Statement of Purpose

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody h
as thought", as said by Albert Szent-Gyrgyi. I believe in imagining things, purs
uing them with all my strength and shaping them into reality. I believe imaginat
ions can be transformed into reality through progress in science and technology,
an example of which is robots, intelligent creatures designed to perform compli
cated tasks in hostile environments. I am fascinated by robots and machines whic
h can reason, think and behave like human beings. My interest in this

field was further enhanced by Robotic exhibitions and competitions, especially R

OBOCON, in which I saw NUST perform very well and I decided to pursue this

field.
Imagination alone cannot make us achieve our goals. "I have found that the imagi
nation does not work to its full potential when we are lying on the couch doing
nothing, but when we are with like-minded people" David DeNotaris. In order to p
eruse my passion for robotics, I joined Mechatronics Engineering at NUST, so tha
t I could increase the horizon of my technical imagination. Mechatronics being a
blend of Mechanical, Electronics, Computing and Control Systems, taught me the
perfect prerequisite needed for robotics. During my bachelors, I got to observe
and study many interesting robots, including LabVolt, RHINO, ABB and a six degre
e of freedom flight simulator.
Mechatronics Engineering not only provided me with a sound base of theoretical c
oncepts such as mathematical modeling and electromechanical systems, but it also
gave me the opportunity to implement them in real life. During the course of In
troduction to Robotics, I programmed an inverse kinematic model of STABULI RX-90
robot. Furthermore, I designed and fabricated a fully autonomous and indigenous
line tracking and peg placing robot for National Engineering Robotics Contest (
NERC 2010) using ATMEL Atmega32 microcontroller.
During my preparations for NERC and while working on my course projects, I have
gained exceptional work experience and excellent communication and teamwork skil
ls. Besides this, I was fortunate enough to gain an internship at NESCOM, the pr
emier research and development institution of Pakistan, where I successfully pro
grammed a feedback control system for surface stabilization of a Marine Radar Pl
atform using PID tuning method and closely observed the Inverse Kinematic progra
mming of Stewart platform. These activities have not only helped me build teamwo
rk skills but I believe shall also be bene

ciary for my masters studies.

While studying my course subjects and working on research projects, I have devel
oped an interest in the

field of mobile robotics, particularly their planning and control. Currently, be

ing a Research Intern at NUST, has provided me with the opportunity to work in t
his

field. Nowadays I am working on wireless control of an electric ATV.

ontinuation of my Senior Design Project, `Implementation of wireless
an ATV'. I am also designing a semi-autonomous pan-tilt platform to
the ATV. This project is aimed as a Rescue and Surveillance Vehicle,
stranded in a remote area.

This is a c
controls on
mounted on
for people

Following my passion for mobile robotics, I am attending a graduate level course

on `Motion Planning' at NUST. This has provided me an introduction to path plan
ning of mobile robots. To complement this, I have also taken some online courses
including Machine Learning, Game Theory, Probabilistic Graphical Models and Pro
gramming a Robotic Car. With some background knowledge in this

field, facilities available at your institute, proper guidance and opportunity f

or research; I think I can contribute in mobile robotics.
The distinguished faculty and excellent facilities at your university make its g
raduate program ideally suited to my professional goals, which I am looking forw
ard to join in the coming winter semester.
EF