Publications & Patents

Peer-Reviewed Journals

• A. M. S. Enayati, Z. Zhang, K. Gupta, and H. Najjaran, "Sample-efficient reinforcement learning with symmetry-guided demonstrations for robotic manipulation", in Neural Computing & Applications, Vol. 38, no. 24, Jan 2026, DOI: 10.1007/s00521-025-11733-1. [Springer][arXiv]

• Z. Zhang, Z. Sun, and S. Haesaert, “Intention-Aware Control Based on Belief-Space Specifications and Stochastic Expansion”, in IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 1989 - 1998, Mar 2025, DOI: 10.1109/TIV.2024. 3441315. [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv]

• Z. Zhang, Q. Liu, M. H. Mamduhi, S. Hirche, "Average Communication Rate for Event-Triggered Stochastic Control Systems", in IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1894 - 1905, Feb 2025. [IEEE Xplore][arXiv]

• Z. Zhang, J. Hong, A. M. S. Enayati, and H. Najjaran, “Using Implicit Behavior Cloning and Dynamic Movement Primitive to Facilitate Reinforcement Learning for Robot Motion Planning”, in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 40, pp. 4733 - 4749, Sept 2024, DOI: 10.1109/TRO.2024.3468770. [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv]

• Q. Liu, Z. Zhang, N. K. Le, J. Qin, F. Liu, and S. Hirche, "Distributed Coverage Control of Constrained Constant-Speed Unicycle Multi-Agent Systems", in IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 22, pp. 2225 - 2240, Mar 2024, DOI: 10.1109/TASE.2024.3377131. [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv]

• T. Liu, Z. Zhang, F. Liu, M. Buss, "Adaptive Observer for a Class of Systems with Switched Unknown Parameters Using DREM", in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 69, no. 4, Apr 2024, DOI: 10.1109/TAC.2023.3309228. [IEEEXplore] [ResearchGate]

• C. Li, Z. Zhang, A. Nesrin, Q. Liu, F. Liu, M. Buss, "Instantaneous local control barrier function: An online learning approach for collision avoidance", in Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, vol. 109, no.2, pp. 40, Oct 2023, DOI: 10.1007/s10846-023-01962-8. [Springer] [ResearchGate]

• A. M. S. Enayati, R. Dershan, Z. Zhang, D. Richert, and H. Najjaran, "Facilitating Sim-to-real by Intrinsic Stochasticity of Real-Time Simulation in Reinforcement Learning for Robot Manipulation", in IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, vol 5, no.4, pp. 1791 - 1804, Jul 2023, DOI: 10.1109/TAI.2023.3299252. [IEEEXplore][arXiv]

• Z. Zhang, F. Liu, T. Liu, J. Qiu, and M. Buss, "A Persistent-Excitation-Free Method for System Disturbance Estimation Using Concurrent Learning", in IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers,  vol. 70, no. 8, pp. 3305-3315, Aug 2023, DOI: 10.1109/TCSI.2023.3274558. [IEEEXplore][arXiv]

• N. Dang, T. Brüdigam, Z. Zhang, F. Liu, M. Leibold, and M. Buss, "Distributed Stochastic Model Predictive Control for a Microscopic Interactive Traffic Model", in Electronics, vol. 12, no. 6, pp.1270, Mar 2023, DOI: 10.3390/electronics12061270. [MDPI] [ResearchGate]

• A. M. S. Enayati, Z. Zhang, and H. Najjaran,  "A methodical interpretation of adaptive robotics: Study and reformulation", in Neurocomputing, Vol.512, no.2022, pp.381-397, Nov 2022,  DOI: 10.1016/j.neucom.2022

.09.114. [ScienceDirect] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang, D. Wollherr, and H. Najjaran,  "Disturbance estimation for robotic systems using continuous integral sliding mode observer", in International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, Vol. 32, no. 14, pp. 7946-7966, Sept 2022, DOI: 10.1002/rnc.6252. [Wiley] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang, R. Dershan, A. M. S. Enayati, M. Yaghoubi, D. Richert, and H. Najjaran, "A High-Fidelity Simulation Platform For Industrial Manufacturing by Incorporating Robotic Dynamics Into an Industrial Simulation Tool", in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 9123-9128, Jul 2022, DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3190096. [IEEEXplore] [ResearchGate]

• Y. Wang, Z. Zhang, C. Li, and M. Buss, "Adaptive incremental sliding mode control for a robot manipulator", in Mechatronics, vol. 82, no. 2022, pp. 102717, 2022, DOI: 10.1016/j.mechatronics.2021.102717. [ScienceDirect] [ResearchGate]

