It all started when I joined a live session by OpenCV titled “Which SLAM Algorithm Is For You?” hosted by Ali Pahlevani, and co-hosted by Phil Nelson and Dr. Satya Mallick, CEO of OpenCV.
As someone passionate about Visual SLAM, I actively joined the chat discussion with other participants. During my master’s research, I had worked on improving ORB-SLAM3 by tackling its limitations in dynamic environments. I developed a system that used YOLOv8 for instance segmentation to handle moving objects and enhance 3D map reconstruction, the result was my paper and open-source project titled YDM-SLAM: YOLOv8-powered Dynamic Mapping of Environment using ORB-SLAM3.
To my surprise, during that same session, Phil Nelson noticed my comment in the live chat and decided to showcase my GitHub repository on screen, giving an open shoutout to my research contribution! Seeing my work recognized by the OpenCV team in front of a global audience was a moment I’ll never forget.
At the end of that session, they announced a giveaway where viewers could win an OpenCV University course by answering a question. The question was, “Which algorithm was discussed first during the session?”
In my excitement, I quickly typed “ToolBox SLAM” instead of “SLAM Toolbox” and narrowly missed winning.
Two weeks later, they hosted the second part of the SLAM series, and this time, I was ready. I took notes on every algorithm discussed throughout the session. When Phil asked the new question, “What does BALM stand for?”, I confidently answered, “Bundle Adjustment for LiDAR Mapping.”
And that was it, I won the giveaway! 🎉
The prize was access to OpenCV University’s “Advanced Vision Applications with Deep Learning & Transformers” course, a perfect match for my ongoing PhD research in Visual SLAM at IIT Ropar.
Looking back, it feels surreal, just a few months ago, I couldn’t afford an OpenCV course, and now I’m learning directly from the same people who inspired me.
Moments like these remind me that persistence, community involvement, and curiosity can truly open doors.
Thank you, Phil Nelson, Ali Pahlevani, Dr. Satya Mallick, and the entire OpenCV team for building such an open, supportive, and inspiring community.
I look forward to learning more through this course and continuing to build systems that help robots perceive the world as humans do.
