Mr. Sandeep Ameet Kumar is a distinguished academic and researcher in Mathematics, currently serving as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific. His academic journey is marked by a series of impressive qualifications, all attained from the University of the South Pacific (USP). Mr. Kumar completed his Bachelor of Science with a Graduate Certificate in Education, majoring in Mathematics and Physics in 2009. He further pursued a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Mathematics, which he earned in 2011. His academic prowess led him to achieve a Master of Science in Mathematics in 2014, culminating in attaining a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics in 2024.

Mr. Kumar’s professional career reflects his deep commitment to education and research. Since July 2019, he has been integral to USP’s School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics. In his role, he facilitates mathematics learning and contributes to the advancement of knowledge through teaching and research. His responsibilities include teaching undergraduate courses, coordinating courses, and providing student counselling and guidance. His research work is focused on publishing academic papers in peer-reviewed and ranked academic outlets.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Kumar served as a Lecturer in Mathematics at the Fiji National University (FNU) from January 2015 to June 2019. During his tenure, he was involved in developing and teaching engineering mathematics courses at various levels, from certificate to undergraduate degrees. He also played a significant role in curriculum development, research, and consultancy activities.

Mr. Kumar’s academic career began at FNU, where he served as an Assistant Lecturer in Mathematics from March 2013 to January 2015. His earlier professional experience includes working as a Human Resource Officer at FNU, where he was involved in industrial relations and recruitment processes, and as a Secondary Teacher for the Ministry of Education in Suva, Fiji, where he taught mathematics and physics to high school students.

His research interests and contributions are extensive, as evidenced by his numerous publications in high-impact journals. His works include studies on Lyapunov-based control for swarms of vehicles, geometric approaches to robot navigation, and the development of intelligent traffic light control systems, among others. Mr. Kumar’s research has been widely recognized, earning him a notable h-index of 13 on SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Mr. Kumar is also an active member of several professional organizations, including the IEEE, where he is affiliated with the Control Systems Society and the Industrial Electronics Society. His contributions to the field have been recognized through various conference proceedings and invited talks, highlighting his role as a leading researcher in mathematics and its applications to robotics and control systems.

Throughout his career, Mr. Kumar has demonstrated a steadfast dedication to the education and mentorship of students, the advancement of mathematical research, and the application of mathematical principles to solve complex real-world problems. His work continues to inspire students and colleagues alike, establishing him as a respected figure in the academic community.

Mr. Kumar’s research interest is in motion planning and control (MPC) in robotics from nature-inspired concepts like landmarks and swarm intelligence. Over the past few years, he has focused on designing nonlinear, time-invariant, continuous, and stabilizing algorithms using the Lyapunov-based Control Scheme (LbCS) to generate functional motions by processing complex mechanical systems modeled geometrically in constrained environments. His contributions have been mostly theoretical expositions of the applicability of LbCS to provide solutions that could be adopted as industrial applications, such as autonomous assistive wheelchairs for those persons with special disabilities, swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance of exclusive economy zone (EEZ), and static/mobile/linear manipulators for repetitive tasks.

Members of an organization:

• IEEE Student Member (Member # 99397405)
• IEEE Control Systems Society Member
• IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Member

Undergraduate Courses:

• MA112 Calculus II
• MA221 Linear Algebra II
• MA262 Discrete Mathematics II

Postgraduate Course:

