Autonomous Systems and Control Lab (ASCL)
The Autonomous Systems and Control Lab in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Alabama conducts cutting-edge research at the intersection of control theory, machine learning, and autonomy. Our mission is to advance the design, analysis, and validation of control and learning algorithms to ensure the safe and efficient operation of robotic and autonomous systems, particularly in challenging and complex environments. By integrating insights from dynamical systems, control theory, and machine learning, we aim to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and real-world applications.
Our research not only focuses on developing innovative theories but also emphasizes experimental validation on meaningful platforms such as quadcopters and VTOL vehicles. These efforts allow us to demonstrate the practicality and robustness of our algorithms in real-world scenarios.
Specific research areas include
Robust, adaptive, and nonlinear control theory
Machine learning for safety-critical control and decision making
Resilient autonomous systems under extreme scenarios
Urban air mobility
Aerial robot development and application
AI for sustainable agriculture
News
01/2025: Our L1Quad paper has been published in IEEE CST! See the video for flight experiments.
01/2025: Adam presented our paper on constrained control of VTOL aircraft at SciTech 2025. Good job, Adam!
10/2024: Dr. Zhao organized a tutorial session on Safety-Critical Control Under Uncertainties at MECC 2024.
08/2024: Md Abul Kashem Niloy and Andy Edgell joined our group as PhD students. Welcome!
06/2024: Dr. Zhao served on two NSF panels.
04/2024: Dr. Zhao gave a talk on safety-critical control under uncertainties at the 2024 Midwest Workshop on Control and Game Theory
02/2024: Dr. Zhao served on an NSF panel.
01/2024: Dr. Zhao gave a seminar talk on safety-critical control under uncertainties for the University of New Mexico ME department.
01/2024: Two papers were accepted to 2024 American Control Conference.
12/2023: Our proposal on rapid adaptation for resilient autonomous systems was funded by the UA ORED Small Grant Program.
12/2023: Our paper on adaptive reference governor has been published on IEEE TAC.
08/2023: Two funded Ph.D. positions are immediately available! See Openings for details.