Vision-based navigation | SLAM | Multi-sensor estimation | Space vehicles and robots autonomy
I'm a PhD student in Aerospace Engineering at DART Lab, Politecnico di Milano.
From May to November 2026 I'm also a guest researcher at the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center (Underactuated Robotics Lab), extending visual navigation and state estimation to humanoid platforms.
My research primarily focuses on visual navigation, SLAM, computer vision and multi-sensor state estimation, with particular interest in factor-graph methods and integrated navigation architectures. I primarily develop these methods for autonomous spacecraft navigation, especially for the exploration and characterization of small bodies and other poorly known environments, where no GNSS is available.
My work spans different parts of the navigation stack, from visual frontends and computer vision, to nonlinear estimation, simulation, validation and algorithm deployment.
Secondary research interests include event-based vision, machine learning for navigation and perception, and physically based rendering and sensor simulation. I often put considerable effort into developing reusable, well-designed software that goes beyond the needs of a paper. I enjoy seeing how different components come together and how the software—the embodiment of mathematical algorithms—evolves alongside my ideas and understanding.
- Visual navigation, SLAM and structure from motion
- Factor-graph estimation and multi-sensor fusion
- Autonomous spacecraft navigation and exploration
- Event-based vision in SLAM, visual odometry and localization
- Machine learning applied to computer vision and estimation problems
- High fidelity physically based rendering and spectral rendering
Important! Some active research repositories remain private while the corresponding work is in development or under review for publication. Code is released publicly whenever possible, and I am open to sharing work in the context of research collaborations, projects and reviews for jobs. Moreover, not all repositories are continuously maintained due to time constraints; instead, development progresses according to my current priorities and ongoing activities.
- MathCore for ComputerVision
- slam-primitives
- EvalAndVizGears for ComputerVision (Private)
- pyramidal-klt-for-space-nav (Private)
- space-nav-frontend (Private)
- EstimationGears for SpaceNav
- msckf-space-nav (Private)
- gtsam-space-nav (Private)
- space-nav-backend (Private)
- space-nav-loop-closures (Private)
- space-nav-shape-reconstruction (Private)
- space-nav-system (Private)
- event-cameras-primitives [Planned TODO]
- event-based-centroiding (Private)
- event-vision-dataprocessing (Private)
- computer-graphics-primitives [Planned TODO]
- spectra-rt (Private)
- cpp_cuda_template_project
- ros2_cpp_cuda_template_project
- python_template_project
- AutoCodegenTools4MATLAB
- DLib (fork of dorian3d/DLib)
- DBoW2 (fork of dorian3d/DBoW2)
- DLoopDetector (fork of dorian3d/DLoopDetector)
- wrap (fork of borglab/wrap)
- v2e-extended (fork of SensorsINI/v2e)
There is also a number of other smaller utilities and libraries. The list above is intentionally selective and reflects the projects I currently maintain or develop most actively. This changes over time with the needs of ongoing research and software work.
Curiosity is my greatest strength. No matter the subject, I approach everything with awe and enthusiasm ✨.
“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.”
Richard P. Feynman, letter to J. M. Szabados, 1965
Motto 🔥: “Wonder is anywhere, if you are curious enough to discover it.”
Coding-related motto 🤖: “Give me a task and I will code a SW library to automate it.”
- Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
- Telegram: @peter_califano
- Website: petercalifano.github.io
Feel free to get in touch if you are interested in my work, curious to learn more, or considering a collaboration! 🚀