Ting Zhu receives grant on localization, mapping techniques

[This article originally appeared on the CSEE website]

CSEE professor Ting Zhu received an award from the National Science Foundation to develop improved techniques for identifying a person’s location in dynamically changing environments. The award of $250,000 will support the three-year research project, Real-Time Indoor and Outdoor Simultaneous Localization and Mapping.

Location-based service was ranked number one for the top technology trends by a recent survey in Time magazine, with potential applications in the area of location-based advertising, recommendation, navigation, asset recovery, and gaming. While many companies are working to improve location-based services, most existing indoor and outdoor maps are relatively static. In reality, many indoor and outdoor environments are highly dynamic, raising the need for novel techniques and systems to improve simultaneous localization, mapping, and navigation in modern cities. Moreover, in tasks such as disaster recovery, teams of individuals must cooperate with one another and benefit from accurately knowing their relative positions.

Dr. Zhu’s project introduces a holistic approach for providing real-time, light-weight, and accurate relative positioning to detect peers in both indoor and outdoor environments. The research will advance the development of both the theoretical foundations and practical algorithms for simultaneous localization and mapping.