Researcher. Engineer. Problem Solver.

Biography

Hello! I am a PhD Candidate in the Computer Engineering program at Northeastern University under the supervision of Kristen Dorsey and Taşkın Padır. My research interests lie at the intersection of remote sensing technologies and robotics. Currently, my proposed dissertation focuses on bringing hyperspectral imaging and near infrared spectroscopy into lighter, cheaper form factors for use in household robots. I am midway through a research thrust involving non-contact material estimation methods to infer object properties such as weight and friction. I welcome all collaborations on practical applications of hyperspectral imaging in real-time processing and vision systems that extend beyond the visible wavelengths of light.

Download my current CV.

Interests
  • Robot Spectroscopy
  • Hyperspectral Sensing
  • Multi-Modal Sensing
Education
  • PhD Computer Engineering, 2023

    Northeastern University

  • MS Computer Science, 2020

    Boston University

  • BSc Computer Engineering, 2019

    University of Notre Dame

Skills

Python
Spectroscopy
Hyperspectral Imaging
Robotics
Systems Integration
Remote Sensing

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
PARSES Lab, Northeastern University
PhD Candidate
PARSES Lab, Northeastern University
Jul 2022 – Present Boston, MA
I recently joined the PARSES lab under the direction of Kris Dorsey to further advance our work in spectroscopic soft sensing.
 
 
 
 
 
RIVeR Lab, Northeastern University
PhD Candidate
RIVeR Lab, Northeastern University
Aug 2020 – Present Boston, MA

My current research directions include:

  • Development of novel gripper designs embedding visible to near infrared (VNIR) spectroscopic probes to acquire in-hand material readings
  • Extending standard RGB machine vision into higher dimensional space via inclusion of visible and short wave infrared imaging systems
  • Fusing point clouds with hyperspectral datacubes to create spatial-material representations of the world

At any given time, I mentor a handful of talented undergraduate and graduate students. I am our lab’s webmaster and resident tour guide!

 
 
 
 
 
Cubert Hyperspectral GmbH
Student Developer
Feb 2023 – Present
I am working with Cubert Hyperspectral to break the mold of closed-source hyperspectral data analysis software by contributing to their new open-sourced community project hub. Check back for more details soon!
 
 
 
 
 
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Programmer/Analyst
Jun 2019 – Present Lexington, MA
I’m a proud member of Group 21, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Technologies. We find ways to apply cutting-edge technologies at the points of greatest need.
 
 
 
 
 
MIT Media Lab
Teaching Staff
Sep 2020 – Dec 2022 Cambridge, MA
I helped design and co-teach an executive education course on the fundamentals of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Reinforcement Learning with real drones. The educational experience culminated in an Escape Room bringing together concepts from these core aspects of machine intelligence into an operational context for military leadership.
 
 
 
 
 
MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute
Lead Instructor
Jan 2020 – Dec 2022 Cambridge, MA
I teach rising high school seniors from around the country concepts from machine learning, computer vision, and UAV control at an undergraduate level. I am proud of the virtual course content we’ve developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
 
 
 
 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Consulting Robotics Engineer
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jan 2022 – May 2022 Cambridge, MA
I mentored senior capstone course in design, construction, and evaluation of an autonomous sailboat through the New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) program.
 
 
 
 
 
University of Notre Dame
Undergraduate Teaching/Research Assistant
University of Notre Dame
Aug 2018 – May 2019 Notre Dame, ND
Assisted with the instruction of Database Systems (Undergrad) and Software Development for Unmanned Aerial Systems (Undergrad/Grad). I also conducted capstone research under Professor Jane Cleland-Huang on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) communication for small UAVs.
 
 
 
 
 
Delive Aerial Systems
Chief Technology Officer/Technical Adviser
Delive Aerial Systems
Mar 2018 – Mar 2020 Notre Dame, ND
Assisted with the instruction of Database Systems (Undergrad) and Software Development for Unmanned Aerial Systems (Undergrad/Grad). I also conducted capstone research under Professor Jane Cleland-Huang on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) communication for small UAVs.
 
 
 
 
 
IronNet Cyber Security
Cyber Operations Center Intern
IronNet Cyber Security
May 2018 – Aug 2018 Fulton, MD
Spent the summer with a now prosperous cyber security startup learning about the intricacies of both expert-systems and machine learning based approaches for anomalous network traffic detection and mitigation.

Recent Publications

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.
(2022). Hyperbot-A Benchmarking Testbed For Acquisition Of Robot-Centric Hyperspectral Scene And In-Hand Object Data. 2022 12th Workshop on Hyperspectral Imaging and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS).

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(2022). In-hand object recognition with innervated fiber optic spectroscopy for soft grippers. 2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft).

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(2022). Occluded object detection and exposure in cluttered environments with automated hyperspectral anomaly detection. Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

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(2022). Pregrasp object material classification by a novel gripper design with integrated spectroscopy. arXiv preprint arXiv:2207.00942.

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(2022). SLURP! Spectroscopy of Liquids Using Robot Pre-Touch Sensing. arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.04941.

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Contact

I am always looking for collaborators. Please reach out if you would like to work together!

  • hanson [.] n [@] northeastern [dot] edu