Massimiliano de Sa

Hello! My name is Massimiliano (Max) de Sa. I am a PhD student in Control & Dynamical Systems at Caltech, where I am advised by Professor Aaron Ames.

Previously, I was an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, where I graduated in 2023 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. While there, I worked with Professor Koushil Sreenath on aerial robotics.

Please reach out to me at my email below if you have any questions! Fun linear algebra problems are also welcome :)

Email  /  CV  /  Github

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Research

I'm broadly interested in robust and safety-critical nonlinear control, motivated by applications in robotics.

CBF_safety_ptcloud Point Cloud-Based Control Barrier Function Regression for Safe and Efficient Vision-Based Control
Massimiliano de Sa, Prasanth Kotaru, Koushil Sreenath
Preprint / Video

We formulate control barrier functions over pointclouds and estimate their gradients for fast vision-based control.
tetherQrotor Tethered Power for a Series of Quadcopters: Analysis and Applications
Karan P. Jain, Prasanth Kotaru, Massimiliano de Sa, Koushil Sreenath, Mark W. Mueller
arXiv / Video

We demonstrate power analysis and control for a set of quadcopters with a ground-based power station.
Teaching & Outreach

As an undergraduate student, I was a uGSI for ME/EECS/BioE C106A, Introduction to Robotics, ME/EECS/BioE C106B, Robotic Manipulation & Interaction, and ME 100, Electronics for the Internet of Things. You can find the notes I wrote for each of these classes at the links below.
I am currently writing a Python library for robotic manipulation and control education - stay tuned for more!

Robotic Manipulation & Interaction, Spring 2023. Head Content TA.
Robotic Manipulation & Interaction, Course Notes.
Introduction to Robotics, Fall 2022. Content TA.
Fundamentals of Robot Motion, Course Notes.
Electronics for the Internet of Things, Fall 2021. Content & Lab TA.
Electronics for the Internet of Things, Course Notes.
Graduate Coursework

Below, you can find the courses I have taken/am taking as a graduate student at Caltech.

  • Mathematical Optimization (ACM 122), (Notes)
  • Linear Analysis with Applications I and II (CMS 107AB)
  • Linear System Theory (CDS 131)
  • Optimal Control & Estimation (CDS 212)
  • Robust Control Theory (CDS 231)
  • Nonlinear Dynamics (CDS 232)
  • Nonlinear Control (CDS 233)
  • Robotics (CDS 235AB)
  • Geometry & Topology (MA 109C)

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