Ji Zhang
Ji Zhang researches robot localization, mapping, planning and exploration. Zhang co-authored the 2014 LOAM paper with Sanjiv Singh and earned a CMU robotics PhD in 2017. He served as Kaarta’s founder and chief scientist from March 2015 to August 2019, then became a CMU Systems Scientist in September 2019. In 2021, he coauthored TARE, a hierarchical system for exploring complex environments with ground and aerial robots. The work received both RSS Best Paper and Best Systems Paper awards.
Timeline
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2014
Lidar mapping in real time
Zhang co-authored LOAM: Lidar Odometry and Mapping in Real-time with Sanjiv Singh; they presented it at RSS 2014. LOAM concerns localization and mapping, which help a robot estimate where it is and build a scene map.
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2015–2019
Commercial and academic work
Zhang served as founder and chief scientist of Kaarta from March 2015 through August 2019. He earned his robotics PhD in 2017 and became a CMU Systems Scientist in September 2019.
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2021
Exploring at two scales
Zhang coauthored TARE with Chao Cao, Hongbiao Zhu and Howie Choset. The system plans detailed paths close to the robot while maintaining a coarser global plan. The authors tested exploration in complex indoor and outdoor spaces with ground and aerial robots.
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2021
Shared research recognition
TARE received both the RSS Best Paper Award and the Best Systems Paper Award in memory of Seth Teller. The award recognized all four authors.
Sources and credits
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