AI on Mars: Who is NASA roboticist Vandi Verma behind Perseverance’s smart drives?
Vandi Verma is an Indian-origin NASA engineer who played a central role in the first AI-planned drives on Mars by the Perseverance rover. She has a background in robotics and has been involved in various Mars missions since 2007. Verma's work is crucial in increasing robotic autonomy for future missions as human control becomes impossible due to communication delays.