Speaker: Kleio Baxebani
Abstract: Mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) present time-critical environments in which limited medical resources must be allocated across an overwhelming number of casualties. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of robotic platforms to augment emergency response by localizing casualties, navigating complex environments, collecting multimodal data, and inferring trauma severity, alertness, and triage status. Realizing this capability, however, requires autonomous systems capable of performing multiple tasks under challenging conditions, including low visibility and partial observability, while maintaining robustness and real-time performance. This talk will present the current work of Team RoboScout, a finalist in the DARPA Triage Challenge, and discuss future directions for deploying autonomous systems in emergency response applications.

Bio: Dr. Kleio Baxevani is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in robotics and control, from the University of Delaware in 2024. Dr. Baxevani’s research focuses on field robotics, autonomy, and control systems, with an emphasis on multi-behavioral systems, autonomous navigation, and intelligent systems operating in complex and uncertain environments. Prior to her current role, her work bridged theory and real-world deployment, including field-tested control strategies for autonomous marine vehicles and human-robot interaction systems for pediatric rehabilitation. Currently, her work addresses challenges in applications such as emergency response, including the development of cooperative ground and aerial robot teams for such missions in the DARPA Triage Challenge.