave me with the opportunity to develop the controls stack from the ground up and bring robots to real world settings. We deployed our robots in hotels, office spaces, university lecture halls and hospitals. Apart from leading the planning and controls algorithms and software development, I developed the technical requirements to ensure safety while operating around humans and designed strategies to autonomously recover from unexpected failure conditions and collisions. I worked with the co-founders to develop a roadmap for future autonomy features to enable the mobile manipulator to performs its tasks and navigate unstructured environments with minimal human supervision.