Welcome to my page

I am currently a Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering (AAE) at Loughborough University, working with Loughborough University Centre for Autonomous Systems (LUCAS).

I earned my PhD in autonomous aerial vehicles from the same department in 2011. After completing my PhD, I worked briefly at Triumph Actuation & Motion Control Systems-UK Ltd as a control engineer, and then returned to LUCAS as a Research Associate. I joined the Department of AAE as an academic in 2013.

Prior to joining Loughborough University, I obtained my MSc in Guidance, Navigation and Control (in 2008) and BEng in Control Engineering (in 2005) both from Beihang University (BUAA), China.

My research focuses on Robotics and Autonomous Systems, with the primary goal of developing advanced functionalities to facilitate and enhance their applications across various domains. I have gained extensive expereince from supervising approximately 10 PhD students and working with 8 Postdoctoral Research Associates (PDRAs) in conducting high-quality research. Throughout my career, I have consistently attracted and successfully delivered multi-million pound research projects in the field of robotics and autonomous systems.

Note
If you are interested in pursuing a PhD with me, please check PhD funding info at the university website. There is always a potential to offer scholarships to exceptional candidates. If you find a synergy between your background, interests, and our research endeavors, please do not hesitate to contact me.

News:

• I am happy to share that I been awarded a Personal Chair, with an approved title of Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, with effect from 1st september 2023.
• Congratulations to Dr Callum Rhodes, who has officially claimed the Doctor title following the summer graduation at Loughborough University. He is now a Dyson Research Fellow at Imperial College London.
• PhD opportunity with Dr. Sarah Bugby for Energy Resolved-Backscatter X-ray Imaging. I will be the secondary supervisor for the depolyment of the imager on mobile robotics to support inspection and asset assessment. More details here.
• A new PDRA post will open soon for a UKRI funded project on agriculture/horticulture robotics (perception and SLAM solutions). The post will likely start from September 2023 for 30-36 months. Please contact me if you are interested.
• I have been awarded the University Fellowships starting from Oct 2023 for 12 months.