Vitor Ortega
Vitor Ortega working with a quadruped robot in the lab

Vitor Ortega

Robotics & autonomous systems

I’m an Electrical Engineering undergraduate at UFMG, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. At VerLab, I currently research autonomous robots for unstructured environments, advised by Prof. Héctor Azpúrua.

Portuguese (native) · English (fluent)

Work Experience

  1. From 2025/2 to Present

    The GO2 quadruped robot fitted with sensors in the robotics lab

    Digital Speleology (Vale)

    Autonomy for the Unitree Go2

    VerLab · UFMG
    Undergraduate student researcher · Scholarship

    I work on making the Unitree Go2 reliable in unstructured environments, especially caves. I developed its autonomy stack in simulation and on the robot, integrating networking, mapping, perception, and Nav2 navigation. My current work focuses on detecting LiDAR-inertial odometry failures using available sensor data, managing map growth and accumulated errors during long-duration navigation, and contributing to a reinforcement-learning-based perception algorithm.

    I also built a Docker-based remote base station using ROS 2, CycloneDDS, and Zenoh, and designed a modular sensor and communications backpack in FreeCAD and SOLIDWORKS. I co-authored “A Handheld System for Three-Dimensional Mapping of Harsh Natural Caves,” accepted for LARS 2026, adapting BIEVR-LIO and FAST-LIO2 to enable a fair comparison.

  2. From 2024/2 to 2025/2

    The VAL wheeled mobile robot with its sensor platform and yellow chassis

    VAL

    Autonomous Vehicle Project (VAL-Lynx)

    VerLab · UFMG
    Undergraduate student researcher · Scholarship

    I helped develop the VAL-Lynx autonomous vehicle, from specifying its sensors, hardware, and software to testing LiDAR, IMU, and GNSS antenna placement for a cost-effective architecture. I worked on GNSS-based global localization and navigation, addressing orientation, signal quality, waypoint collection and storage, and synchronization. I also implemented deterministic point-cloud algorithms for obstacle detection, prioritizing performance, simplicity, and robustness.

Activities

2026/1

Teaching Assistant — Introduction to Robotics

Computer Science Department · UFMG

I taught a class on sensors and robot perception, supported students during practical sessions, and provided tutoring outside class.

2024–Present

Volunteering & university outreach

UFMG

I bring robots to welcome events, school visits, and career fairs, introducing students and the public to robotics through demonstrations and conversation. In 2026/2, I also taught a FreeCAD class for undergraduate students and surprised mutiple classes with unexpect robot visits.