Visiting student from India gains hands-on experience in robotics research at RIT and helps create touch-sensitive surgical technology

Rochester, New York – Aayush Kulkarni didn’t just visit the United States to gain research experience—he came to live out a dream. The undergraduate student from MIT-World Peace University in Pune, India, joined the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) earlier this year through its International Visiting Research Student Program. In six short months, he found himself not only learning alongside leading researchers but actually helping to shape the future of robotic technology—particularly in the medical field.

Kulkarni, whose background spans computer science, engineering, and business systems, has been fascinated by robotics since his first year in college. But what he found at RIT went beyond expectations. Working in the Robotic Collaboration and Autonomy Lab under the guidance of Professor Yangming Lee, an expert in surgical robotics, Kulkarni embarked on a hands-on research project that merged artificial intelligence, tactile sensors, and surgical robotics.

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“I found out that tactile sensing was something fairly new; it means giving human sense to robots to identify what it is holding,” said Kulkarni. “This was a whole dream come true situation for me. This is something that every undergraduate student dreams—to build something innovative from scratch. Prof. Lee gave me the opportunity to do this.”

The core of their work centered around tactile feedback—essentially, giving robots a sense of touch. By integrating tactile sensors into robotic systems, the project aimed to mimic one of the most fundamental elements of human interaction: touch. The ability for a robot to “feel” what it interacts with is especially crucial in surgical settings, where precision and sensitivity can determine patient outcomes.

With Professor Lee’s guidance, Kulkarni helped build and refine a tactile sensor platform using open-source hardware. The sensors could detect different surface textures and determine the appropriate force required to pick up various objects—an innovation with real-world applications, particularly in the field of surgical robotics.

“Integrating haptic feedback allows surgical robots to sense and respond to forces during tissue interaction, such as detecting unexpected resistance or slip—enabling real-time motion adjustments that prevent damage to critical structures,” said Lee. “This adaptiveness increases the safety and reliability of autonomous surgical actions, moving the field closer to enabling semi- or fully autonomous procedures in complex, variable clinical environments.”

A neural network powered the tactile recognition system, enabling it to “learn” the differences between materials—real and synthetic. One of the more unusual but telling tests involved oranges. The system was taught to distinguish between a real orange and a plastic replica, using subtle clues like texture and pliability. While both items appeared similar visually, the robot’s “sense of touch” was sharp enough to identify the differences.

This kind of machine learning could have transformative implications in medicine. Kulkarni explained that such tactile sensors could one day help robots identify tissues with different properties, such as distinguishing healthy from diseased tissue. “Because if we want more collaborative robots, with similar human qualities, in the future we have to do the steps now,” he said.

The internship at RIT was more than just a technical achievement—it was a cultural and professional exchange that expanded Kulkarni’s understanding of how research and technology are approached around the world. By participating in RIT Global’s program, he gained insight into both Eastern and Western methodologies and saw firsthand how robotics research in the U.S. balances academic and industrial partnerships.

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“When I came here, I got the whole technological perspective because the U.S. is really developed in the technology areas of robotics and computing. I got an opportunity, and I grabbed it,” said Kulkarni. “Getting a diverse approach is always important for the field I am working in. This internship was very important to me.”

Kulkarni’s work at RIT isn’t his first brush with innovation. He has already written two books—one on cloud computing, with a focus on microservices architectures, which is currently being used as a textbook at his home university. He is also completing a third book, this time on quantum computing, and he holds a design patent for a quantum cloud gateway device.

As part of his degree requirements, Kulkarni must complete a capstone project or thesis, and his time at RIT has provided him with the perfect foundation. His six-month internship concludes at the end of July, and he will return to India to finish his final semester. But the impact of this experience is far-reaching. Beyond the technical skills, Kulkarni is taking home a vision for his future: to start a research lab of his own—one that, like Professor Lee’s lab at RIT, combines innovation with purpose.

The journey from Pune to Rochester was a leap of faith, but for Kulkarni, it paid off in more ways than one. His dream of building something meaningful from scratch became a reality, and in doing so, he has taken a step toward shaping the next generation of robotic technology.

Now, armed with international experience, new skills, and a broader worldview, he is ready to return home—not just as a student, but as an innovator with a mission.