Vikrant Aute

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Vikrant Aute is a leading researcher in thermal management and energy-efficient HVAC systems, with a focus on personal thermal comfort technologies. His work centers on the development of innovative, miniaturized heat pump systems, most notably the Roving Comforter (RoCo)—a robotic personal thermal management device designed to provide individualized comfort in unconditioned or inadequately conditioned environments. Aute’s major contributions include transient modeling and validation of thermosiphon-based air conditioners with compact thermal storage, as well as optimizing duty cycles for low-energy operation of personal conditioning devices. His research, supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-e) at the University of Maryland, has laid critical groundwork for next-generation, energy-efficient personal thermal solutions. Though his most-cited papers have garnered modest citation counts (6 and 2 citations, respectively), their impact lies in pioneering a novel paradigm: shifting from whole-building conditioning to targeted, robotic personal comfort. This work holds significant promise for reducing energy consumption in buildings while enhancing occupant satisfaction, marking Aute as an innovator at the intersection of thermal engineering, robotics, and sustainable design.