Thiru Vikram (born July 25, 1995) is an inventor, engineer and entrepreneur, who is the CEO of Buffalo Automation, an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Buffalo, New York, that provides autonomous navigation technology for commercial ships and recreational boats.[1][2][3][4]
Thiru Vikram | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 25 July 1995 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Title | Chief executive officer |
Early life and career edit
Vikram attended the Lawrence School, Lovedale in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, India.[5] Vikram was a Headboy and a member of the Robotics Club at Lovedale.[6]
He studied computer science and electrical engineering at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences where he co-founded Buffalo Automation with Alexander Zhitelzeyf and Emilie Reynolds, who were fellow engineering students at the university.[7][8] The company was initially founded to design and build an artificial intelligence system that enables ships and boats to self-navigate.[9][10] In 2015, Vikram left the University at Buffalo to focus on the company full-time.[11][12][13][14]
Vikram is a Dravidian Indian-American originally from Tamil Nadu in South India, and is a Hindu.[15][16]
Vikram serves in the US Army Reserve as a combat engineer.[17]
Awards edit
Vikram was awarded first place in the 2018 Entrepreneurs' Organization Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards Western NY Competition.[18]
In 2021, Vikram was recognized as a CSE Distinguished Junior Alumni by the University at Buffalo.[19]
In 2022, Vikram was featured as one of the United States’ 18 Top CEO’s in the Assistive Technology Startup Space and among the top 44 in Navigation by Boardroom Media.[20][21]
Inventions edit
Vikram is listed as an inventor in a few patents related to autonomous navigation technology. These include a sensor system for maritime vessels,[22] a deep learning intelligent sensing system integration,[23] training a deep learning system for maritime applications,[24] a deep learning intelligent sensing system for port operations,[25] and a lane and object detection systems and methods.[26]
References edit
- ^ Bratek, Kim (16 November 2018). "43North — Founder Friday: Thiru Vikram, Buffalo Automation". 43North. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Caya, Chris (2017-10-16). "Are self-navigating boats on the horizon?". WBFO. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Forget Robo-Cars and Hit the Water on an Autonomous Boat". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Lindeman, Tracey (2018-04-19). "Autonomous Boats Will Be On the Market Sooner Than Self-Driving Cars". Vice. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Nadu, Tamil (2012-04-05). "Country needs honest people: AVM Rai". The Hindu.
- ^ "Robotic Club of Lovedale wins championship". The Hindu. 2011-02-10. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ^ Caya, Chris. "Are self-navigating boats on the horizon?". news.wbfo.org. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Launch NY, Z80 back self-piloting ship startup". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Streamlining process of detecting fevers". www.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ Telford, William (2020-04-16). "Robot water taxis to be trialled by US tech giants in Plymouth". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ Lehman, Joel (April 27, 2018). "The journey to funding: Buffalo Automation's story". UpstartNY. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Thiru Vikram-led Startup Wins University of Buffalo Entrepreneur Competition". India West. 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Safer sailing with predictive technology". OceanHub. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Miner, Dan (2016-04-14). "Self-navigating ship startup wins prestigious Panasci prize". Buffalo Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Robotics startup wins Panasci competition". The Buffalo News. 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Lehman, Joel (April 27, 2018). "The journey to funding: Buffalo Automation's story". UpstartNY. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Europe's first commercial robotaxi service is a yellow ferry that takes you to a Dutch golf course". AI Business. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ^ "Global Student Entrepreneur Awards!". Buffalo Tech Jobs. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "CSE Alumni and Friends Award Recipients". engineering.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ^ "Meet United States's 18 Top CEO's in the Assistive Technology Startup Space". CEO. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- ^ "Meet United States's 44 Top CEO's in the Navigation Space". CEO. 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "Patent Images". pdfpiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
- ^ "Patent Images". pdfpiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
- ^ "Patent Images". pdfpiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Patent Images". pdfpiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
- ^ "Patent Images". pdfaiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-21.