Multi-View Depth Estimation for Planar Light-Field Arrays
Research Immersion Lab project evaluating multi-view depth estimation algorithms on planar light-field camera arrays, as part of the FROST project.
I am a Ph.D. student at the Telecommunications Lab of Saarland University, which I joined in February 2025. My Ph.D. is funded by the Saarland/Intel Joint Program on the Future of Graphics and Media. I work on 3D computer vision for next-generation visual media within the FROST project: light-field scene representations, light-field rendering and multi-view depth estimation.
My background combines computer vision and robotics, with a focus on multi-modal 3D perception and RGB–depth sensor fusion: fusing LiDAR point clouds with camera images for object detection, RGB-D fusion for autonomous drone perching, active vision under limited fields of view, and visual-inertial state estimation for multi-robot aerial systems.
I received my M.Sc. in Robotics from the University of Bristol in 2024 and my B.Sc. in Robotics from Beijing Institute of Technology in 2022, with a Distinguished Bachelor's Thesis on LiDAR–camera active vision, supervised by Prof. Yushu Yu, Prof. Vincenzo Lippiello and Dr. Mauro Bellone.
- 3D computer vision
- Depth estimation
- RGB–depth sensor fusion
- Light fields & rendering
- 3D scene representations
- Robot perception
News
- Oct 2026 My first-author paper Froxels for Production: Ray-Level Inspection and Consensus-Guided Light-Field Rendering has been accepted at ACM CVMP 2026 in London.
- Feb 2026 Completed my first-year Ph.D. coursework alongside my research: two Research Immersion Labs and the courses Image Compression and Audio/Visual Communication and Networks.
- Oct 2025 The tendon-driven perching project I worked on at the Bio-Inspired Flight Lab, University of Bristol, was published at IROS 2025 as Tendon-driven Grasper Design for Aerial Robot Perching on Tree Branches; I contributed to its early concept exploration.
- Feb 2025 I enrolled as a Ph.D. student at Saarland University, joining the Telecommunications Lab to work on light-field scene representations in the FROST project.
- Sep 2024 I completed my M.Sc. in Robotics at the University of Bristol.
- Jul 2024 Our paper on multi-agent visual-inertial localization for integrated aerial systems is published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
Older news
- May 2024 Attending ICRA 2024 in Yokohama, Japan, with three of our papers presented in oral sessions: Aerial Systems: Perception and Autonomy I, Aerial Systems: Mechanics and Control III and Multi-Robot SLAM.
- Jan 2024 Our paper Tight Fusion of Odometry and Kinematic Constraints for Multiple Aerial Vehicles in Physical Interconnection was accepted to ICRA 2024.
- Sep 2023 I started my M.Sc. in Robotics at the University of Bristol, with access to the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, one of the UK’s leading centres for robotics research.
- Aug 2023 Our work on real-time multi-modal active vision for object detection on UAVs was accepted to IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
Education
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Ph.D. Student
Feb 2025 – PresentSaarland University · Telecommunications Lab · Saarbrücken, Germany
- Advisor: Prof. Thorsten Herfet
- Research on light-field scene representations, multi-view depth estimation and light-field rendering within the FROST project.
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M.Sc. in Robotics
Sep 2023 – Sep 2024University of Bristol · Bristol, UK
- Thesis: Bio-inspired active motion and sensor fusion for uncrewed air vehicle environmental monitoring
- Advisors: Prof. Shane Windsor and Dr. Bahadir Kocer
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B.Sc. in Robotics
Aug 2018 – Jun 2022Beijing Institute of Technology · Beijing, China
- Distinguished Thesis: Active vision for object detection on UAVs equipped with limited field-of-view LiDAR and camera
- Advisors: Yushu Yu, Vincenzo Lippiello and Mauro Bellone
Selected Publications
Full list on Google Scholar2026
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Froxels for Production: Ray-Level Inspection and Consensus-Guided Light-Field Rendering
ACM European Conference on Visual Media Production (CVMP), London, UK, 2026. Accepted
This work will be presented by my co-authors at CVMP in London. Please feel welcome to reach out to them during the conference.
2024
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Multi-Agent Visual-Inertial Localization for Integrated Aerial Systems With Loose Fusion of Odometry and Kinematics
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 6504–6511, 2024.
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Tight Fusion of Odometry and Kinematic Constraints for Multiple Aerial Vehicles in Physical Interconnection
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 3891–3897, 2024.
2023
2022
Projects
Active Vision for Object Detection on UAVs with Camera and LiDAR
Turned LiDAR point clouds into multi-channel images and fused them with camera images for CNN object detection. Derived perception constraints that keep the region of interest in both sensors' limited fields of view, built them into a model predictive controller, and flew it on a real small-scale UAV.
Geometric Tube-Based MPC for Aerial Robots
Constrained control for systems on manifolds with uncertainties and input/state constraints, via tube-based MPC on Euclidean space. Proved input-to-state stability and recursive feasibility, and implemented the controller on real aerial robots.
Robust Control of Multiple Aerial-Vehicle Transportation Systems
Modelled multi-UAV cooperative transportation systems and designed a hierarchical control scheme that handles uncertainties and state/input constraints, compared against existing controllers in MATLAB simulation.
Obstacle-Avoidance Car with Raspberry Pi and Arduino
Real-time YOLOv3 detection of cars and blocks on a Raspberry Pi camera, combined with ultrasonic and infrared sensing and Raspberry Pi-to-Arduino serial motor control for autonomous obstacle avoidance.
Rotor-Wing Amphibious UAV
Modelled an amphibious quadrotor that keeps a submarine-style hull, with a retractable four-rotor structure for switching between flight and diving, plus onboard sensors and cameras for environmental monitoring.
Experience
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Research Intern
Sep 2024 – Dec 2024Czech Technical University in Prague · Multi-robot Systems (MRS) Group · Prague, Czech Republic
- Advisors: Dr. Robert Pěnička and Prof. Martin Saska
- Developed a perception-aware model predictive control system with integrated LiDAR sensing for autonomous drones.
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Graduate Researcher
Mar 2024 – Sep 2024University of Bristol · Bio-Inspired Flight Lab · Bristol, UK
- Advisors: Prof. Shane Windsor and Dr. Bahadir Kocer
- Worked on vision-based RGB-D fusion for robust, autonomous drone perching with a tendon-driven mechanism.
- Designed and built a bio-inspired gripper for the tendon-driven perching mechanism.
- Supervised a Bachelor’s student in refining the mechanism; the work was published at IROS 2025 (paper).
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Autonomous Driving Algorithm Developer (Intern)
Sep 2022 – Jun 2023Megvii Technology · Beijing, China
- Developed vision algorithms for obstacle detection and tracking based on multi-LiDAR and camera fusion.
- Helped build simulated driving-test software and ran semi-closed-loop and closed-loop vehicle tests with SUMO–CARLA co-simulation.
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Research Assistant, Data Mining and Analysis
Jul 2021 – Aug 2021North Carolina State University · Raleigh, NC, USA
- Advisor: Muhammad Shahzad
- Analysed spatiotemporal supply and usage data from 12 dockless e-scooter sharing systems across 11 cities to compare how they are used.
- Used Python data mining to study differences in urban travel behaviour and the use of micro-mobility platforms.
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Research Assistant, Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
Jul 2019 – Aug 2019Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA, USA
- Studied decision-making and Q-learning in the machine learning and AI summer school.
- Built a neural network that identifies the artist of a painting from its image.
Service & Honors
Reviewer
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)
- IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE)
- IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
- IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
- IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC)
Honors & Awards
- 2022 Distinguished Bachelor's Thesis, School of Mechatronic Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology