Nikolaos Giakoumidis — Robotics, AI & Autonomous Systems

LAT 24.5233 N

LON 54.4341 E

SINCE 2009

STATUS OPERATIONAL

Commercializing AI and robotics built on more than a decade of research infrastructure, experimental engineering, and field deployment.

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01 // Who I am · what the work proves

Profile

Commercial Lead – AI and RoboticsNYUAD Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR)

Commercial Lead for AI and Robotics at NYU Abu Dhabi's CAIR. I commercialize embodied AI and multi-agent robotics built on more than a decade of research infrastructure, experimental engineering, and field deployment across the UAE — from shared laboratories that support 100+ researchers to award-winning systems and industry collaborations.

NYU Abu Dhabi · Etihad Rail · RTA Dubai World Challenge · Abu Dhabi Airports

Full career narrative →

Nikolaos Giakoumidis crouching beside a KUKA LBR robotic arm he is teleoperating in the NYUAD CTP labs — FIELD LOGTELEOPERATING A KUKA LBR — NYUAD CTP LABS

15+

Years in robotics & research engineering

100+

Researchers supported

US$9M+

Research assets stewarded across shared platforms

Major shared research platforms

30+

Publications

First-prize awards

02 // One integrated professional system

Portfolio Map

Nikolaos is the center. Projects, laboratories, research, profile periods, recognition, and archive evidence connect as one body of work — not unrelated portfolio entries.

Integrated professional system

Nikolaos is the central entity. Projects, laboratories, research, profile periods, recognition, and archive evidence form one connected body of work.

Profile
4 career periods · 4 first-prize awards
Four-era trajectory, roles, and recognition
Connected · Projects · Laboratories · Archive
Laboratories
3 shared research platforms
Research platforms established and operated
Connected · Projects · Research · Archive
Projects
15 case files
Case files, deployments, and engagements
Connected · Laboratories · Research · Archive
Research
30+ publications
Publications, IP, and themes
Connected · Projects · Laboratories · Archive
Archive
Field records & documentary evidence
Field records, exhibitions, media, documents, and evidence
Connected · Projects · Laboratories · Profile

Audience paths

Industry

Follow applied collaborations from rail and inspection projects through deployment evidence to contact.

Research

Move from shared laboratories through perception projects into publications and citation evidence.

Recruiter

Read the career narrative, laboratories built, selected projects, awards, then download the CV.

03 // Flagship case files

Selected Projects

ETIHAD RAIL × NYUAD — PUBLIC COLLAB
Industry Engagement2024
Etihad Rail × NYUAD AI & Robotics Collaboration
Strategic AI and robotics collaboration with Etihad Rail, including depot Spot trials that collect multimodal locomotive data for predictive maintenance analysis and industry-facing research translation.
My contribution · Led industry-facing translation of CAIR autonomous-systems research into the Etihad Rail collaboration — stakeholder engagement, lab visits, and operating Spot at the depot to gather multimodal locomotive data for predictive-maintenance analysis.
Open case file →
DELIVERY OCTAROTOR — TOP VIEW
Aerial · Ground · Underwater Robotics2021
RTA Delivery Drone — Dubai World Challenge
First-prize delivery octarotor for the RTA Dubai World Challenge — a competition-ready aerial logistics platform with peer-reviewed mechatronic design follow-on and public demonstration evidence.
My contribution · Designed and integrated the delivery octarotor mechatronics and supported competition deployment that won First Prize at the RTA Dubai World Challenge.
Open case file →
Multi-Agent Robotic Systems2024
Multi-Agent Exploration for Construction Data Collection
Cooperative multi-agent robotic exploration for construction sites — coordinated mapping with human-in-the-loop teleoperation when obstacles block a single agent’s path.
My contribution · Contributed to the multi-agent exploration system and its Journal of Field Robotics publication — cooperative mapping with human-in-the-loop teleoperation for construction-site data collection.
Open case file →
INSTRUMENTED CHAIR — SENSOR & GAZE RIG
Perception & Sensing2013–2016
Eye-Gaze-Controlled Wheelchair
Gaze-driven wheelchair with shared autonomy, field-validated in a real-world ALS case study and among the most-cited works in the publication record.
My contribution · Designed, integrated, and field-tested the gaze-driven wheelchair navigation stack with shared autonomy — fusing gaze tracking, obstacle sensing, and assisted control into a complete driving interface.
Open case file →
Perception & Sensing2020–2022
UAV Visual Tracking & Localization
RGB-thermal UAV detection, tracking, and cooperative localization pipelines validated on live flights in the Kinesis arena across a multi-paper perception research thread.
My contribution · System integration and experimental development across the CAIR UAV perception thread — arena instrumentation, RGB-T PTZ pipelines, and field validation that underpins six peer-reviewed papers (2020–2022).
Open case file →
Perception & Sensing2024
Digital Twin-Based Desert Environment Monitoring for Rail Tracks
Train-mounted LiDAR and camera sensing for Etihad Rail, capturing desert corridor conditions so sand, water, and vegetation risks can be reconstructed and monitored in three dimensions.
My contribution · Supported the Etihad Rail proposal and train-side sensing pilot — coordinating the industry engagement and the field installation of the rearward LiDAR and camera payload used to capture corridor evidence for the desert-environment monitoring concept.
Open case file →

View all projects →

04 // Infrastructure · research · archive

Laboratories & Evidence

CAIR FLEET — PLATFORMS WORKED ON OR SUPPORTED
Kinesis Core Technology Platform Laboratory
Led the end-to-end creation of Kinesis, NYU Abu Dhabi's shared robotics and motion research platform — from user requirements and multidisciplinary design through procurement, construction supervision, hands-on systems integration, commissioning, and operation.
Contribution · Conceived, designed, procured, commissioned, and operated Kinesis as a shared university research platform — owning requirements, facility design, systems integration, and ongoing institutional demonstrations.
Laboratory page →
OPTICAL BENCH — MICROSCOPY & FIBER SETUP
Photonics Core Technology Platform Laboratory
Helped establish NYU Abu Dhabi's Photonics Core Technology Platform from faculty concept to sustained shared operation — translating high-speed optical and RF research requirements into an integrated characterization facility spanning tunable lasers, BER testing, arbitrary waveform generation, coherent and vector signal analysis, lightwave component analysis to 67 GHz, microscopy, and polarization and spectral measurement, then stewarding its procurement, commissioning, expansion, and lifecycle.
Contribution · Co-developed the equipment architecture, commissioned the characterization facility, and stewarded seven years of operation, expansion, and research enablement — acknowledged across multiple photonics publications.
Laboratory page →
PLATE-HANDLING RAIL ROBOT — HTS ENCLOSURE
High-Throughput Screening Platform
Automated high-throughput screening platform developed through a partnership between the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology’s Chemical and Functional Genomics Lab and NYU Abu Dhabi Core Technology Platforms — integrating robotic liquid handling, incubation, imaging, plate handling, and data acquisition so researchers can run large-scale assays across chemical genomics, functional genomics, bioactive discovery, toxicity, cell biology, and whole-organism screening.
Contribution · Owned the automation and systems-engineering layer for the HTS platform within Core Technology Platforms — Thermo Fisher Momentum workflow programming, FANUC robot configuration, instrument synchronization, fault recovery, vendor coordination, and long-term lifecycle stewardship so scientific workflows stayed reliable in shared use.
Laboratory page →