I am starting as an assistant faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University (1/1/2023)
I am a Postdoctroal Fellow at Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory at Harvard Univeristy hosted by Prof. Robert J. Wood. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Agile Robotics (supervised by Prof. Scott Kuindersma) at Harvard University (2018-2019) . I obtained my Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (2018) where I worked with Prof. Erik I. Verriest and Prof. Patricio A. Vela. I obtained Masters Degrees in Mathematics (2013) and in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2013) from Georgia Institute of Technology. [Bio] [CV]
Research Goal
My research program explores the cyclic learning cycle between biology, mathematical system theory, and robotics with an emphasis on control theoretic aspects of bio-inspired robots with extreme behaviors. These includes 1) flapping-wing vehicles (e.g., Harvard RoboBee); and 2) impulsive systems inspired by mantis shrimp strike (e.g., strikes within 4 ms). The intrinsic challenges for such systems with extreme behaviors includes complex dynamics with multiple timescales (fast and slow) requiring high-speed sensing for feedback control design. In addition, due to their small size and weight, an understanding of environmental conditions (i.e., fluid condition) is necessary for controlled motion in unstructured (e.g., outdoor) environments, where current insect-scale robot experiments are limited to indoor environments.
My goal is to design a robust control framework for such systems with extreme behaviors to overcome the challenges for control in unstructured environments with a long term goal of extending these methods towards an intelligent swarm robotics. I envision that constructing a novel control framework for these systems will provide a fundamental understanding of high mobility in synthetic systems and provide interdisciplinary research tools for biology.
Research Interest
• Bio-inspired Robotics: Flapping-Wing Vehicles • Safety-Critical Nonlinear Control • Adaptive Control
• Impulsive Systems • Contraction Theory • Geometric Control • Optimal Motion Planning • Swarm Robotics
Here is the research poster of control-theoretic bio-inspired robotics with extreme behaviors.
