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Welcome to the Aerospace Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech.

Our research focuses on enabling aerospace systems to operate autonomously (safely, intelligently, and collaboratively) in uncertain and extreme environments—whether on the Moon, in orbit, or beyond.

At the heart of our work is a fundamental question: How can robotic systems make intelligent decisions in the face of uncertainty, while ensuring safety, robustness, and mission success? To answer this, the group develops theory, algorithms, and experimental systems at the intersection of:

  • EELS Multi-modal mobility platform
  • Stochastic optimal control
  • Info-GNC
  • Multi-Modal Robotic Systems for Extreme Terrain
    We design and prototype multi-modal robotic systems capable of traversing and operating in highly variable and uncertain environments—such as planetary caves, ice crevasses, or steep slopes. Inspired by platforms like EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor), these robots combine locomotion modes (e.g., wheeled, legged, slithering) with advanced onboard autonomy to adapt to unstructured terrain. Our focus includes dynamics modeling, real-time control adaptation, and perception-informed motion planning for resilient mobility in environments where conventional systems fail.
  • Decision-Making Under Uncertainty and Safe Exploration
    My group develops scalable methods for perception-driven planning and control under bounded and unbounded uncertainty, using tools from distributionally robust optimization, uncertainty quantification, and probabilistic inference.
  • Collaborative and Multi-Agent Autonomy
    We explore how heterogeneous teams of robots—including rovers, drones, and free-flyers—can reason jointly, share information, and act cooperatively under resource, communication, and safety constraints. Our recent work addresses distributed task allocation, formation planning for scientific objectives, and multi-agent motion planning with limited observability.
  • On-Orbit Inspection, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM)
    A key thrust of my lab is enabling autonomous in-space assembly and reconfiguration of large structures such as antennas and trusses. We study multi-spacecraft coordination, contact dynamics, and uncertainty-aware manipulation for next-generation orbital construction systems.

We aim to combine rigorous mathematical foundations with hardware validation in laboratory and field environments, advancing the frontier of autonomy in space exploration. Our long-term vision is to enable trustworthy, adaptive, and resilient robotic systems that can serve as partners in exploration, science, and infrastructure development in the most challenging environments known to humanity.

Director / PI
Dr. Yashwanth Nakka,
Assistant Professor, PhD,
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology