SIYEON KIM

SIYEON KIM

👩‍💻 Researcher

🎉Welcome!

👩‍💻 ABOUT ME

Hi! I'm currently part of LL4MA, instructed by Prof. Tucker Hermans.

I joined the Lab in 2022 as a Ph.D. student in the School of Computing at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

🔬 RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Manipulation
  • Robot perception
  • Task & Motion Planning
  • Robot Learning
  • Human-Robot Interaction

🏛️ EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Computing
Aug 2022 - Current

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Advisor: Prof. Tucker Hermans

Master of Science in Computer Science Engineering
MAR 2019 - Feb. 2021

Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
Advisor: Prof. Young J. Kim

Bachelor of Science in Physics
MAR 2013 - Feb. 2018

Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
Top 6% in College of Natural Sciences (Fall 2017)
Dean’s List (Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017)

📃 PUBLICATIONS

  • Synthesizing the Roughness of Textured Surfaces for an Encountered-type Haptic Display using Spatiotemporal Encoding, Yaesol Kim, Siyeon Kim, Uran Oh, Young J. Kim, IEEE Transactions on Haptics*, 14(1), Jan-Mar 2021
  • M.S. Thesis: Toward Autonomous Robotic Arrangement of Objects using Deep Image Manipulation, Siyeon Kim, Ewha Womans University, 2021.

    • 💼 Research Projects

    Autonomous Robotic Arrangement of Objects via Deep Generative Models
    Siyeon Kim, and Young J. Kim
    2022

    In this work, we propose an integrated framework thatenables robots to autonomously manipulate objects in acluttered scene to arrange them into a more organized form. From the given cluttered scene, we first estimate object categories and dimensions as well as their poses in the scene using existing 6D object pose estimation method. Our model completes the target aligned scene with iterative insertion of objects at predicted configurations through learning object arrangement priors. We demonstrate that our manipulator can autonomously find goals for objects arrangement andsuccessfully carry out the tasks using various real-world benchmarks.

    BrainBot: Intelligent robotic goal generation using brain-computer interfaces
    Jungryul Seo, Siyeon Kim, and Young J. Kim
    2022

    We aimed to sorted cubes into target-colored baskets according to the guided goals from brain EEG signals. For manipulation, it extracted 6D object poses & colors from point cloud against table segmentation and euclidean clustering. We carried out pick-and-place tasks for cube sorting with Fetch robot utilizing MoveIt! with OMPL and Rviz.

    Synthesizing the Roughness of Textured Surfaces for an Encountered-type Haptic Display using Spatiotemporal Encoding
    Yaesol Kim, Siyeon Kim, Uran Oh, Young J. Kim
    IEEE Transactions on Haptics*, 14(1), Jan-Mar 2021

    In this paper, we propose a novel texture synthesizing method for an encountered-type haptic display using spatial and temporal encoding of roughness, which provides both active and passive touch sensation requiring no complicated tactile actuation. Focused on macro-scale roughness perception, we geometrically model the textured surface with a grid of hemiellipsoidal bumps, which can provide a variety of perceived roughness as the user explores the surface with one's bare hand. We performed psychophysical user tests with 25 participants and verified the main effects of spatiotemporal encoding of a textured model on the user's roughness perception. Based on these findings, we show that our visuo-haptic system can synthesize an appropriate level of roughness corresponding to diverse visual textures by suitably choosing encoding values.

    💼 EXPERIENCES

    Internship

    • Computer Graphics Lab
      Dec. 2018 - Feb 2019

      Undergraduate Intern
      Advisor: Prof. Young J. Kim
      Designed the biped passive walker using a 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tool and Matlab.
      Prototyped the whole biped model using 3D printers.

    • Biomedical Mechanics & Materials Lab
      Sep. 2017 - July 2018

      Undergraduate Intern
      Advisor: Prof. Tae-Yong Lee
      Improved a novel indentation system through revising an indentor design using CAD.
      Established foot tissue models and analyzed their kinematics using Finite Element Method (FEM).

    • Cell and Molecular Biology Lab
      Summer 2015

      Undergraduate Intern
      Advisor: Prof. Jaesang Kim
      Created knock-out model of EIF4EBP1, which plays a crucial for hyperactivated mTOR signaling.
      Confirmed knock-out by carrying out gel electrophoresis, RT-PCR, and Western Blot.

    • Spin Device Physics Lab
      Summer 2014

      Undergraduate Intern
      Advisor: Prof. Tae-Hee Kim
      Scanned Fe3O4/MgO/Ta/SiO2 and Fe3O4/MgO multi-layered structures using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).
      Studied the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) effect in Pt/Fe3O.

    Teaching Assistant
    • Numerical Methods
      Spring 2020
    • Introduction to Human, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
      Spring 2018

    🏆 HONORS and AWARDS

    • First year Fellowship (Full Tuition)
      2022
    • Research Assistant (Full Tuition)
      2020
    • Admissions Scholarship (Full Tuition)
      2019
    • Honors Scholarship
      Spring, Fall 2017, Spring 2018
    • Scholarship (College Specialization)
      Fall 2015

    💻 TECHNICAL SKILLS

    • Programming Languages Python, C/C++, Java, MATLAB, LATEX
    • Robotics Hardware Fetch mobile manipulator, KUKA iiwa 7 R800, UR5e
    • Robotic Programming ROS, Gazebo, Rviz, MoveIt!
    • Computer Vision OpenCV, PyTorch, Tensorflow

    💻 EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY

    Introduction to Abaqus
    May 2018

    VEng Coporation, Student
    Completed the curriculum on Finite Element Method (FEM) and a sofware Abaqus FEA.

    Private Tutoring
    June 2017 - Nov. 2017

    Mathematics Tutor
    Tutored middle and high school students; gave several classes on algebra, geometry, and vector.