Headshot of Srikar Gouru

Srikar Gouru

I am a graduate student in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and I am advised by Professor Jiaoyang Li in the ARCS Lab. My research focuses on developing planning algorithms for multi-robot cooperative tasks. I am particularly interested in scalable algorithms that coordinate multi-robot systems to complete complex tasks faster and more efficiently than a single robot could.

I completed my undergraduate at University of Virginia, where I led the motion planning team on Cavalier Autonomous Racing, advised by Professor Madhur Behl. I also worked with Professor Rohan Chandra in the Chandra Robot Autonomy Lab on planning and controls systems for safe and agile robots in constrained, social environments. I have also been fortunate to previously work at Zipline as a Flight Autonomy Intern and at SpaceX as a Starship Software Intern.

  • M.S. in Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Focus: Multi-agent coordination, Motion Planning, Robotics

Selected Publications

Scalable Algorithms with Provable Optimality Bounds for the Multiple Watchman Route Problem

Srikar Gouru, Ariel Felner, and Jiaoyang LiSubmitted to ICAPS 2026

Search-based algorithms that optimally and suboptimally solve the Multiple Watchman Route Problem using cell pruning, heuristic enhancement, and distributed postprocessing techniques.

Projects

Cavalier Autonomous Racing

Motion Planning Lead for Autonomous Racing Team, 2nd at CES 2025 and 1st at IMS 2025

Developed planning algorithms for high-level race strategy and low-level vehicle control to overtake opponents while maintaining stable racecar control. Also created a data-driven simulation environment to benchmark planning and control algorithms on real-world scenarios.

Cubie

A Rubik's Cube Solving Robot

Designed, built, and programmed from scratch a robotic system that solves the Rubik's Cube in under 4 seconds. Also developed a 3D JS GUI to test and visualize cube solving algorithms.

TreeDrone

TreeDrone

Measuring the Canopy Cover of a Neighborhood

Developed a photogrammetry algorithm to stitch images of a neighborhood captured by a drone with a downward-facing camera. Used the stitched images to measure the area's canopy cover.

CodingClash

CodingClash

A Real-Time Decentralized AI Strategy Game

Organized a custom real-time strategy game contest where 40+ users created Python AIs to compete against one another. Built a secure, scalable game engine and automated game scheduling to live update elo rankings.