I am a third year PhD student at LAAS-CNRS and part of the MSCA TRAIL project and the RIS Team, where I work on socially aware robot navigation.
My research focuses on improving how robots move and interact around people in dynamic environments, with an emphasis on making their behavior more natural and legible for better Human-Robot Interaction.
I am advised by Dr. Rachid Alami.
📨 : contact@hariharan20.com (feel free to reach out)
Prior to this, I mainly worked with Dr. Leonardo Guevara and Dr. Marc Hanheide during my MScR at the University of Lincoln, and with Dr. Sariah Mghames and Dr. Badri Narayanan during my BTech at SASTRA University. I was also part of the Agri-OpenCore project, where I contributed to the development and deployment of an open-source software stack for mobile robots.
More broadly, my interests lie at the intersection of psychology, computer science, and control systems, with a focus on making robots more interpretable and adaptive to humans while enabling them to better understand human behavior and intent. I am particularly interested in bringing robots closer to humans in ways that are safe, intuitive, and genuinely useful.
In short: I try to teach robots basic manners.
I was also part of the LCASTOR RoboCup@Home team at Lincoln, where we focused on domestic robotic applications and competitions addressing some of the key challenges in Human-Robot Interaction and Service Robots.
I enjoy working on deployable robots and studying and developing their interactions with humans.
Prior to my MSc, I worked at AugurAi, a startup based in India, where I worked on deployable data-driven visual inspection models, prototyped small-scale inspection robots, and contributed to a range of other robotics and computer vision projects.
This site gives an overview of my research, projects, and professional journey.
If your research interests or projects align with mine, I would be glad to connect and explore potential collaborations.
Note to Students :
Since 2026, I have been setting aside 30 minutes every two weeks to mentor students interested in graduate school and/or robotics. If you need someone to discuss your plans, ideas, or questions with, feel free to drop me an email and we can find a time to chat.