Dr. Karthick Thiyagarajan is a tenure-track Lecturer in Mechatronic and Robotic Engineering at Western Sydney University, Australia. He is also an Adjunct Fellow at the UTS Robotics Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

The key focus of his research is centred on enabling the next-generation autonomy of robots operating in the real-world through better sensing and perception, with applications to infrastructure condition assessments, assistive technologies, human-robot interactions, and environmental monitoring for the benefit of society, the environment, and industry.

He collaborates extensively with Australian and international industries and academics. To date, he has collaborated with over 35 companies and 10 research organisations, including universities, for joint research and development. His research collaborators were from Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Finland, Denmark, and India. He has received research funds totalling $1.4 million as a Chief Investigator (CI) or Lead CI for his robotics research from the Australian Research Council, several government and private organisations, and many blue-sky research schemes.

His robotics research has received national and international recognition from both academia and industry. He has won eight highly prestigious awards, including the Australian Water Association's National Research Innovation Award 2020, the NSW Research Innovation Award 2020, and the NSW Student Water Prize 2018, for his contributions to the development of novel pipe sensors and robots for real-time critical infrastructure condition assessments.

He has published 46 international scientific publications, including 1 book chapter, 19 journals, and 26 conference papers. He has published his research in a range of leading international journals, such as Nature Scientific Reports, IEEE Sensors Journal, and IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. In addition to academic publications, his robotics research with a wide range of industries has produced 11 factsheets and 8 industry reports, and six of his sensing and robotic prototypes are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 for field use.

His research has been featured in over 15 media stories and has influenced several industry policies, including the NBN Corporate Plan (2023 and 2024), Sydney Water's Innovation Research and Deployment Plan, and Sydney Water’s Research and Innovation Strategy: Towards 2020 and Beyond.

He has over 7 years of experience in developing and delivering a wide range of mechatronics and robotics subjects. He practices modern pedagogy concepts like flipped learning, activity-based learning, authentic learning, and research-inspired learning in the subjects he teaches.

He is a senior member of IEEE, has delivered several invited lectures in Australia and overseas, and has served in several executive roles in research communities, such as the IEEE Sensors Council.