PhD Student · QUT Centre for Robotics

Nidhi Homey Parayil

Hi, I’m Nidhi Parayil, a PhD researcher at QUT working with Dr. Chris Lehnert on agricultural robotics. My research focuses on one of the most overlooked yet essential challenges in agri-tech: how robots can physically interact with plants and navigate cluttered canopies where visibility is limited and softness, fragility, and variation are the norm.

I explore tactile sensing, vision algorithms, and deformable object simulation to help robots “feel” their way through tasks when traditional perception is not enough. Leaves block the camera, shrubs push back, and real agricultural environments rarely behave like clean laboratory scenes.

To me, sustainability is more than a research theme. It is part of how technology should serve people, food systems, and the environment. My goal is not to build the perfect machine overnight, but to move one meaningful step closer to robots that can work safely and intelligently in the natural world.

View Research Get in Touch

Research & Academic Projects

My work sits at the intersection of agricultural robotics, physical interaction, perception under occlusion, and learning for manipulation in deformable environments.

PhD Research

Physical Interaction in Cluttered Canopy Environments

My PhD research focuses on how robots can move safely through cluttered plant canopies where visibility is limited and physical interaction is unavoidable. Instead of treating contact as failure, I study how robots can use tactile feedback and interaction-aware control to navigate dense foliage more safely and intelligently.

Physical interaction under strong visual occlusion
Tactile sensing for leaf and branch contact
Reactive control for contact-rich canopy navigation
Robot behaviour in deformable plant environments

This work aims to help robots operate more effectively in real agricultural settings where visibility is poor, contact is frequent, and plants respond dynamically to touch.

Research Video

PhD Thesis in 3 Minutes

A short 3-minute presentation of my PhD research and its broader motivation. This was my first recorded research talk, and it gives a concise overview of the direction of my work.

Featured Project

RICE Controller: Reactive Tactile-Based Controller for Moving into Cluttered Canopies

RICE is a reactive tactile-based controller developed for safe motion in cluttered canopy environments. It enables a robotic arm to adapt its motion during contact and continue progressing toward the goal even when vision is partially or fully occluded.

Visit Project Website

Master’s Project

Follow-the-Leader Branch Controller for Robotic Pruning

I worked on robotic pruning with Dr. Davidson as part of the AgAid collaboration with WSU. The project focused on automating pruning in sweet cherry orchards, a labour-intensive seasonal task facing major workforce shortages.

My contribution was a vision-based algorithm that enabled a robotic arm to follow leader branches in espalier-trained cherry trees using an eye-in-hand camera. Continuous branch tracking was critical for locating valid pruning points and interacting safely without damaging surrounding structures.

The project culminated in a five-day field trial on an operational farm, which highlighted the gap between laboratory robotics and real field performance. Exposure to irregular plant geometry and changing lighting conditions shaped my understanding of robust agricultural perception and control. Read paper

Even without leaves, navigating branch structure was challenging. That experience strongly influenced my PhD direction and motivated my current focus on occlusion, physical interaction, and planning in cluttered plant environments.

Internship

Six-Axis Prenatal Scanning Robot at IISc

At IISc Bangalore, I worked with Dr. Dinesh’s lab on a custom-built six-axis robot for prenatal scanning. My role focused on integrating ROS with the robot’s CAN bus to enable motion control.

Coming from a production engineering background with limited coding experience at the time, this was a steep but transformative learning curve. I was also introduced to the challenges of soft-body interaction and the importance of modeling deformable environments for safe robot deployment.

Although the project was exploratory, it became an important early step toward my current research interests in physical interaction, deformable object behavior, and safe robot manipulation.

Placeholder image for prenatal scanning robot project

Bachelor’s Project

Coordinated Dual-Arm Household Robot

Under the supervision of Dr. Sudheer A. P., I worked on the design and development of a dual-arm household robot for simple domestic tasks such as pouring water from a bottle into a cup.

The robot was dynamically analyzed and built using Dynamixel motors. Object detection was implemented using YOLO with color markers and RGB input. The project also involved dynamics simulation in ANSYS and ADAMS, along with programming in Python and MATLAB.

This hands-on experience with mechanical design, basic vision, and physical coordination formed an early foundation for my later work in manipulation and embodied robotics. Read paper

Design Project

Hospital Bed for Bedsore Prevention

I developed a low-cost hospital bed concept aimed at helping prevent bedsores in bedridden patients.

Patent granted: 516724
View patent information

Focus Areas

Core Themes Across My Work

Robot interaction with deformable and fragile environments
Perception under occlusion in agricultural settings
Embodied sensing using touch and vision
Field-relevant robot learning and manipulation

Other Projects

Earlier projects that shaped my interest in mechatronics, mobility, robotics competitions, and practical engineering.

Engineering & Robotics Projects

Stair-climbing trolley with Ackermann steering
Dual-arm domestic robot (paper)
Participation in RoboCon 2017 and 2018

Competition & Build Experience

Working on competitive robotics teams gave me practical experience in design iteration, integration under time pressure, and building systems that had to work outside idealized conditions.

Other Experience

Teaching, mentoring, and student leadership have been an important part of my academic development alongside research.

Teaching

Tutor at QUT (2024–ongoing)
Teaching Assistant at Oregon State University

Leadership

Student Representative at QUT Centre for Robotics
Student Representative at NIT Calicut

Collaboration & Open Research Interests

I am open to conversations, collaboration, and exploratory ideas around agricultural robotics, sustainable automation, plant-aware robot interaction, and scalable field systems.

Topics I would love to explore together

Cost-effective agri-robotics tools for small farms and gardens
Plant deformation modeling for safe physical interaction
Realistic plant simulation for robot training and testing
Generalist agricultural AI for pruning, harvesting, and crop management

Whether you work in academia, industry, or are simply building an interesting idea, feel free to reach out.

Connect

GitHub

Scholar

ORCID