• MA416 Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, and B. Sharma. Lyapunov Functions for a Planar Swarm Model with Application to Nonholonomic Planar Vehicles, Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE International Conference on Control Applications (CCA), pp. 1919-1924, 21-23 September (2015), Sydney, Australia. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/CCA.2015.7320890
• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, B. Sharma, A. Chaudary, and V. Kapadia. Emergent Formations of a Lagrangian Swarm of Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Proceedings of the 2016 14th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics & Vision (ICARCV 2016), 13-15 November (2016), Phuket, Thailand. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/ICARCV.2016.7838807
• Devi, J. Vanualailai, S. A. Kumar, and B. Sharma. A cohesive and well-spaced swarm with application to unmanned aerial vehicles, Proceedings of the 2017 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), pp. 698-705, 13-16 June (2017), Miami, FL, USA. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/ICUAS.2017.7991342
• A. Kumar and J. Vanualailai. A Lagrangian UAV Swarm Formation Suitable for Monitoring Exclusive Economic Zone and for Search and Rescue, Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA 2017), pp. 1874-1879, 27-30 August (2017), Kohala Coast, Hawai’i, USA. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/CCTA.2017.8062729
• Sharma, A. Prasad, R. Chand, S. A. Kumar, J. Raj, and J. Vanualailai. Landmarks as Navigation-Aids for Multiple Robots, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Inventive Systems and Control (ICISC 2020), 8-10 January (2020), Coimbatore, India. IEEE. DOI:10.1109/ICISC47916.2020.9171123
• Prasad, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, and S. A. Kumar, Strategic Creation and Placement of Landmarks for Parking and Obstacle Avoidance in a Partially Known Environment, 2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) , 16-18 Dec. 2020, Gold Coast, Australia
• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, and A. Prasad, Distributed Velocity Controllers of the Individuals of Emerging Swarm Clusters, 2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) , 16-18 Dec. 2020, Gold Coast, Australia. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/CSDE50874.2020.9411585
• P. Chand, S. A. Kumar, and R. Chand, LbCS Navigation Controllers of Twining Lagrangian Swarm Individuals, 2021 3rd Novel Intelligent and Leading Emerging Sciences Conference (NILES), 23-25 Oct. 2021, Giza, Egypt. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/NILES53778.2021.9600510
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, and R. P. Chand, Navigation of an n-link Revolute Robotic Arm via Hierarchal Landmarks, 2021 3rd Novel Intelligent and Leading Emerging Sciences Conference (NILES), 23-25 Oct. 2021, Giza, Egypt. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/NILES53778.2021.9600539
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, R. P. Chand and S. Reddy, A Car-like Mobile Manipulator with an n-link Prismatic Arm, 2021 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE), 8-10 Dec. 2021, Brisbane, Australia. IEEE. 10.1109/CSDE53843.2021.9718408
• P. Chand, S. A. Kumar, R. Chand, and R. Tamath, Lyapunov-based Controllers of an n-link Prismatic Robot Arm, 2021 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE), 8-10 Dec. 2021, Brisbane, Australia. IEEE. 10.1109/CSDE53843.2021.9718455
• A. Kumar, K. Chand, L. I. Paea, I. Thakur, and M. Vatikani, Herding Predators Using Swarm Intelligence, 2021 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE), 8-10 Dec. 2021, Brisbane, Australia. IEEE. 10.1109/CSDE53843.2021.9718476
• A. Kumar, K. Lal, N. Reddy, R. Lifigao, and B. Sharma, Stabilizing Controllers for Tunnel Merging Maneuvers of a Multi Agent System, 2023 International Aegean Conference on Electrical Machines and Power Electronics (ACEMP) & 2023 International Conference on Optimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (OPTIM), Istanbul, Turkiye, 2023, pp. 1-9, doi: 10.1109/ACEMP-OPTIM57845.2023.10287055.
• Sharma, S. A. Kumar, and R. Chand, Controller Design of an Autonomous Quadcopter for Enhanced Aerial Surveillance and Situational Awareness, 2023 International Aegean Conference on Electrical Machines and Power Electronics (ACEMP) & 2023 International Conference on Optimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (OPTIM), Istanbul, Turkiye, 2023, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/ACEMP-OPTIM57845.2023.10287053.

• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, and B. Sharma, (2015), Lyapunov-Based Control for a Swarm of Planar Nonholonomic Vehicles, Mathematics in Computer Science (Springer), Vol. 9 (4), pp. 461-475. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11786-015-0243-z
• Prasad, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, and S. A. Kumar, (2020), A Geometric Approach to Target Convergence and Obstacle Avoidance of a Non-Standard Tractor-Trailer Robot, International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control (Wiley), 2020; 1– 20. https://doi.org/10.1002/rnc.5021
• Prasad, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, and S. A. Kumar, (2020), Stabilizing Controllers for Landmark Navigation of Planar Robots, Journal of Advanced Transportation (Hindawi), vol. 2020, Article ID 8865608, 13 pages, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8865608
• Pesamino, M. Karawalevu, V. Pillay, M. Assaf, B. Sharma, S. A. Kumar, A. Prasad, and V. Chand, (2020), Mathematics and ICT Bring New Intelligent Traffic Light Control System, International Journal of Control Systems and Robotics, Volume 5, 2020
• Prasad, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, and S. A. Kumar, (2021), Motion Control of an Articulated Mobile Manipulator in 3D Using the Lyapunov-based Control Scheme, International Journal of Control (Taylor & Francis). https://doi.org/10.1080/00207179.2021.1919927
• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, B. Sharma, and A. Prasad, (2021), Velocity Controllers for a Swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Journal of Industrial Information Integration (Elsevier), Volume 22, 13 pages, 2021, 100198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jii.2020.100198
• A. Kumar, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, and A. Prasad, (2021), Stable Switched Controllers for a Swarm of UGVs for Hierarchal Landmark Navigation, Swarm and Evolutionary Computation (Elsevier), Volume 65, 2021, 100198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.swevo.2021.100926
• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, and A. Prasad, (2021), Assistive Technology: Autonomous Wheelchair in Obstacle-ridden Environment, PeerJ Computer Science (PeerJ). 7:e725 DOI 10.7717/peerj-cs.725
• Chand, R. P. Chand and S. A. Kumar, (2022), Switch controllers of an n-link revolute manipulator with a prismatic end-effector for landmark navigation, PeerJ Computer Science (PeerJ). 8:e885 DOI 10.7717/peerj-cs.885
• A. Kumar, R. Chand, R. P. Chand and B. Sharma, (2023), Linear Manipulator: Motion control of an n-link robotic arm mounted on a mobile slider, Heliyon, Volume 9(1), 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12867
• Sharma, R. D. Karan, S. A. Kumar, and A. Prasad, (2023), Navigation of a compartmentalized robot system, Heliyon, Volume 9(5), 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15727
• A. Kumar, J. Vanualailai, B. Sharma, A. Prasad, and R. Chand, (2023), A Stable Nonlinear Switched System for Landmark-aided Motion Planning, Engineered Science, Volume (25) 2023, 919. http://dx.doi.org/10.30919/es919
• A. Kumar, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai, A. Prasad, and R. Chand, (2023), New Players in Intelligent Transportation: Autonomous Segway in a Dynamic Environment, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Volume 126, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2023.107107

