Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Arjav Desai’s research lies at the intersection of multi-robot coordination, kinodynamic planning, and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on aerial robot teams operating in cluttered, dynamic environments. His work addresses the fundamental challenge of enabling teams of quadrotors to plan and replan safe, dynamically feasible trajectories online—often from non-stationary initial states—while maintaining formation and responding to human input. Desai’s key contributions include leveraging offline state lattice reachability analysis and invariant geometric trees to decouple and accelerate online replanning, as well as developing data-driven approaches for formation planning guided by user demonstrations. Notably, his research extends beyond traditional robotics into creative applications: he has pioneered online planning for human–multi-robot interactive theatrical performances and robust coordinated aerial deployments for theatrical use, demonstrating how behavior composition can enable real-time user interaction with robot teams. With over 50 citations across his most-cited works, Desai’s impact is evident in both technical venues and interdisciplinary projects. His 2018 paper on theatrical performance planning and his 2019 work on efficient kinodynamic replanning stand out as foundational references for researchers working on multi-robot systems that must operate safely and responsively alongside humans.