Publications

Autonomous mobility & intelligent transport

Current work at JKU - Autonomous driving research, Smart public transport using AI, pedestrian safety around autonomous vehicles, V2P warning strategies, Reinforcement learning for heterogenous swarms, and machine learning for public transport.

1. 2026

   Assessing Localization Technologies for Pedestrian Collision Avoidance ↗

   J. C. Varughese, J. Gorospe, N. Certad, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV), Naples

2. 2026

   Optimising CSRNet with parameter-free attention mechanisms for crowd counting in public transport ↗

   A. Rostamza, E. Del Re, J. C. Varughese, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   arXiv:2605.18349 preprint

3. 2025

   Evaluating Pedestrian Risks in Shared Spaces Through Autonomous Vehicle Experiments on a Fixed Track

   E. Del Re, N. Certad, J. C. Varughese, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   36th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) 1 citation

4. 2025

   V2P Collision Warnings for Distracted Pedestrians: A Comparative Study with Traditional Auditory Alerts

   N. Certad, E. Del Re, J. C. Varughese, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   36th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) 4 citations

5. 2025

   Shadow Erosion and Nighttime Adaptability for Camera-Based Automated Driving Applications

   M. Sabry, G. Schroeder, J. C. Varughese, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   36th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) 2 citations

6. 2025

   Understanding Visually Impaired Tramway Passengers' Interaction with Public Transport Systems

   D. Mimra, D. Kaar, N. Certad, E. Del Re, J. C. Varughese, D. Seibt, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   AHFE International Conference, AHFE Open Access vol. 186 2 citations

7. 2025

   Machine Learning-Based Performance Evaluation of a Solar-Powered Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid in a Radio-Controlled Electric Vehicle

   A. Aghanouri, M. Sabry, J. C. Varughese, C. Olaverri-Monreal

   IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety (ICVES)

8. 2025

   Determinants of Public Transport Usage Frequency Among Older Adults in Four EU Countries

   A. S. Lombas, A. Lucas-Alba, F. Schmalfuß, J. Kallio, J. C. Varughese, et al.

   9th HUMANIST Virtual Centre of Excellence Conference

9. 2023

   D2.1 Stakeholder analysis and needs for passenger-aware on-board services

   N. Certad, J. C. Varughese, E. Del Re, et al.

   OptiPEX - Horizon Europe project deliverable report

Swarm robotics & collective intelligence

Doctoral and post-doctoral work on bio-inspired collective behaviour with minimalistic communication, validated on physical and underwater robots.

1. 2021

   Autonome Roboterschwärme als Stabilisatoren gefährdeter Ökosysteme

   M. Szopek, R. Thenius, M. Stefanec, D. Hofstadler, J. C. Varughese, M. Vogrin, et al.

   universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen 4 citations

2. 2020

   CIMAX: Collective Information Maximization in Robotic Swarms Using Local Communication

   H. Hornischer, J. C. Varughese, R. Thenius, F. Wotawa, M. Füllsack, T. Schmickl

   Adaptive Behavior 14 citations

3. 2020

   A swarm design paradigm unifying swarm behaviors using minimalistic communication ↗

   J. C. Varughese, H. Hornischer, P. Zahadat, R. Thenius, F. Wotawa, T. Schmickl

   Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 14 citations

4. 2019

   Collective Event Detection Using Bio-inspired Minimalistic Communication in a Swarm of Underwater Robots ↗

   J. C. Varughese, H. Hornischer, R. Thenius, F. Wotawa, T. Schmickl

   The 2019 Conference on Artificial Life, 31:634–641 2 citations

5. 2019

   swarmFSTaxis: Borrowing a Swarm Communication Mechanism from Fireflies and Slime Mold

   J. C. Varughese, R. Thenius, F. Wotawa, T. Schmickl

   Complex Adaptive Systems: Views from the Physical, Natural, and Social Sciences (Springer) 5 citations

6. 2018

   A Model for Bio-Inspired Underwater Swarm Robotic Exploration ↗

   J. C. Varughese, R. Thenius, P. Leitgeb, F. Wotawa, T. Schmickl

   IFAC-PapersOnLine 51(2):385–390 12 citations

7. 2018

   WOSPP - A Wave Oriented Swarm Programming Paradigm ↗

   R. Thenius, J. C. Varughese, D. Moser, T. Schmickl

   IFAC-PapersOnLine 51(2):379–384 6 citations

8. 2018

   Artificial plants - vascular morphogenesis controller-guided growth of braided structures ↗

   D. N. Hofstadler, J. C. Varughese, S. A. Nielsen, D. A. Leon, P. Ayres, P. Zahadat, et al.

   arXiv:1804.06343 preprint 3 citations

9. 2017

   Quantification and Analysis of the Resilience of Two Swarm Intelligent Algorithms

   J. C. Varughese, R. Thenius, T. Schmickl, F. Wotawa

   GCAI 2017 - EPiC Series in Computing, 50:148–161 13 citations

10. 2016

    FSTaxis Algorithm: Bio-Inspired Emergent Gradient Taxis

    J. C. Varughese, R. Thenius, F. Wotawa, T. Schmickl

    15th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE), MIT Press 27 citations

11. 2016

    subCULTron - Cultural Development as a Tool in Underwater Robotics

    R. Thenius, D. Moser, J. C. Varughese, S. Kernbach, I. Kuksin, O. Kernbach, et al.

    Artificial Life and Intelligent Agents Symposium (Springer) 54 citations

Biohybrid systems & environmental monitoring

Collaborative work using living organisms as sensing elements in robotic systems for in-field aquatic monitoring.

1. 2024

   Organisms as sensors in biohybrid entities as a novel tool for in-field aquatic monitoring ↗

   W. Rajewicz, C. Wu, D. Romano, A. Campo, F. Arvin, A. J. Casson, G. Jansen van Vuuren, C. Stefanini, J. C. Varughese, B. Lennox, S. Schönwetter-Fuchs, T. Schmickl, R. Thenius

   Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 7 citations

2. 2022

   Lifeforms potentially useful for automated underwater monitoring systems

   W. Rajewicz, D. Romano, J. C. Varughese, T. Schmickl, R. Thenius

   Artificial Life Conference Proceedings 2 citations

3. 2021

   Freshwater organisms potentially useful as biosensors and power-generation mediators in biohybrid robotics

   D. Romano, J. C. Varughese, G. Jansen van Vuuren, A. Campo, R. Thenius, T. Schmickl

   Biological Cybernetics 19 citations

4. 2021

   Biohybrid entities for environmental monitoring

   R. Thenius, W. Rajewicz, J. C. Varughese, S. Schönwetter-Fuchs, F. Arvin, et al.

   Artificial Life Conference Proceedings 7 citations

Invited talks

1. OptiPEX: Revolutionierung der öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel durch nutzerzentrierte Innovationen und Nachhaltigkeit

   Forum Verkehr: KI & Digitalisierung im Verkehr, Vienna

2. Optimizing passenger experience in public transport systems

   11th Logistic Research Austria (LRA) Workshop, Bad Schallerbach

Honors & awards

1. 2019

   Successfully incubated a startup at Science Park Graz

   Science Park Incubator, Graz

2. 2009

   Best engineering design award - vehicle design, BAJA SAE all-terrain vehicle design and racing competition

   BAJA SAE, Indore

3. 2009

   Editor-in-chief, annual university magazine

   NIT Jamshedpur

4. 2009

   President of the university student council

   NIT Jamshedpur

5. 2005

   Gold and bronze medalist, national level athletics

   All India Athletic Meet, Hyderabad