• F. Liu, Z. Zhang, and M. Buss. "Optimal filtering and control of network information epidemics", in at - Automatisierungstechnik, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 122-130, 2021, DOI: 10.1515/auto-2020-0096. [De Gruyter] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang, K. Qian, B. W. Schuller, and D. Wollherr, "An Online Robot Collision Detection and Identification Scheme by Supervised Learning and Bayesian Decision Theory", in IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1144-1156, July. 2021, DOI: 10.1109/TASE.2020.2997094. [IEEEXplore] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang, M. Leibold, and D. Wollherr, "Integral Sliding-Mode Observer-Based Disturbance Estimation for Euler–Lagrangian Systems", in IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 2377-2389, Nov. 2020, doi: 10.1109/TCST.2019.2945904. [IEEEXplore] [ResearchGate]

• F. Liu, Z. Zhang, and Martin Buss. "Robust optimal control of deterministic information epidemics with noisy transition rates", in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, vol. 517, no. 4955, pp. 577-587, Mar 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2018.11.025. [ScienceDirect] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang and Z. Yu. "An Implement of FPGA Based PCI Controller Device and Improvement of DDA Arc Interpolation", in Abstract and Applied Analysis, vol. 2014, no. 1, Aug 2014, DOI:10.1155/2014/301646. [Wiley]

Peer-Reviewed Conferences

• S. Qi, Z. Zhang, Z. Sun, S. Haesaert, “Risk-Aware Autonomous Driving for Linear Temporal Logic Specifications”, the IEEE/RJS International Conference on Intelligent RObots and Systems 2025, Hangzhou, China, Oct 19-25 2025. [IEEE Xplore][ArXiv]

• M. H. W. Engelaar, Z. Zhang, E. E. Vlahakis, M. Lazar, and S. Haesaert, “Risk-Aware Real-Time Task Allocation for Stochastic Multi-Agent Systems under STL Specifications”, the 63rd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC 2024), Milan, Italy, Dec 16-19, 2024. [IEEE Xplore] [Arxiv]

• M. H. W. Engelaar, Z. Zhang, M. Lazar, and S. Haesaert, "Risk-Aware MPC for Stochastic Systems with Runtime Temporal Logics",  the 8th IFAC Conference on Analysis and Design of Hybrid Systems (ADHS 2024),  Boulder, the USA,1-3 July 2024. [ScienceDirect][Arxiv][ResearchGate]

• S. Qi, Z. Zhang, S. Haesaert, and Z. Sun, "Automated Formation Control Synthesis from Temporal Logic Specifications",  62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC 2023), Singapore, 13-15 Dec 2023. [IEEE Xplore] [Arxiv] [ResearchGate]

• Z. Zhang and S. Haesaert, "Modularized Control Synthesis for Complex Signal Temporal Logic Specifications",   62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC 2023), Singapore, 13-15 Dec 2023. [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv] [ResearchGate] [presentation]

• L. C. Wu, Z. Zhang, S. Haesaert, Z. Ma, and Z. Sun, "Risk-Aware Reward Shaping of Reinforcement Learning Agents for Autonomous Driving", 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2023), Singapore, 16-19 Oct 2023. [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv] [ResearchGate] [presentation]

• N. Dang, T. Shi, Z. Zhang, W. Jin, M. Leibold, and M.Buss, "Identifying Reaction-Aware Driving Styles of Stochastic Model Predictive Controlled Vehicles by Inverse Reinforcement Learning", 26th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC 2023), Bilbao, Spain, 24-28 Sept 2023.  [IEEE Xplore] [ArXiv] [ResearchGate][presentation]

• Z. Zhang, Y. Wang, and Dirk Wollherr, "Safe Tracking Control of Euler-Lagrangian Systems Based on A Novel Adaptive Super-twisting Algorithm", 21st IFAC World Congress, Berlin, Germany, 11-17 July 2020. [ScienceDirect][ResearchGate][presentation]

• Y. Sun, Z. Zhang, M. Leibold, R. Hayat, D. Wollherr, and M. Buss. "Protective Control For Robot Manipulator By Sliding Mode Based Disturbance Reconstruction Approach." 2017 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM). Munich, Germany, 03-07 July 2017. [IEEE Xplore] [ResearchGate][presentation]

Presentations and Posters

• Z. Zhang, Z. Sun, and S. Haesaert,  “Intention-Aware Control Based on Belief-Space Specifications and Stochastic Expansion”, in the AI Triangle workshop on Learning in Control & Robotics,  Aachen, Germany, 16 Sept 2024. [poster]

• Z. Zhang, Z. Sun, and S. Haesaert, "Risk-Aware Task Assignment with Formal Specifications for Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems", in the 42nd Benelux Meeting on Systems and Control, Elspeet, The Netherlands, 21-23 Mar 2023. [presentation]

• Z. Zhang, K. Qian, B. W. Schuller, and D. Wollherr, "An Online Robot Collision Detection and Identification Scheme by Supervised Learning and Bayesian Decision Theory", in the 17th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2021), Lyon, France, 23-27 Aug 2021. [presentation]

Technical Report

• Z. Zhang, G. Badakis, M. Galanis, A. Bavarşi, E. van Hassel, M. Alirezaei, S. Haesaert, "A Vehicle-in-the-Loop Simulator with AI-Powered Digital Twins for Testing Automated Driving Controllers", July 2025. [ArXiv]

