CV

Education

• Ph.D in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, 2025-current
• M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, 2022-2024
• B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, 2019-2022

Experience

• 2022–Present: SocRob@Home Team Member at ISR-Lisboa
  • Instituto de Sistemas e Robótica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
  • SocRob@Home is a research group focused on the development of intelligent robotic systems for home environments and the benchmarking of their performance in real-world scenarios through robot competitions.
  • I’ve mainly contributed to research on the General Purpose Service Robot (GPSR) task, where a robot interprets and executes human instructions.
  • I developed a speech pipeline for this task, combining Whisper for speech recognition and a rule-based Natural Language Understanding (NLU) module to extract structured information from commands.
  • I implemented a semantic mapping module that allows the robot to store and manage knowledge about its environment.
  • Participated in RoboCup@Home competitions in 2023 (Bordeaux) and 2024 (Eindhoven), where our team tested these systems in realistic scenarios. We placed 2nd in 2023 and won the Best GPSR Award, and placed 3rd in 2024.
  • In November 2024, took part in the euROBIN competition in Nancy, sharing software publicly to promote collaboration and reproducibility in robotics research.
  • Since September 2023, focused my Master’s thesis on replacing the rule-based pipeline with a planner based on Large Language Models (LLMs), enabling more flexible and robust interpretation of commands.
• 2019–2023: Hacker at HackerSchool
  • Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
  • HackerSchool is a student organization, active since 2012, that focuses on creating projects across various technology domains, encouraging members to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios.
  • I’ve mainly worked on these two projects:
    • HSTable: A smart table with a DIY touch screen interface, enabling users to perform tasks such as checking calendars and taking notes through an intuitive and natural interface. This project significantly enhanced my skills in Python programming, electronics, and reverse engineering.
    • Real-Life Turing Machine: Contributed to the development of a Turing machine using a transparent plastic tape that can be written and erased with a pen. This project was instrumental in advancing my 3D modeling skills.
  • I’ve facilitated workshops covering programming and electronics, aiding fellow members in skill development.
  • Additionally, from February 2021 to August 2022, I was a member of the marketing and communication where I played a role in creating content for the group’s social media platforms. My focus was on promoting events, recruitment efforts, and the diverse projects developed by team members.

Publications

Large Language Model-Based Robot Task Planning from Voice Command Transcriptions

Afonso Certo, Bruno Martins, Carlos Azevedo, Pedro U. Lima. "Large Language Model-Based Robot Task Planning from Voice Command Transcriptions." Under review for IROS 2025, submitted February 2025.

Service and leadership

• I’ve developed leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills by organizing and participating in various scouting activities. Played a key role in transitioning to virtual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mentored younger scouts, including guiding a group in the “Mission Zero” program run by ESA and the Raspberry Pi Foundation.