Curriculum Vitae

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Matthew Shields

Pragmatic engineer and leader, with a mechanical background and experience in the field of localisation, motion analysis and georeferencing.

Now working on research into the applications of mobile manipulators for non-destructive testing and evaluation of composite aerospace structures.

I have interests in localisation, perception, flexible approaches to robot task and work flow definitions, exploiting robotic platform heterogeneity and multi-robot orchestration, particularly for semi-structured and unstructured, outdoor and indoor use cases in agriculture, forestry and manufacturing environments.

Technical Skills & Tools

Robotics

  • C++ and CMake
  • Python
  • ROS - Bespoke architectures for behaviour and navigation as well as open source options
  • Gazebo

Infrastructure and Backend

Data Analysis and Modelling

Survey and Mapping

Mechanical Design


Employment History

Postgraduate Researcher - University of Strathclyde - Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering | Glasgow 2023-Current

Chief Technology Officer - Kingdom Technologies Ltd. | Glasgow 2020-2022

  • Leadership
    • Delivery of a mobile robotic platform from an early stage concept to having multiple robots deployed internationally with customers
    • Business analytics and operational strategy decision making with a focus on doing the right thing at the right time for the business
    • Planning a development and feature delivery roadmap for multiple mobile robotics platforms
    • Acting as a head for the software team, coming up with specifications, detailing implementation and managing delivery of projects
    • Aligning early stage development with the needs for product certification
    • Developing robot deployment risk assessments and risk mitigation strategies
    • Investigation and selection of manufacturing and assembly partners
    • Developing an interviewing and hiring pipeline
    • Hiring various technical roles across multiple disciplines (electronics, mechanical and software)
    • Conducting personal development and performance reviews with each member of the R&D team
    • Creating a collaborative and open work environment with various platforms for technical reflection and discussion
  • Technical
    • Human in the loop operational work flow design and robot behaviour control software implementation
    • Creation of a serverless, event based system to monitor and track KPIs for a mixed fleet of robots
    • Design and implementation of a cloud fleet management solution
    • Implementation of a low latency video streaming and remote control system for remote supervision of robots anywhere in the world

Senior Positioning and Sensor Fusion Engineer - Kingdom Technologies Ltd. | Glasgow 2020-2020

  • Mobile robot kinematic design and weight distribution optimisation for off-road outdoor environments
  • Robot prototyping and manufacture of developmental prototypes for agile hardware development
  • GNSS and inertial hardware evaluation and software implementation
  • Navigation sensor fusion software implementation
  • Perception hardware selection and software stack
    • LiDAR calibration software
    • Object classification using 2D LiDAR
    • Object classification using computer vision and ML deployed on edge devices
  • RaaS infrastructure network setup and systems administration

Application Engineer - Oxford Technical Solutions Ltd. | Heyford / International 2016-2020

  • Defining and capturing client specifications on a range of international projects
  • Planning and delivering custom projects for external and internal customers
  • Projects spanning vehicle dynamics, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS/ NCAP/ NHTSA), autonomous driving, survey/mapping, defence and aerospace
  • Some projects from my time here include:
  • GNSS and inertial measurement hardware evaluation and software implementation
  • Instance segmentation and localisation of road markings using LiDAR and an INS
  • LiDAR SLAM and INS sensor fusion for localisation
  • Development of a range of tools for localisation data processing
  • Design for manufacture
  • Vibration analysis and FEA
  • Writing test procedures, work instructions and reports
  • Feeding back observations from field work and client visits to inform the future core product roadmap
  • Technical and business data analysis, presentation and communication

Engine Design Validation Engineer - Alten UK Ltd. | London / Whitley 2015-2016

  • Facilitate and report on validation testing, engine strips and component analysis
  • Oversee the engine tear down, component cataloging and grading procedure
  • Engine testing, fault diagnosis and data analysis
  • Ensure test procedures are accurately followed and test validity is upheld
  • Test planning and organisation
  • Managing off site tests and liaising with other external test houses
  • Liaising with component owners and designers as to the outcomes of tests

Education


Courses


Personal Interests

Strength Sports | Outdoor Pursuits | Reading | Making Music | Photography