To know about his complete research publications, visit:
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56915083600

• A. Kumar, R. P. Chand, R. Chand and B. Sharma, Entertainment and Assistive Robot: Acceleration Controllers of an Autonomous Kids Personal Transporter
• Prasad, S. A. Kumar, and R. Chand, New strategy aiding the motion control of a standard n -trailer system in a constrained environment
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, R. P. Chand, and B. Sharma, Multi-tasking Capabilities of an Autonomous Quad-Arm Mobile Manipulator (qAMM) for Smart City
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, R. P. Chand and B. Sharma, Systematic Review of Mobile Robots Applications in Smart Cities with Future Directions
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, B. Sharma, M. Alhabib, S. Sharma and R. Chand, Empowering Fijian Women Through Digital Technologies: Unveiling Opportunities and Challenges in Education, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Inclusion
• P. Chand, S. A. Kumar, B. Sharma and R. Chand, Acceleration controllers of a Segway for Navigation
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, B. Sharma, Multi-agent System of Car-like Manipulators for Construction Operations in Dynamic Environments
• P. Chand, S. A. Kumar, B. Sharma and R. Chand, Systematic Review of Motion Planning Approaches in Robotics
• Hedstrom, R. Autar, Y. Qolibalavu, C. Alexander, M. Hingano, V. Vatikani, and S. A. Kumar, A Systematic Review of Various Artificial Potential Field Methods in Robotics
• Hedstrom, R. Autar, V. Vatikani, and S. A. Kumar, Stabilizing Acceleration Controllers for Multiple Planar Wheelchair Robots in Constrained Environment
• Qolibalavu, C. Alexander, M. Hingano, and S. A. Kumar, Stabilizing Switched Acceleration Controllers for Navigating an n-Link Prismatic articulated Robotic Arm with a Revolute Base via Hierarchical Landmarks
• A. Kumar, K. Sharma, R. Chand, and B. Sharma, Stabilizing acceleration controllers of Multiple Segway’s in Cluttered Work space.
• A. Kumar, M. Alhabib, R. Chand, and B. Sharma, Navigation of a Swarm of Autonomous Wheelchair Robots
• A. Kumar, K. Chand, R. Chand, and B. Sharma, Acceleration Controllers for the Navigation of a UAV with Roll
• A. Kumar, Acceleration Controllers for a heterogeneous System consisting of a service Robot for cargo transportation
• Sharma, R. D. Karan, S. A. Kumar, and A. Prasad, Navigation of a compartmentalized robot system via Hierarchal Landmarks
• P. Chand, S. A. Kumar, B. Sharma and R. Chand, Swarm of Segway’s in Cluttered Environments
• A. Kumar, A. Prasad, K. Chaudhary, R. Chand and B. Sharma, Wheelchair Navigation via Wild Horse Optimizer
• Chand, S. A. Kumar, R. P. Chand, and B. Sharma, A comparison of LbCS and Wild Horse Optimizer Algorithms for Multi-tasking Capabilities of an Autonomous Quad-Arm Mobile Manipulator (qAMM)
• Sharma, S. Sharma, A. Chand, and S. A. Kumar, Measuring Student Readiness for Remote Learning in Times of Crisis
• Sharma, S. Sharma, A. Chand, S. A. Kumar, K. Kotra, A. Prasad, D. Molnar, and K. Chaudhary, Measuring Student Attitude in Mathematics Classrooms

• Received a sum of 300,000 JPY travel and accommodation grant to attend and give a contributed talk at The 10th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM 2023), Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, August 20-25, 2023
• Prize Certificate and Medal at Mathematics Excellence Award (2005)
• Gold Medal in Australasian Schools Mathematics Assessment (2004)
• Certificate of Prize in Fiji Mathematics Competition (2004)