Curriculum Vitae
Vishal Chauhan
Doctoral Candidate (D3) · Tsukada Laboratory · Department of Creative Informatics
The University of Tokyo · Tokyo, Japan
vishalchauhan@outlook.sg · Scholar · GitHub · LinkedIn · Tsukada Lab
Summary
I work on human–machine interaction, autonomous vehicles, and robotics — designing and prototyping pedestrian–AV interaction approaches, then validating them through VR/AWSIM simulation and real-world experiments. In parallel I support the Autoware engineering team at Tier IV, integrating the latest Autoware nearly daily, running scenario tests with physical robots, and contributing upstream improvements that strengthen scenario-test reliability across GitHub Actions CI.
Education
Oct 2023 – Oct 2026
Ph.D., Creative Informatics · Tsukada Laboratory
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
Fellowship for Creation of Intelligent World. Advisor: Prof. Manabu Tsukada.
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
Fellowship for Creation of Intelligent World. Advisor: Prof. Manabu Tsukada.
Oct 2021 – Oct 2023
M.S., Intelligent Information Processing
The University of Tokyo · GPA 3.0/3.0
Todai Fellowship.
The University of Tokyo · GPA 3.0/3.0
Todai Fellowship.
2016 – 2020
B.Tech., Information Technology
Vel Tech University (Chennai, India) + Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) · GPA 8.37/10
Prime Minister Scholarship · NTU-Fellowship.
Vel Tech University (Chennai, India) + Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) · GPA 8.37/10
Prime Minister Scholarship · NTU-Fellowship.
Experience
Dec 2024 – present
Autonomous Driving Engineer (part-time) · Tier IV, Tokyo
- Autoware Universe: created JSON schemas, updated docs/README, resolved PR feedback across multiple packages, maintained PR tracking and delivered merged updates.
- Pilot.Auto S1: updated pilot-auto.s1 workspace; executed planning simulation and scenario tests with physical robot; synced parameters with awf-latest and verified SWB3 simulations; implemented health-check / debug scripting.
- Evaluation: ran repeatable planning checks and documented failure patterns and reproduction notes to speed up triage and debugging.
- Upstream CI: contributed merged fixes to Autoware scenario-test GitHub Actions (workflow stability, dependency installation, scenario-test workflow / version updates), improving CI reliability.
Dec 2024 – Mar 2025
Assistant, Advanced AI Development · Visionary Lab, Tokyo
- Implemented an end-to-end audio recording and transcription proof-of-concept in Flutter/Dart using flutter_sound, with OpenAI Whisper API integration.
- Built a SoundVisualizer widget for real-time amplitude visualization; delivered a tested feature branch plus setup documentation for pilot users on NAM mic and Even Reality AR glasses.
- github.com/vish0012/EvenDemoApp
Aug 2024 – Sep 2024
Visiting Researcher · NTNU Norway, Gjøvik
- Built VR scenarios and evaluated human vs. LLM decision models for safety-critical pedestrian–AV interaction.
- Related publication: Towards the Future of Pedestrian–AV Interaction (IJHCS, 2025).
Jan 2023 – Jun 2023
Research Intern · RIKEN, Tokyo
- Explored tensor-based learning methods (e.g., AlphaTensor) for advanced data processing.
- Studied applications of tensor learning to pedestrian–AV interaction and system performance.
Jul 2022 – Sep 2022
Intern, Spacecraft Operation Engineering Team · ispace, Tokyo
- Analyzed and visualized satellite operations data using Grafana dashboards.
- Wrote automation scripts to optimize satellite capture scheduling and reporting.
Jun 2019 – Aug 2019
Research Intern · National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan
- Developed walkable-region detection for mobile robots using Intel RealSense D435 RGB-D sensing.
- Improved tracking accuracy through ICP fusion of color and depth for hospital and commercial robot scenarios.
Open-source contributions
2025
Autoware Foundation · upstream contributor (Autoware / Autoware Universe)
- Improved scenario-test CI reliability — workflow stability, health-check, dependency fixes — making regression runs more reproducible.
- Created and updated configuration schemas and developer documentation across Autoware Universe to support consistent setup and onboarding.
2023 – 2024
Smartpole-VR-AWSIM · tlab-wide/Smartpole-VR-AWSIM
- Built Unity / AWSIM scenarios and scoring criteria to compare interaction behaviors and evaluation outcomes for eHMI research.
- Packaged the pipeline into a reusable, reproducible simulation testbed — scenarios, metrics, and documentation — enabling repeatable experiments and cross-scenario comparison.
Publications
Reverse chronological. See the publications page for thumbnails, abstracts, and links — or Google Scholar for the full list with citation metrics.
2026
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Chang, C.-M., Javanmardi, E., Igarashi, T., Orsholits, A., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
Colored Shared Spaces (CSS): How Visual Design Transforms Pedestrian Experiences.
HCII 2026, Montréal (forthcoming).
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Colley, M., Chang, C.-M., Gui, X., Xia, D., Javanmardi, E., Igarashi, T., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
Don't Worry, Just Follow Me: Prototyping and In-the-Wild Evaluation of Smart Pole Interaction Unit with Mobility.
ACM CHI 2026, Barcelona. 🏆 Honourable Mention.
