Robotics & Autonomous Systems Researcher

Soughtout
Chijioke
Joseph

Undergraduate engineer building autonomy for flying robots — multi-drone simulation, GPS-denied navigation, and energy-aware planning for UAVs that keep their bearings when the signal drops.

STATUS / ACTIVE

ROLE

UG Research Assistant — AVIA Lab

INSTITUTION

Baylor University · ECE

LOCATION

31.55° N, 97.11° W — Waco, TX

josephsoughtout@gmail.com linkedin.com/soughtout Download CV ↓

Research Focus

/ NAVIGATION

GPS-denied localization & state estimation for autonomous aerial and ground vehicles.

/ LEARNING

Machine learning for UAV & mobile-robot navigation and multi-agent coordination.

/ PLANNING

Energy-aware path planning and decision-making under real-world constraints.

/ SYSTEMS

Embedded, real-time robotic systems & high-fidelity simulation (Isaac Sim, Webots, Gazebo).

Research Experience

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Advanced Vehicle Intelligence & Autonomy (AVIA) Lab

AUG 2025 — PRESENT
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY · WACO, TX

Built a multi-drone simulation framework (PX4, Gazebo, ROS 2, MAVSDK) scaling to 9+ concurrent autonomous drones on Ubuntu 24.04.

Developed live drone spawning and per-drone flight behaviors with no simulation restart.

Co-authored a unified closed-loop navigation framework — published at AIAA SciTech 2026.

Researching GPS-denied navigation strategies and developing energy-aware path planning & return-to-home, integrating regulatory compliance into UAV autonomy.

Undergraduate Student Researcher

Electro-Optics Sensor Lab

SEP 2024 — JUL 2025
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS, TN

Led the dismantling, optimization, and reassembly of UAV systems to improve flight stability and aerodynamic efficiency.

Designed distributed-system algorithms for multi-sensor integration (C++, Python) and built a custom sensor module for real-time UAV diagnostics.

Conducted Navy-sponsored research on artificial-rain testing — enhanced drone responsiveness by ~30% in wet-weather operations through real-time firmware development.

Publications & Conferences

CONFERENCE PAPER · AIAA SciTech 2026 DOI 10.2514/6.2026-1992 ↗

A Decision-Making Framework for Autonomous Aerial Vehicles in Responding to GPS Loss

Prell, R., Rubio, R., Joseph, S., Negash, N., & Sun, L. — American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, 2026.

POSTER PRESENTATION · 2025

Dismantling and Rebuilding Drones Using ArduPilot: A Research Perspective

NSBE Technical Research Exhibition & Honors College Research Forum, University of Memphis.

Selected Projects

Ultrasonic Radar System

A rotating ultrasonic radar with real-time object detection and distance visualization.

±1 cm accuracy · 10 Hz update

C++ · ARDUINO · EMBEDDED · RT CONTROL

AM Signal Generator

DSP

An amplitude-modulation system with real-time parameter control and live waveform visualization.

Live Simulink dashboards

MATLAB · SIMULINK · SIGNAL PROC

Wind-Chill Subsystem

MDL

A validated, reusable subsystem computing wind-chill from air temperature and wind speed.

Block-level modeling & debug

MATLAB · SIMULINK · MODELING

Ctrl Decode

FOUNDER

An AI tool that simplifies complex AI and tech news for everyday readers — using LLM synthesis to extract accurate, meaningful insights from dense technical content, then retell it with clear storytelling.

AI synthesis · verification-first

LLMs · CONTENT · STORYTELLING · 2025—

Recognition & Programs

AWS AI Practitioner Challenge — AWS AI & ML Scholars · Udacity

Verified completion — built an AI data-analysis workflow with PartyRock. The same AI-synthesis skill powers Ctrl Decode above.

2026

Emerging Leaders in AI (ELAI) — Black in AI

Selected as 1 of 162 participants from 816+ applicants.

2025

Emerging Leaders for College Students — Microsoft

Selected through competitive review of 1,300+ applicants.

2025

Technical Mentor — Build a CubeSat Challenge — MIT Beaver Works

Mentoring multidisciplinary student teams in CubeSat systems design.

2025—26

FOCUS Scholar — Georgia Institute of Technology

Research exposure and insights into PhD pathways.

2025

Dean's List & Honors — Baylor & U. of Memphis

Dean's List 3× · NSCS inductee · multiple academic scholarships.

2024—26

Skills & Toolkit

/ PROGRAMMING

CC++PythonMATLABVerilogArduino

/ AI & OPTIMIZATION

Deep LearningLLMsMulti-Agent SystemsActive LearningBlack-Box Optimization

/ EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

RTOSBare-Metal FirmwareARM Cortex-MReal-Time ControlSensor Integration

/ TOOLS & SOFTWARE

PyTorchTensorFlowROS 2Isaac SimGazeboArduPilotAltiumKiCadAzureLinux

07 / GET IN TOUCH

Open to robotics & autonomy research, internships, and collaboration.

josephsoughtout@gmail.com

LINKEDIN ↗

DOWNLOAD CV ↗

WACO, TX · USA