M. Usman Rafique

Research Focus

I am a researcher specializing in computer vision and machine learning. My primary areas of interest include image synthesis, image segmentation and understanding, and perception for robotics. My work has involved diverse settings, including natural outdoor scenes, remote sensing, and computer vision for logistics and warehouse robots.

Recently, I’ve been exploring large language models (LLMs) such as GPTs. Notable projects include:

  • GPT-Nano: A lightweight implementation of GPT
  • LLM-Forge: A playground for building practical LLMs with limited compute resources

Academic Background

I completed my PhD at the University of Kentucky, where I was a member of the Multimodal Vision Research Lab. My research focused on combining information from multiple images for scene understanding and image synthesis. My PhD advisors were Dr. Nathan Jacobs and Dr. Samson Cheung

Professional Experience

  • Current Position (Since Aug 2023): Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Bastian Solutions RnD
    • Developing computer vision and machine learning solutions for autonomous robotic systems in warehouses and logistics.
  • Aug 2021 - May 2023: Senior Research and Development Engineer at Kitware Inc.
    • Worked on large-scale change detection from overhead images and person identification and image restoration.

Old Teaching Website

My old website, from my teaching days is available here.

Research Projects

Near-Remote Sensing
overview figure of near remote sensing project

Diverse View Synthesis
Un_Guided

Novel View Synthesis
GAF

Multi-Image Fusion
Fusion

Weakly Supervised Segmentation
Segmentation

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