Short Bio

Hello, welcome to my homepage!

I am Wenda Zhao, a Ph.D. candidate in the Learning System and Robotics Lab at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and Technische Universität München (TUM) under Professor Angela P. Schoellig. I am also a Postgraduate Affiliated researcher at the University of Toronto Robotics Institute and Vector Institute (Toronto, ON, Canada) and Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) (Munich, Bavaria, Germany). Before coming to Toronto, I earned a MASc degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) from Tongji University in Shanghai, China in 2018. In the summer of 2016, I had the opportunity to attend the exchange program at RWTH Aachen University, Germany.

My research interests lie at the intersection of state estimation and machine learning for mobile robotics. Meanwhile, I enjoy robotics hardware and software co-design. I am fascinated by the ability of robots to sense and interact with the physical world, which reminds us of the beauty and wonder that exist in nature.

Current Research

• Bayesian Estimation and Variational Inference
• Robust non-Gaussian Inference and Optimization
• Factor Graph-based State Estimation

Current Projects

• Robust filtering and learning-based Ultra-wideband (UWB) bias correction (Blog1: bias learning, Blog2: robust filtering)
• Large-scale UWB-based localization system design
• Robust state estimation for mobile robots
• Relative localization and coordination for swarm robots

Open Source Projects

• M-estimation based robust Kalman filter for UWB TDOA measurements. PR #707, (merged) Included in the Bitcraze Code Release 2021.03
• M-estimation based robust Kalman filter for UWB TWR measurements. PR #745, (merged) Included in the Bitcraze Code Release 2021.06
• UTIL: Ultra-wideband Dataset (webpage)

Teaching

• Teaching Assistant for AER 1217H, Development of Autonomous UAS at UTIAS, 2019 ~ 2023.
  Responsible for designing course materials, involving quadrotor PID controller, vision-based georeferencing, stereo camera visual odometry, and path planning algorithms.

• Undergraduate EngSci Thesis Supervision:
  Multi-Quadrotor Cooperative Fight with UWB-aided Relative State Estimation and Control.
  Xinyuan Sam Qiao, EngSci 2T2 Robotics Option.
  M.A.Sc. student (2023) under Professor Timothy D. Barfoot.

First-Author Publications

• Wenda Zhao, Abhishek Goudar, Mingliang Tang, Xinyuan Qiao, and Angela P. Schoellig, Uncertainty-aware Gaussian Mixture Model for UWB Time Difference of Arrival Localization in Cluttered Environments - IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2023. [paper].

• Wenda Zhao, Abhishek Goudar, Xinyuan Qiao, and Angela P. Schoellig, UTIL: An Ultra-wideband Time-difference-of-arrival Indoor Localization Dataset - International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), 2024. [paper], [webpage].

• Wenda Zhao, Abhishek Goudar, and Angela P. Schoellig, Finding the Right Place: Sensor Placement for UWB Time Difference of Arrival Localization in Cluttered Indoor Environments - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), presented at ICRA, 2023. [paper].

• Wenda Zhao, Jacopo Panerati, and Angela P. Schoellig, Learning-based Bias Correction for Time Difference of Arrival Ultra-wideband Localization of Resource-constrained Mobile Robots - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), presented at ICRA, 2021. [paper].

• Wenda Zhao, Marijan Vukosavljev, and Angela P. Schoellig, Optimal Geometry for Ultra-wideband Localization using Bayesian Optimization - International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) World Congress, 2020. [paper].

• Wenda Zhao, Yongqing Su, Jiguang Yue, Huihua Mu, and Xuejiao Liu, Fragility Analysis and Weak Point Identification of Power Systems - In AOPC 2017: 3D Measurement Technology for Intelligent Manufacturing, 2017. [paper].

Collaborated Publications

• Abhishek Goudar, Wenda Zhao, and Angela P. Schoellig, Range-visual-inertial sensor fusion for micro aerial vehicle localization and navigation - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), 2023. [paper].

• Abhishek Goudar, Wenda Zhao, Timothy D. Barfoot, and Angela P. Schoellig, Gaussian Variational Inference with Covariance Constraints Applied to Range-only Localization - IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2022. [paper].

• Siqi Zhou, Karime Pereida, Wenda Zhao, and Angela P. Schoellig, Bridging the Model-Reality Gap with Lipschitz Network Adaptation - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), presented at ICRA, 2022. [paper].

• Navid Kayhani, Wenda Zhao, Brenda McCabe, and Angela P. Schoellig, Tag-based Visual-inertial Localization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Indoor Construction Environments using an On-manifold Extended Kalman Filter - Automation in Construction, 2022. [paper].

• Navid Kayhani, Adam Heins, Wenda Zhao, Mohammad Nahangi, Brenda McCabe, and Angela P. Schoellig. Improved tag-based indoor localization of UAVs using extended Kalman filter - International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), 2019. [paper].

Life

Video Editing

Christmas Video (2020)

Welcome to the Dynamic Systems Lab (2018)

Customized Robot Platform

A fleet of customized drones with CF-Bolt flight controller. Customized quadrotor platform with Pixhawk flight controller. UWB-Inertial handheld device with Raspberry Pi 4B.

 

Contact Information and Links

• Contact me via email:
  wenda.zhao@robotics.utias.utoronto.ca
• Links: LinkedIn, Google Scholar, GitHub