About
Hi, I'm Emmanuel! I'm a robotics researcher specialising in aerial robotics, nonlinear dynamics, and robust control, with a PhD in Engineering Product Development from SUTD and hands-on experience spanning UAV design, applied research, and startup co-founding.
I'm part of the Temasek Aerial Innovation and Research Laboratory (Airlab SUTD) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow , where I develop high-performance UAV systems, nature-inspired monocopters, and multi-robot trajectory planning — published in top robotics conferences and journals including ICRA, AIM, JFR, RA-L, and T-RO.
I love geeking out over flight dynamics and always enjoy meeting fellow roboticists — so if you're keen to collaborate on research, swap ideas on UAV design, or just chat about all things aerial robotics, don't hesitate to reach out!
Samara-inspired morphology enables battery-free controlled flight
Science Robotics — under review
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Single-Actuator Monocopters using Hybrid Rotational Dynamics and INDI
IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO), 2026 — Accepted
Smooth and Robust Trajectory Tracking of Single-Actuator Monocopters via Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), 2025
Design and Control of OWL — [O]ffboard [W]ashbot with Hydropowered, Friction-based [L]ocomotion
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2025
Harnessing the Differential Flatness of Monocopter Dynamics for the Purpose of Trajectory Tracking in a Stable Invertible Coaxial Actuated ROtorcraft (SICARO)
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2024
Design and Control of a Stable Invertible Coaxial Actuated Rotorcraft (SICARO)
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2023
A Cascading Velocity MPC for Open Loop Linear Velocity Control of Quadrotors Performing Target Pursuit
International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV), 2022
Towards Fluid Force Estimation of a Water Jetting Aerial Robot with Hybrid Kinematics Force Model
Journal of Field Robotics, 2022
Design and Implementation of a Compact Rotational Speed and Air Flow Sensor for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
IEEE Sensors, 2019 — Nature Electronics August 2019 Issue Highlight
Research Experience
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Senior Research Assistant
- Main research areas include dynamics, robust control, optimal control, and trajectory planning for high-performance flying by Samara seed-inspired aerial robots, as well as trajectory planning and optimization for aerial robot swarms.
Research Officer
- Research focus included high-speed UAV control, swarming for defense applications, and UAV autonomy for fluid ejection.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
- Research focus included design optimization and control of monocopters, image identification for UAV control using machine learning, as well as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) applications.
Industry Experience
Co-Founder
- Our drones eliminate work-at-height risks, save time, and deliver consistent results across glass, concrete, and metal surfaces.
- Successfully acquired by Nanoveu. Media release
UAV Design Engineer Intern
- Designed a custom UAV with a composite-based shell to carry heavy payloads for the Australian Defence Force by utilising structural design and failure analysis, as well as finite element analysis in composite structures using SolidWorks and Ansys.
- Performed a study on the correlation between UAV altitude and the resonant frequency in its structural members to optimise flight performance, as well as how random harmonic vibrations are triggered by composites and alloys, which influences material selection.
Assistant Engineer
- Managed and maintained sub-system production to ensure the water plant's operational capacity to produce the required output, as well as monitored daily workflows and account management to facilitate ease of operations.
Operations Intern
- Oversaw logistical planning and execution of corporate engagements to advocate for urban farming. Monitored growth conditions and tended to various crops to ensure targeted harvest output.
Aircraft Engineering Intern
- Attained a distinction in the training programme, which covered fundamental theoretical and practical training related to the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of Boeing 747 aircraft.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Engineering Product Development
- Focused on Mechatronics, Robotics, and Control Engineering.
- Thesis: "End-to-End Modeling, Robust Control, and Performance Characterization of a Nature-Inspired Monocopter Under Minimal Actuation".
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Engineering Product Development
- Focused on Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
- Coursework included engineering design, microelectronics, power systems, advanced feedback and control systems, digital integrated circuits, and machine learning.
Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering
- Diploma Plus in Design Thinking.
- Coursework included a focus on the fundamentals of flight, avionics, and aircraft systems.
