Robotics · Control · Autonomous Systems
Tersoo Samuel Awai
Robotics & control researcher — PhD candidate, IE University
My work sits at the intersection of control systems, robotic manipulation, and autonomous systems. I am a doctoral researcher at IE University’s Cyber-Physical Life Lab in Madrid, studying decentralized cooperation between robots; framing task agreement and allocation as a control problem that stays stable and safe even when communication between agents is intermittent or unreliable.
Background
Before my doctorate I was an Algorithm Engineer at 4DiVISION in South Korea, building full-stack robotic manipulation pipelines that integrate vision-language-action models, computer vision, and motion planning across industrial and research platforms including real Yaskawa manipulators and SO-101 arms. My broader background covers optimal control (MPC, LQR), robust control, and formal methods in disturbance-observer and internal-model design and stability analysis.
I completed my MSc at the Korea University of Technology and Education (KoreaTech) as a Global Korea Scholarship awardee, and my BSc in Mechatronics Engineering (Honours) at Necmettin Erbakan University in Türkiye as a Türkiye Bursları awardee. I work across ROS 2, MoveIt 2, MATLAB, Python, and PyTorch, with hands-on deployment on physical systems.
Experience
Doctoral Researcher
IE University, School of Science and Technology · Madrid, Spain
Research Associate in the Cyber-Physical Life Group, studying decentralized cooperation between robots, AI agents, and humans, and framing task agreement and allocation as a control problem that stays stable under intermittent communication.
Algorithm Engineer, Robot Control
4DiVISION · South Korea
Adapted a point-cloud injection method to the π0 VLA family on an SO-101 arm (40%→10% frame-edge failure; Best Poster Award, IEEE ARM 2026). Built a LeRobot-to-ROS 2 bridge for a Yaskawa MH5LF, and performed eye-in-hand calibration on a Yaskawa MH5LS to sub-millimetre accuracy for a MoveIt 2 pipeline.
Graduate Research Assistant
Nonlinear Systems and Control Lab, KoreaTech · South Korea
Developed a canonical internal-model filter for robust DOB-style output regulation; contributed to a project on nonlinear oscillator synchronization and robust control in dynamic networks.
Erasmus+ Traineeship
University of Würzburg · Germany
Developed and tested magnetic components in a Helmholtz cage and contributed to next-generation docking-mechanism design within an international team.
Education
MSc, Mechatronics Engineering
Korea University of Technology and Education (KoreaTech) · Global Korea Scholarship awardee
BSc, Mechatronics Engineering (Honours)
Necmettin Erbakan University, Türkiye · Türkiye Bursları awardee
Honors & Awards
Best Poster Award — IEEE ARM 2026 Workshop
Safety-Critical Software, Control and Learning for Robotics
Bronze Medal — 2nd Koh Young AI Competition (ICCAS 2024)
Pluto_X Team
Global Korea Scholarship (GKS)
Government of the Republic of Korea — Korean language study + MSc
Türkiye Bursları Scholarship
Government of Türkiye — Turkish language study + BSc
Skills & Tools
Programming & Tools
C++, Python, ROS 1/2, Git, OpenCV, Gazebo, Isaac Sim, MATLAB/Simulink, Docker
Machine Learning & AI
Vision Transformers, CNNs, Reinforcement Learning, Vision-Language-Action models, PyTorch, LeRobot
Control & Robotics
MPC, LQR, disturbance observers, PID tuning, robust control, hand-eye calibration, MoveIt 2
Hardware & Systems
Raspberry Pi, ESP32, Arduino, sensor fusion (LiDAR, GPS, cameras), TCP/IP with industrial manipulators
Languages
English (fluent), Korean (TOPIK 3), Turkish (C1)
References
Academic and professional references, including my doctoral and MSc thesis supervisors, are available on request.