Abdollah Zakeri

I am a Ph.D. graduate in Computer Science from the University of Houston, specializing in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and Natural Language Processing. My research interests include computer vision and image/video processing, natural language processing and LLMs, multi-modal models and LMMs, and applications of computer vision in robotics.

Email / LinkedIn / CV

Research Interests

Computer Vision and Image/Video Processing
Natural Language Processing and LLMs
Multi-Modal Models and LMMs
Applications of Computer Vision in Robotics

Work Experience

Data Science Internship @ C3.ai

Applied state-of-the-art image classification solutions to real-world applications.
Integrated and analyzed the performance of LLMs and LMMs in practical scenarios.
Developed and deployed a complete ML pipeline leveraging multiple fine-tuned models.

Mushroom Localization and Detection for Harvesting Robot

Acquired, labeled, and trained state-of-the-art object detection models.
Integrated the detection model with a robotic arm and navigation system.

Learning Disability (LD) Risk Assessment

Developed a multi-modal classification system based on handwritten essays and transcripts.
Utilized cluster computing and multi-GPU training for advanced multi-modal networks.

Automated Essay Scoring using LLMs and LMMs

Developed multi-modal scoring models aligning image and text modalities.

COVID Severity Detection for Pediatric Patients

Classified COVID-19 severity using Chest X-Ray images and clinical data.
Designed, trained, and evaluated deep neural networks with data from Texas Children’s Hospital.

WhisperNet: Visual-Only Lip-Based Biometric Authentication

Developed a deep Siamese network for lip-based person re-identification.

Smart Quality Assessment for Tires (Kavirtire Company)

Utilized Python for image pre-processing.
Trained a CNN classifier to assign tires to predefined defect groups based on X-ray videos.

Projects

Selected projects showcasing my work and research.

	Mushroom Harvesting Robot Project Summer 2023 – Present Development of a fully autonomous mushroom harvesting robot integrating RGB-D sensing, deep learning-based detection and segmentation, 3D pose estimation, and robotic actuation using a compact hybrid gripper.
	Learning Disability Risk Assessment Project Summer 2023 - Present Multi-modal classification of learning disabilities based on handwritten essays and transcripts using cluster computing and multi-GPU training.
	Mushroom Localization and Detection Project Spring 2023 - Present Image acquisition, labeling, and training of state-of-the-art object detection models for automatic harvesting.
	COVID Severity Detection in Pediatrics Project Fall 2022 - Spring 2022 Classifying COVID-19 severity using Chest X-Ray images and clinical data, developed in collaboration with Texas Children’s Hospital.
	WhisperNet: Lip-Based Authentication Project [Project Date] Developing a deep Siamese network for lip-based person re-identification to enhance biometric security.
	Smart Quality Assessment for Tires Project [Project Date] Implemented an X-ray video-based CNN classifier for tire defect identification, significantly improving quality assessment.
	Jujube Classification System Project [Project Date] Developed a highly accurate (98.2%) classification system for Jujube pricing using Matlab and Python, leveraging image processing techniques.

Publications

Representative papers are highlighted.

	Edge-Deployable Growth and Yield Forecasting for Commercial Mushroom Farms Abdollah Zakeri; Jiming Kang; Bikram Koirala; Raman Silwal; Venkatesh Balan; Weihang Zhu; Driss Benhaddoub; Fatima A. Merchant Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (COMPAG), 2025 Paper
	Fill the Void: Context-Aware Depth Inpainting for Reliable 3-D Perception in Mushroom Harvesting Abdollah Zakeri; Jiming Kang; Bikram Koirala; Venkatesh Balan; Weihang Zhu; Driss Benhaddoub; Fatima A. Merchant Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (COMPAG), 2025 Paper
	Robotic Button Mushroom Harvesting Systems: A Review of Design, Mechanism, and Future Directions Koirala, B.; Abdollah Zakeri; Kang, J.; Kafle, A.; Balan, V.; Merchant, F.A.; Benhaddou, D.; Zhu, W. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 9229 Paper
	Development of a Compact Hybrid Gripper for Automated Harvesting of White Button Mushroom Koirala, B.; Shen, G.; Nguyen, H.C.; Kang, J.; Abdollah Zakeri; Balan, V.; Merchant, F.; Benhaddou, D.; Zhu, W. ASME 2024 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 48th MR Conference Paper
	A Hybrid ThreeFinger Gripper for Automated Harvesting of Button Mushrooms Koirala, B.; Kafle, A.; Nguyen, H.C.; Kang, J.; Abdollah Zakeri; Balan, V.; Merchant, F.; Benhaddou, D.; Zhu, W. Actuators 2024, 13, 287 Paper
	Tackling Domain Shifts in Person Re-Identification: A Survey and Analysis Vuong D. Nguyen; Samiha Mirza; Abdollah Zakeri; Ayush Gupta; Rahma Aloui; Khadija Khaldi; Pranav Mantini; Shishir Shah; Fatima Merchant CVPR 2024 Workshop Paper
	M18K: A Comprehensive RGB-D Dataset and Benchmark for Mushroom Detection and Instance Segmentation Abdollah Zakeri; Mulham Fawakherji; Jiming Kang; Bikram Koirala; Venkatesh Balan; Weihang Zhu; Driss Benhaddou; Fatima A. Merchant Under Review, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Paper
	Content-Based Image Retrieval Using Local Average Binary Pattern and Joint Probability Distribution of Color Channels Hosseini, S.A.; Eshghi, A.; Mohammadi, S.; Abdollah Zakeri Under Review Paper
	WhisperNetV2: SlowFast Siamese Network For Lip-Based Biometrics Abdollah Zakeri; H. Hassanpour; M.H. Khosravi; A.M. Nourollah Under Review, IEEE Trans. on Biometrics, Behavior, and Identity Science Paper
	WhisperNet: Deep Siamese Network For Emotion and Speech Tempo Invariant Visual-Only Lip-Based Biometric Abdollah Zakeri; H. Hassanpour Published, 2021 Paper
	Classification of Jujube Fruit Based on Several Pricing Factors Using Machine Learning Methods Abdollah Zakeri; R. Hedayati; M. Khedmati; M. Taghipour-Gorjikolaie ArXiv Preprint, 2021 Paper
	SMS3D: 3D Synthetic Mushroom Scenes Dataset for 3D Object Detection and Pose Estimation Abdollah Zakeri; B. Koirala; J. Kang; V. Balan; W. Zhu; D. Benhaddou; F. Merchant Preprints 2025 Paper

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