Connecting the dots

                                                                                                                                    Ankur Bora

Behind the closed doors of a laboratory building in Humanoid Center for Cognitive Robotics at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, a major experiment was taking place. In the pristine lab a robot named MAHRU was positioned as a researcher began instructing it with a set of commands using hand gestures.  The robot slowly but accurately identified each signal turning left and right, moving forward and backward. The navigation sensors, the arm-vision coordination all worked perfectly and like some gifted children it performed impressive feats. The project was culmination of years of efforts - a brilliant work of a group of dedicated researchers and the computer vision of MAHRU was crafted by a young girl from Assam.

Assam Tribune , Horizon 17th November

Monalisa Mazumdar is originally from Guwahati. Youngest of five children, she was raised in a family where her loving parents put a premium on education and they made sure that their daughters get the same opportunity as their son. As a young girl, she loved tinkering with tools, opening radios and telephones - anything electrical and electronics could feed her curiosity. As she grew up, Monalisa started to gravitate more towards physics. She was dreaming of becoming an astronaut and enrolled for masters in Guwahati University with a major in Astrophysics. At the physics lab, while tracing the paths of the stars, Monalisa, for the first time, learned about an instrument that can perform modeling and simulation. She was enthralled, the concept of a machine that can simulate paths of stars and galaxies was the kind of outside the box thinking that captured her imagination – “I strived to create more simulated programs trying to optimize the algorithms as best as I could. Slowly, the world of computer science opened up to me and I realized that with proper optimized algorithms I could manipulate these fancy machines called computers.”  She was fortunate at that juncture to recognize that her future lay elsewhere. The shift from physics to computer science made perfect sense as a kind of fusion of mathematical mind with creativity and thus Monalisa eventually found her life’s pursuit. In the year 2003, she was rewarded with a scholarship for further research and study at the prestigious Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

It is said that there are no dreams too large, no innovation unimaginable and no frontier beyond our reach. During the early 2000s, South Korea was thriving with the technology revolution that had begun with the growth of electronic firms, microchips makers and computer companies. The Govt. of South Korea invested heavily in creating industrial technological ecosystem, knowledge hubs and KIST was foremost among them where ideas were exchanged and disseminated. KIST taught that the best way to create value in twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. The fusion of computing power with processing power enlightened Monalisa who not only completed her PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning but also gained valuable insights into the fields of Hand gesture, Object and Facial recognition. “Our robot MAHRU was solely developed for the purpose of helping the invalid or old aged people. So it is highly essential to recognize the face of the people around. Facial recognition serves the sole purpose of identifying people and maintaining a database of the faces”. At KIST, Monalisa got the notion of machines for human use where computers were embraced and set about transforming them into tools of liberation and power to the people. She went on to work on another project, a robotic path-planning where the mobile robot needed to be able to accurately identify obstacles on its path and avoid them. “Once an obstacle is detected, the robot can plan a path around and to achieve this integration we used machine learning techniques to detect objects in the surroundings”. The project heralded the dawn of a new era for visually impaired, a number of tools were later developed to improve the mobility as well as the safety of blind.       

Monalisa’s father taught her something that remained ingrained in her. “My father strongly believes”, she reflects fondly “that smartness comes not only from education but also when one gets out on their own to face the world and find their way”. Her father’s words have come back to inspire her again and again throughout her life. In 2009, Monalisa along with her husband moved to the United States. Currently she is research engineering at Iris ID Systems, Inc.  At Iris, Monalisa's research focuses on using computer vision and pattern recognition techniques for analyzing biometric traits and developing applications for identity authentication and providing access to high security facilities. The human eye is extremely complex and completely unique: there is a thin, circular structure in the eye, called Iris and like the fingerprints no two eyes have exactly the same iris patterns. Her application scans the eye, processes the image pixels, connects the dots and compares against the hundreds, thousands, or millions stored in its database. Monalisa has successfully published two patents on this subject, the first one outlines a new technology for face detection while the second patent is on detecting contact lenses in the eye.  

Monalisa Mazumdar quit her secure job at the Guwahati University to move to KIST, South Korea. A fateful decision as it was this institute that kept her on the cutting edge of computer research and enabled her to do what she believes is great work. Perhaps, our choices determine the path our life takes. It is easier and safer to say no, but if we say yes, each opportunity brings more acquaintances and open doors to even bigger opportunities.                                                                                                                                                                         ankurbora@hotmail.com   

Comments

Thanks a lot to read the untold story on Monalisa Mazumdar Connecting the dots....................
these nice articles and providing insight to such persons gives us more opportunities for young people like us. I m Pabitra i was in Nagaon Town
                                                                   Pabitra Barkakati
Thanks , Keep these gems coming
                                                                Shantikam Hazarika, Guwahati
Monalisa , Congratulations!
You should also be acknowledged for doing our AFNA logo, as well as the next one soon!
                                                              Binoy K. Bordoloi , USA
Thanks for sharing! Wonderful article about a great friend of ours, we are so proud of! We wish all success to Monalisa on her cutting edge research. Can't thank her enough for designing the new logo of AFNA that we have been using for the past 3 years or so!
                                                               Krishanu Kaushik , USA
Kudos for bringing these nice articles and providing insight to such talented folks. Monalisa,,good to read about your journey and best wishes for the future. Yes, I always fondly remember your work on AFNA's logo, a scientist with an artistic touch!
                                                               Pallav Saikia , USA