Novel Data-Driven Algorithms for Autonomous Vehicle Path Planning During Planning and Evaluation Stages
Venkata Sirimuvva Chirala
This research addresses the challenges presented by combinatorial and NP-hard Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs) and their variants within the area of autonomous vehicle mission planning, spanning both deterministic and stochastic settings. We introduce offline mission planning algorithms for strategic decision-making before mission commencement, using techniques such as multi objective optimization, two-stage stochastic programming and L-shaped decomposition. The inherent complexity of these problems hinders scaling for practical applications. To address this limitation, we develop heuristics such as variable neighborhood search tailored to handle scalability challenges. Additionally, this research extends into online planning, aiming to facilitate real-time decision-making during mission execution by obtaining quick recourse decisions based on new realtime information using ML/AI techniques, cloud and edge computing. The effectiveness of these methodologies is validated through simulations and experiments conducted on small-scale robots using Robot Operating System. The results corroborate both the scalability challenges and practical applicability.
Short Bio
Dr. Venkata Sirimuvva Chirala is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Engineering Department at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA. She obtained a PhD. degree in 2024 and an MSc degree in Engineering Management in 2023 from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Prior to commencing her graduate studies, she pursued her undergraduate studies at Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, Karnataka, India as part of class 2014. Her research interests broadly span the areas of vehicle routing, path planning, combinatorial optimization, multi objective optimization, stochastic programming, machine learning and artificial intelligence and robotics. Applications of interest include autonomous vehicles and supply chain management.
Venue
Friday, April 24th, 2026, 4:00 pm
Online
The link for the seminar is: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/331169643027722?p=eg8oly8bNIsOQYw4aw