Staff profile

Background

Dr. Hu is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Computer Science at Durham University and a Fellow of Durham Energy Institute. Before joining Durham University, he was a Lecturer at University College London and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester. His research interests include swarm intelligence, multi-agent systems, cooperative path planning, distributed learning and control, with applications to autonomous vehicles and intelligent robotics.

Dr. Hu is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy. He serves as an Associate Editor for leading international journals and conferences in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, e.g., IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), and IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA).

Dr. Hu has been actively involved in many academic activities. He is a member of IEEE-CSS Technical Committee on Networks and Communication Systems, IEEE-RAS Technical Committee on Multi-Robot Systems, and IFAC Technical Committee on Large-Scale Complex Systems. He is also a member of EPSRC Peer Review College. 

 

PhD Opportunities

Outstanding graduate students wishing to read for a PhD degree in Robotics are encouraged to apply. The candidate should have strong interests and backgrounds in robotics, artificial intelligence, control systems, or mechatronics. In the first instance, please email your CV, cover letter, and transcripts to Dr. Hu.

• Autonomous Vehicles
• Distributed Networks
• Intelligent Control
• Multi-Agent Systems
• Swarm Robotics

Conference Paper

• Watson, M., Ren, H., Arvin, F., & Hu, J. (2024, August). Predator-Prey Q-Learning Based Collaborative Coverage Path Planning for Swarm Robotics ⋆. Presented at 2024 Annual Conference Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (TAROS), London
• Sun, H., Hu, J., Dai, L., & Chen, B. (2024, August). A Multi-Agent Path Planning Strategy with Reconfigurable Topology in Unknown Environments. Presented at 2024 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), Bari, Italy
• Champagnie, K., Chen, B., Arvin, F., & Hu, J. (2024, August). Online Multi-Robot Coverage Path Planning in Dynamic Environments Through Pheromone-Based Reinforcement Learning. Presented at 2024 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), Bari, Italy
• Agachi, C., Arvin, F., & Hu, J. (2024, August). RRT*-Based Leader-Follower Trajectory Planning and Tracking in Multi-Agent Systems. Presented at 2024 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Systems (IS), Varna, Bulgaria
• Champagnie, K., Arvin, F., & Hu, J. (2024, March). Decentralized Multi-Agent Coverage Path Planning with Greedy Entropy Maximization. Presented at 2024 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Bristol, UK
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Ding, Z., & Arvin, F. (2023, July). Distributed Bearing-Only Formation Control for Heterogeneous Nonlinear Multi-Robot Systems
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2022, July). Mixed Controller Design for Multi-Vehicle Formation Based on Edge and Bearing Measurements. Presented at 2022 European Control Conference (ECC), London, United Kingdom
• Jang, I., Hu, J., Arvin, F., Carrasco, J., & Lennox, B. (2021, August). Omnipotent Virtual Giant for Remote Human–Swarm Interaction. Presented at 2021 30th IEEE International Conference on Robot & Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), Vancouver, BC, Canada

Journal Article

• Hu, J., Turgut, A. E., Krajnik, T., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (online). Occlusion-Based Coordination Protocol Design for Autonomous Robotic Shepherding Tasks. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, 14(1), https://doi.org/10.1109/tcds.2020.3018549
• Rekabi-Bana, F., Hu, J., Krajník, T., & Arvin, F. (2024). Unified Robust Path Planning and Optimal Trajectory Generation for Efficient 3D Area Coverage of Quadrotor UAVs. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 25(3), 2492-2507. https://doi.org/10.1109/tits.2023.3320049
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Li, Z., Ding, Z., & Arvin, F. (2024). Distributed Collision-Free Bearing Coordination of Multi-UAV Systems With Actuator Faults and Time Delays. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1109/tits.2024.3364356
• Xie, S., Hu, J., Ding, Z., & Arvin, F. (2023). Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control for Connected Autonomous Vehicles using Spring Damping Energy Model. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 72(3), 2974 - 2987. https://doi.org/10.1109/tvt.2022.3218575
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Ding, Z., & Arvin, F. (2023). Finite-Time Fault-Tolerant Formation Control for Distributed Multi-Vehicle Networks With Bearing Measurements. IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1109/tase.2023.3239748
• Xie, S., Hu, J., Bhowmick, P., Ding, Z., & Arvin, F. (2022). Distributed Motion Planning for Safe Autonomous Vehicle Overtaking via Artificial Potential Field. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(11), 21531- 21547. https://doi.org/10.1109/tits.2022.3189741
• Hu, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2022). Robust formation control for networked robotic systems using Negative Imaginary dynamics. Automatica, 140, Article 110235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.automatica.2022.110235
• Hu, J., Niu, H., Carrasco, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2022). Fault-tolerant cooperative navigation of networked UAV swarms for forest fire monitoring. Aerospace Science and Technology, 123, Article 107494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2022.107494
• Hu, J., Turgut, A. E., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2022). Robust Formation Coordination of Robot Swarms With Nonlinear Dynamics and Unknown Disturbances: Design and Experiments. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, 69(1), 114-118. https://doi.org/10.1109/tcsii.2021.3074705
• Ban, Z., Hu, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2021). Self-Organised Collision-Free Flocking Mechanism in Heterogeneous Robot Swarms. Mobile Networks and Applications, 26(6), 2461–2471. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-021-01785-7
• Hu, J., Bhowmick, P., Jang, I., Arvin, F., & Lanzon, A. (2021). A Decentralized Cluster Formation Containment Framework for Multirobot Systems. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 37(6), 1936-1955. https://doi.org/10.1109/tro.2021.3071615
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2021). Finite-Time Bearing-Only Formation Tracking of Heterogeneous Mobile Robots With Collision Avoidance. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, 68(10), 3316-3320. https://doi.org/10.1109/tcsii.2021.3066555
• Wu, K., Hu, J., Lennox, B., & Arvin, F. (2021). SDP-Based Robust Formation-Containment Coordination of Swarm Robotic Systems with Input Saturation. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 102(1), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01368-4