Gui, X., Xia, D., Colley, M., Li, Y., Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Zhou, Z., Javanmardi, E., Seo, S. H., Chang, C.-M., Tsukada, M., Igarashi, T.
Peeking Ahead of the Field Study: Exploring VLM Personas as Support Tools for Embodied Studies in HCI.
ACM CHI 2026, Barcelona. 🏆 Honourable Mention.
2025
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Sidhu, R., Asabe, Y., Tanaka, K., Chang, C.-M., Su, X., Javanmardi, E., Igarashi, T., Orsholits, A., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
A Silent Negotiator? Cross-cultural VR Evaluation of Smart Pole Interaction Units in Dynamic Shared Spaces.
ACM VRST 2025, Montréal.
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Chang, C.-M., Su, X., Nakazato, J., Javanmardi, E., Orsholits, A., Igarashi, T., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
Towards the Future of Pedestrian–AV Interaction: Human Perception vs. LLM Insights on Smart Pole Interaction Unit.
International Journal of Human–Computer Studies 205, 103628.
2024
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Chang, C.-M., Nakazato, J., Javanmardi, E., Orsholits, A., Igarashi, T., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
Connected Shared Spaces: Expert Insights into the Impact of eHMI and SPIU for Next-Generation Pedestrian-AV Communication.
ICEA 2024, Tokyo.
Chauhan, V., Anubhav, Chang, C.-M., Nakazato, J., Javanmardi, E., Orsholits, A., Igarashi, T., Fujiwara, K., Tsukada, M.
Transforming Pedestrian and AV Interactions in Shared Spaces: A Think-Tank Study.
ACM AutoUI 2024 (Adjunct), Stanford.
2023
Chauhan, V., Chang, C.-M., Javanmardi, E., Nakazato, J., Lin, P., Igarashi, T., Tsukada, M.
Fostering Fuzzy Logic in Enhancing Pedestrian Safety.
Electronics 12(20):4207.
Chauhan, V., Chang, C.-M., Javanmardi, E., Nakazato, J., Toda, K., Lin, P., Igarashi, T., Tsukada, M.
Keep Calm and Cross: Smart Pole Interaction Unit for Easing Pedestrian Cognitive Load.
IEEE WF-IoT 2023, Aveiro.
Awards & honours
2026
🏆 Honourable Mention Award · ACM CHI 2026
Don't Worry, Just Follow Me
Don't Worry, Just Follow Me
2026
🏆 Honourable Mention Award · ACM CHI 2026
Peeking Ahead of the Field Study (VLM Personas)
Peeking Ahead of the Field Study (VLM Personas)
2025
FFDP Certificate · The University of Tokyo
2024
OzCHI Student Design Competition · Top 3
2024
WIDE Project Team Member
2023
IEEE ITSS Young Professionals Committee
2023
Honjo International Scholarship Scholar
2022
M-BIC Team Leader · Mobility Business Innovation Contest · UTokyo × Doshisha
2022
UTokyo Intelligent World Program · recipient
2021
UTokyo (Todai) Fellowship Scholar
2021
HUAWEI Seeds for the Future / Tech4Good Winner
2020
France Excellence Programme Scholar
2020
Global Talent Program Scholar · MOST GASE, Taiwan
2019
TEEP@ASIA Plus
2016
Chancellor's Scholarship
Conference & seminar participation
2022 & 2025
CIV Summer School (Cooperative Interacting Vehicles)
Lake Tahoe, USA (2022) and Blonay, Switzerland (2025)
Cooperative perception, motion planning, AI/data for mobility, implicit and explicit human–AV interaction, infrastructure eHMI.
Lake Tahoe, USA (2022) and Blonay, Switzerland (2025)
Cooperative perception, motion planning, AI/data for mobility, implicit and explicit human–AV interaction, infrastructure eHMI.
May – Dec 2022
M-BIC · Mobility Business Innovation Contest · team lead
UTokyo × Doshisha, with industry mentors from Tier IV, Digital Agency, NeoCareer, ASMobility.
UTokyo × Doshisha, with industry mentors from Tier IV, Digital Agency, NeoCareer, ASMobility.
Teaching & mentoring
ongoing
Student mentoring · Tsukada Lab, UTokyo
VR experiment design, AWSIM scenario authoring, field-study logistics for pedestrian–AV research.
VR experiment design, AWSIM scenario authoring, field-study logistics for pedestrian–AV research.
2023 – 2024
Student workshops on AI & product strategy · Zeroney.ai, Tokyo
Skills
- Programming
- Python, C++, C#
- Robotics & simulation
- ROS 2, Autoware, CARLA, AWSIM, Unity
- Tools
- Git, Linux, Docker
- Data & analysis
- Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, evaluation analysis, LLM
- Testing & debugging
- Scenario regression testing, GitHub Actions (CI/CD), parameter validation
- Research
- Experimental design, eHMI prototyping, human-subject study preparation (ethics / IRB), questionnaire design & analysis
Certifications
2022
Udacity Self-Driving Car Nanodegree
—
Elements of AI · University of Helsinki
—
Google Analytics IQ · Google Digital Unlocked
—
UTokyo IST Research Hackathon
Languages
- English
- Fluent
- Hindi
- Native
- Japanese
- Basic
Updated May 2026.