• E. Casablanca, Z. Zhang, G. Marchesini, S. Haesaert, D. V. Dimarogonas, S. Soudjani, “SymAware: A Software Development Framework for Trustworthy Multi-Agent Systems with Situational Awareness”, Sept 2024. [ArXiv]

• T. V. D. Laar, Z. Zhang, S. Qi, S. Haesaert, Z. Sun, “VernaCopter: Disambiguated Natural-Language-Driven Robot via Formal Specifications”, Sept 2024. [ArXiv]

• J. Hong, Z. Zhang, A. M. Soufi Enayati, H. Najjaran, "Human-Robot Skill Transfer with Enhanced Compliance via Dynamic Movement Primitives", Apr 2023. [ArXiv]

Invited Talks

• Z. Zhang, Optimal Coverage of Unicycle Robots with Constant-Speed and Input-Saturation Constraints, at Technical University of Munich,  Munich, Germany, August 2022, (Invited by Prof. Sandra Hirche).

• Z. Zhang, A Novel Safety Framework for Human-Robot Collaboration: Torque Sensor-less Collision Detection and Identification. Symposium at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, 2019, (Invited by Prof. Ye Yuan).

• Z. Zhang, Towards a Novel Framework for Implementing Safety Human-Robot Collaboration. Symposium at East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China, 2020, (Invited by Dr. Dong Xue).

Technology Transfer

• Zengjie Zhang, Sensor-less Collision Detector for Robot Manipulators, Technical University of Munich, 2018.

Granted Patents

• Zengjie Zhang, Huijun Gao, Peng Peng, Shidong Xu, Yang Yu, PCI multifunctional digital control system oriented to high speed embedded control system, CN103760826A, 2016, [Google Patents]. 

• Huijun Gao, Zengjie Zhang, Guanghui Sun, Yiyong Sun, Yu Ren, Towards two axial plane motion control cards and the two axial plane motion control methods of full-automatic surperficial mounting system, CN103744405B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Zengjie Zhang, Wenlin Xie, Bobo Qiu, Shidong Xu, Be applied to multi-mode high-speed data acquistion system and the multi-mode High Speed Data Collection Method of high speed surface mounting device, CN103744333B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Wenlin Xie, Zengjie Zhang, Guanghui Sun, Shidong Xu, Real-time sampling control system and method of fully-automatic chip mounter in DOS, CN103760813A, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Shidong Xu, Yu Ren, Zengjie Zhang, Wenlin Xie, A kind of based on the triggering method of isa bus with the linear array scanning industrial camera of filter function, CN103237174B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Wenlin Xie, Peng Peng, Guanghui Sun, Zengjie Zhang, Method for parallel communication of ISA bus and extension secondary bus of full-automatic chip mounter and system for implementing the method, CN103761200A, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Guanghui Sun, Yu Ren, Huijun Gao, Yiyong, Sun, Zengjie Zhang, Wenlin Xie, The quick accurately predicting localization method of industry straight-line motion mechanism and positioning system, CN103699054B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Shidong Xu, Zhandong Yu, Wenlin Xie, Zengjie Zhang, The method of full-automatic chip mounter nozzle head axle initial point quick position, CN103269576B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Guanghui Sun, Yu Ren, Huijun Gao, Jinyong Yu, Yiyong Sun, Zengjie Zhang,  Low-precision multi-sensor fused original point precise positioning system and positioning method, CN103760921A, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Guanghui Sun, Shidong Xu, Hanyu Wang, Yang Yu, Wenlin Xie, Zengjie Zhang, For controlling method that full-automatic chip mounter cantilever beams moves along Y-axis high-precise synchronization and device, CN103744404B, 2016, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Chengming Yang, Jia You, Ning Liu, Zhandong Yu, Yiyong Sun, Yu Ren, Hao Sun, Wenlin Xie, Zengjie Zhang, High-precision chip mounting head device, CN103717006A, 2016, [Google Patents].

Filed Patent Applications

• Zengjie Zhang, Sensor-less Collision Detector for Robot Manipulators, Technical University of Munich, Siemens AG, 2018-07E03 MR.

• Huijun Gao, Zengjie Zhang, Guanghui Sun, Yang Yu, Bobo Qiu, PCI (peripheral component interconnect) slave unit core control module applied to high-speed motion control system, CN103729165A,  [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Peng Peng, Guanghui Sun, Zengjie Zhang, Yiyong Sun, Double-bus control mode multi-IO control device facing to high-speed chip mounter, CN103728909A, [Google Patents].

• Huijun Gao, Jia You, Ning Liu, Chengming Yang, Zhandong Yu, Yiyong Sun, Yu Ren, Zengjie Zhang, Wenlin Xie, Chip mounter cross beam with functions of adjusting and locking linear guideways, CN103702524A, [Google Patents].