Barry Beard

Beam acquisition and employment transfer

- Developing perception, behaviour and planning algorithms to enable traversal between AUV launch vessel and target asset, and autonomous visual inspection of wind turbine jacket structures - Multi-modal localisation & mapping - AUV platform autonomy and control - Providing abstraction and interface between ROV platforms and higher level navigation and inspection software - ROS1 -> ROS2 migration - Trials Execution

A leader within the Solutions team: the team that bridges between Commercial and Product Engineering, leveraging Oxa's world class expertise in self-driving vehicles, in order to deliver real world, commercially viable autonomous solutions that meet customer needs. • Leading the Logistics Value Stream. Focus on delivering autonomy solutions to customers interested in the movement of goods and information, including grocery delivery, fault monitoring & surveillance of solar/wind farms, and airport logistics operations. • Growing Solutions. As a rapidly growing team, I was heavily involved in recruitment activities to create a number of customer-aligned, multi-disciplinary "squads": responsible for eliciting customer requirements, and proposing, deploying and finessing bespoke autonomous solutions. • Working with Commercial to foster partnerships with customers, OEM vehicle manufacturers, and tier 1 suppliers to procure and develop platforms that meet customers' needs. • Developing an in-depth, hands-on expertise of Oxa's technology offerings.

Leading the Robotics Research Perception team; A team dedicated to designing, implementing and evaluating cutting-edge perception and localisation systems to enable Dyson's next generation products, where robustness in real-world environments is vital. • Worked with and developed localisation and state estimation systems utilising a variety of different and combined sensing modalities (including vision, range, odometry and inertial sensors), and a number of SLAM algorithms and associated concepts, including filtering (EKF, monte carlo/particle), feature extraction, description and association, minimisation techiques, loop closure, etc. • Developed vision and hyperspectral based segmentation, detection and classification algorithms using traditional techniques (e.g. SVM, PCA, point cloud clustering) and some knowledge of neural network based techniques. • Worked with a wide range of sensors: RGB, RGB-D (Active, TOF, Stereo), Lidar, IR range, inertial. • Experienced in a range of commonly used robotics and computer vision libraries, toolsets and frameworks, including ROS, Gazebo, Docker, OpenCV, PCL, Eigen. • Competent user of C++, Linux, bash, docker, git, and the Atlassian suite (confluence, stash, jira). • Throughout Dyson career has contributed to many aspects of the product development lifecycle, from proof of concept research, development, validation & testing, through to manufacturing, product launch and in-market support. • Responsible for project planning, mentoring & guiding, and growing (recruitment) the perception team.

Responsible for the development and delivery of the Dyson 360 Eye: Dyson's first robotic vacuum cleaner. • Researching, developing, implementing, optimising and testing the C++ algorithms and libraries on the platform, including: Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), obstacle avoidance, path planning and visual docking algorithms. • Seconded to Japan to carry out product trialling and identify, triage & resolve resulting issues ahead of product launch. • Participated in PR launch activities, including technical presentation to press at Stockholm launch, technical support on ITV's "This Morning", The Gadget Show's award ceremony, introducing the robot to Curry's procurement team, etc.

Focused on the development and testing of Dyson's robotic platforms. • Designing, authoring and executing automated and manual testing of both hardware and software components of Dyson's robotic platforms, evaluating and validating against specified requirements • Seconded to Malaysia to support and train local engineers in executing my tests on a larger scale, to resolve critical issues with obstacle avoidance sensor package.

• A trusted and integral member of the Applied Intelligent and Autonomous Systems group; a team dedicated to developing intelligent and complex small, medium and full-scale autonomous systems. • Played a critical role in establishing a Robotic and Intelligent Systems Experimentation facility, providing external organisations (inc. University of Oxford, MOD, European Space Agency) with access to world-class autonomous systems. • Involved in many high profile projects (£400k+), including: - UK Sport project to improve the performance of London 2012 athletes - University of Oxford collaboration: loaning a BAE Systems’ Wildcat autonomous platform - Demonstration of our autonomous capabilities on BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory TV programme • Received 2 BAE Systems’ Chairman’s awards recognising contribution to key projects. • Gained extensive live trials and customer demonstration experience, becoming a key member of the trials team. Involved in trials planning, risk management, autonomous system shakedown, verification and testing, and acting as the operator and safety driver for a variety of autonomous vehicles (inc. 4x4 Bowler Wildcat, an amphibious Supacat ATMP and a volcanic exploration robot). • Proven ability to quickly understand complex hardware and software systems through working with, maintaining, and creating support documentation for the intelligent autonomous platforms. • Demonstrated strong communication skills, both as a technical author and a presenter. Confidently delivering presentations on complex topics to a variety of audiences; from business proposals to senior personnel, to providing school students with an overview of autonomy.

• Entered the Advanced Technology Centre as one of four Graduate Research Scientists, following a highly competitive and comprehensive graduate recruitment process. • Completed interactive residential graduate development modules to improve skill set and core competencies. Modules covered key competencies such as problem solving, initiative, teamwork, communication, self-management and leadership. • Gained exposure to many different disciplines and aspects of the business environment through the following four placements: - Electro-Optics Group: Designed and carried out optical experiments, and modelled complex optical systems using Zemax, OpenFilters and Essential Macleod software packages. Carried out a technology studies exploring cutting-edge display technologies and head-mounted displays. - Intelligent and Autonomous Systems Group: Supported trials and integration activities for the autonomous systems. Created Java GUIs for the autonomous platforms and UK Sports projects, and carried out a technology study on autonomous lip reading systems. - Business Development: Submitted proposals to MOD’s Centre for Defence Enterprise and created an intranet page to assist colleagues in creating proposals for the MOD’s CTC. Liaised with the British Geological Survey and University of Manchester to broker new technologies. - Material Sciences: Exploring the use of piezoelectric materials to replace active fuselage surfaces using CoventorWare MEMS software. Organised an EDA meeting with international delegates, assessed paint corrosion for Warrior tanks and arranged work placements for Year 10 students.

Solved student IT problems for newly installed network at halls of residence.

Built, repaired and carried out general maintenance on a network of hundreds of computers. Assisted in teaching of Year 10 and 11 students IT.

Credits include: Advanced Quantum Physics, General Relativity, Thermal Physics, Superconductivity, Star and Planet Formation, Particle Physics, Maxwell’s Equations, Electromagnetic Radiation, Physics Laboratory and Plasma Physics Final year project: Searching for Large-Scale Anisotropy in the High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed by the Peire Auger Observatory