Gabriel Kenji G. Shimanuki

M.Sc. student, Safety Analysis Group

Gabriel Shimanuki

M.Sc. student at University of Sao Paulo’s Safety Analysis Group
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Email: gabrielshimanuki [at] {usp or hotmail} [dot] br
Website: https://gabrielshimanuki.github.io/
PDF CV

Education

University of São Paulo

Leading university in Latin America (#92 QS World University Ranking)

  • M.Sc. Student in Electrical & Computer Engineering, Polytechnic School of USP
    Jan 2024 – Dec 2025
    • Advisor: Prof. Paulo Sérgio Cugnasca / Co-Advisor: Dr. Alexandre Moreira Nascimento
    • GPA: 4.0/4.0
    • Qualifying Exam: Automatic Generation of Critical Scenarios for Evaluating Intelligent Control of Autonomous Vehicles in a Simulated Environment
  • B.Sc. Computer Engineering, Polytechnic School of USP
    Mar 2018 – Dec 2023
    • Top 10% of the Class
    • Advisor: Prof. Paulo Sérgio Cugnasca / Co-Advisor: Dr. Alexandre Moreira Nascimento
    • CGPA: 3.5/4.0
    • Nomination for Top Senior Project
    • Senior Thesis: Increasing the Reliability of Autonomous Vehicle Controls Through the Creation of More Robust Traffic Datasets

Experience

Research Assistant Intern

2 A.M. Consulting - São Paulo, BR
Jan 2021 – Dec 2022

  • Designed a scalable framework for optimizing artificial neural networks (ANNs).
  • Conducted over 7 million ANN training experiments and optimized performance using genetic algorithms.
  • Managed a distributed network of remote machines, processing 1TB+ of log data weekly.

Research Projects

Autonomous Vehicle Safety - Corner Case Generation

University of São Paulo - Safety Analysis Group
Jan 2023 - Present

  • Developed AI-driven methods to generate synthetic high-risk driving scenarios, improving AV corner case generation by 23%.
  • Integrated CARLA Simulator with Scenic to collect high-fidelity data for simulation.
  • Tools: CARLA, Scenic, Python
  • Award: Top Senior Project Nomination for contributions to autonomous vehicle safety.

Artificial Neural Network Optimization for IoT Devices

2 A.M. Consulting
Jan 2021 - Dec 2022

  • Designed and implemented a framework to enhance small Artificial Neural Network (ANN) training for IoT applications.
  • Optimized ANN energy efficiency and implemented a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system using Arduino microcontrollers for collision detection in AVs.
  • Tools: TensorFlow, Python, Arduino

FPGA-Based Bayesian Filtering for Sensor Optimization

University of São Paulo - Safety Analysis Group
Sept 2021 - Dec 2021

  • Implemented a Bayesian filtering algorithm on FPGA to enhance low-cost sensor reliability.
  • Tools: FPGA, Arduino, VHDL, C, Python, MQTT
  • Award: Best-in-class project.

Autonomous Vehicle Safety - Fault Injection

University of São Paulo - Safety Analysis Group
July 2019 - Dec 2021

  • Created and developed the ARVT safety investigation framework, enabling comprehensive fault injection experiments to enhance autonomous vehicle system resilience.
  • Conducted over 110,000 simulation runs with 2,200 parameter variations, generating a 27.6M-line dataset for reliability analysis.
  • Tools: OpenDS (Java), Matlab (Control), Excel (VBA)

Publications

Theses & Dissertations

  • Shimanuki, G. (2024). Automatic Generation of Critical Scenarios for Evaluating Intelligent Control of Autonomous Vehicles in a Simulated Environment. M.Sc. in Computer Engineering, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP).
  • Shimanuki, G. (2023). Increasing the Reliability of Autonomous Vehicle Controls Through the Creation of More Robust Traffic Datasets. B.Sc. in Computer Engineering, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP).

Books

  • Nascimento, A., Garcia, W., Garcia, A., Queiroz, A., Garcia, E., Bandeira, F., Shimanuki, G., & Satin, L. (2023). Set of Mock Exams for the ENEM (Brazilian National High School Exam), 1st edition. Editora Foco. ISBN: 978-6-55515-820-5.
  • Nascimento, A., Garcia, W., Garcia, A., Queiroz, A., Garcia, E., Bandeira, F., Shimanuki, G., & Satin, L. (under editorial review). Set of Mock Exams for the ENEM (Brazilian National High School Exam), 2nd edition.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications

  • Shimanuki, G.; Nascimento, A.; Vismari, L.; Camargo Jr., J.; Almeida Jr., J.; Cugnasca, P. (2025, April) CORTEX-AVD: A Framework for CORner Case Testing and EXploration in Autonomous Vehicle Development. 10.48550/arXiv.2504.03989 - Under Review
  • Shimanuki, G.; Nascimento, A.; Vismari, L.; Camargo Jr., J.; Almeida Jr., J.; Cugnasca, P. (2025, February) Navigating the Edge with the State-of-the-Art Insights into Corner Case Identification and Generation for Enhanced Autonomous Vehicle Safety. 10.48550/arXiv.2503.00077 - Under Review
  • Nascimento, A., Shimanuki, G., & Dias, L. (2024, July). Making More With Less: Improving Software Testing Outcomes Using a Cross-project and Cross-Language ML Classifier Based on Cost-Sensitive Training. 10.3390/app14114880.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Publications

  • Shimanuki, G., Nascimento, A., & Queiroz, A. (2024a, August). Enhancing Academic Performance Prediction: A Comprehensive Comparison of Machine Learning Techniques and Metrics. Presented in the ISLA 2024 Proceedings.
  • Nascimento, A., Queiroz, A., & Shimanuki, G. (2023a, August). An Enhanced Artificial Neural Network Approach to Predict Student Dropout From Imbalanced Datasets. ISLA 2023 Proceedings.

Working Papers

  • Access all working papers here.

Professional Service Activity

Journal Reviewer

  • IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems (OJ-ITS)

Offers of Admission

  • Admission to the M.S. in Electrical Engineering - New York University (NYU), Tandon School of Engineering - Apr 2025

Awards & Honors

  • Selected Participant – AI4Industry 2025 Summer School on AI Technologies for Industry 4.0 - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, France - Fully funded participation - July 2025
  • Nomination for Top Senior Projects in Computer Engineering Department - Dec 2023
  • Best Project - Digital Systems Laboratory II - Dec 2021

Grants

  • Master’s Data Science Center (C2D) Fellowship (Itaú-Unibanco) – the largest bank in Latin America, #86 in the Global Forbes List – Jan 2024
  • Pre-Master’s C2D Fellowship (Itaú-Unibanco) – Jan 2023
  • 2 A.M. Consulting Research Grant – (2 A.M. Consulting is a specialized research and advisory firm) – Jan 2022
  • Scientific Scholarship Program (CNPq) – the largest Brazilian government agency fostering scientific and technological advancement – Aug 2021
  • Foundation for Engineering Research and Development (FDTE) Research Grant (FDTE) – a non-profit institution supporting research and technological innovation in engineering in Brazil – June 2020

Technologies

  • Languages: Python, C, VHDL
  • Technologies: TensorFlow, CARLA Simulator, OpenDS

Extracurricular Activities

Business Group of Polytechnic School of USP (GNP)

June 2019 - June 2021

  • Led workshops on strategy and finance for engineering students.
  • Organized events with leading firms across various sectors, including Bain & Company, Santander, Azul, Burger King, Stone, and Magazine Luiza.