Publications
Collapsible Airfoil Single Actuator ROtor-Craft (CASARO) — Construction and Analysis of a Soft Rotary Wing Robot
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2025
A Robotic System of Systems for Human-Robot Collaboration in Search and Rescue Operations
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2023
Flydar: A Passive Scanning Flying Lidar Sensing System for SLAM Using a Single Laser
High Angular Rates Estimation using Numerical Phase-Locked Loop Method
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2020
Visual Compensation of Eccentric In-plane Rotations for Image Stabilization on a Rotating Platform
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2020
Hybrid Kinematics Modelling for an Aerial Robot with Visual Controllable Fluid Ejection
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2020
Flydar: Magnetometer-Based High Angular Rate Estimation During Gyro Saturation for SLAM
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2020
SHIFT: Selective Heading Image for Translation, an Onboard Monocular Optical Flow Estimator for Fast Constantly Rotating UAVs
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2020
This is a selected list of additional publications. Featured publications are on the About page. For the complete and most up-to-date list, please visit my Google Scholar profile.
Patents
Method and Controller for Controlling Laser Scanning by a Rotorcraft
Selected Projects & Competitions
National Instruments Autonomous Robotics Competition 2018
Clinched 3rd Runner-Up out of 20 teams from Oceania and Asia. Designed a holonomic vehicle with optimized exterior design for surround time-of-flight sensing, controlled in LabVIEW.
Borealis UAV Teaming Project
Shelter Walkway Cleaning Project Using UAV
Capstone Project: Surveying Hover Agent Deployed with Onboard Wayfinder (SHADOW)
Led the design of an autonomous navigation system using ROS with real-time appearance-based mapping for confined spaces such as oil and chemical tanks; piloted electrical and hot-swap tether/battery systems.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Deployed for Shelter and Roof Cleaning
Engineered controls and onboard autonomous navigation for a custom flight-stack UAV; specialised in planning for autonomous flights in outdoor deployment.
Design and Optimisation of Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor for Radiation in Devices
Led design of a temperature-sensing system using surface acoustic waves to determine fluctuations in silicon cushion radiation; simulated in COMSOL and MATLAB with US/Japan research collaborators.
Analog AND Digital Reprogrammable Effects Array (ANDREA)
Co-led implementation and calibration of a Verilog-configured audio effects module; awarded Best Project and the Xilinx Excellence Award.
Energy Harvesting — Solar and Vibration Energy
Designed and fabricated a PCB and mechanical casing to house magnets and ferrofluids for energy harvesting.
Dynamic Baby Mat System for the Reduction of SUID Risk Factors
Developed the central actuation system, utilising pressure sensing and graphical feedback via fluctuations in temperature in the silicon cushion to mitigate SUID.
Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Challenge 2017
Awarded Best Design Award for design and implementation of a mothership drone capable of housing a smaller drone with capsule capabilities.
Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition 2017
Designed the mechanical structure, composite skeleton, and integrated sonar sensors for a semi-autonomous UAV; awarded Best Video (1st) and Best Presentation (2nd).
Composite Hydroelectric Turbine System for Energy Harvesting
Designed a turbine system using CFD for water flow analysis and ABD matrix analysis to ascertain optimal placement of carbon fibre in composite fabrication.
Teaching & Student Leadership
Graduate Teaching Assistant
- Course: Advanced Feedback & Control (30.114). Facilitated lectures and labs, curated and developed a mini UAV lab using the Crazyflie swarm to demonstrate control fundamentals.
President | Logistics Director
- Led the club's technical development in UAV design and advocated for competition participation. Awarded the Laurel Award for two consecutive years and the Outstanding Student Organisation Award.
Design Director
- Trained and mentored nine participating teams in Arduino development throughout the two-day competition.
Awards & Scholarships
Singapore Good Design Award
Awarded to the BLASTER UAV design in association with Spinoff Robotics.
SUTD-DSO Graduate Fellowship (SDGF)
Fellowship awarded for sponsorship of doctoral studies.
Xilinx Excellence Award
Awarded to the top performing students in Course 30.110 — Digital Systems Lab.
SUTD Merit Scholarship
Scholarship awarded for undergraduate studies.