Papers
118
Total Citations
5,861
H-Index
33
About
Maxim Likhachev is a prominent robotics and artificial intelligence researcher whose work has fundamentally advanced the field of heuristic search-based planning for autonomous systems. Best known for his pioneering contributions to anytime and replanning algorithms, Likhachev has shaped how robots navigate uncertain and dynamic environments. His landmark algorithm ARA* (2003, 595 citations) introduced a principled anytime heuristic search that delivers provably bounded suboptimal solutions while continuously improving answer quality under time constraints. Complementing this, his work on Anytime Dynamic A* (2005, 538 citations) and Fast Replanning (2005, 679 citations) enabled robots to efficiently replan as environmental knowledge evolves in real time. His simplification and extension of D* Lite (2002, 394 citations) further cemented his influence in incremental search methods. Beyond foundational algorithms, Likhachev extended these ideas to dynamic obstacle environments with SIPP (2011, 331 citations), robotic manipulation planning (2010), and topologically-constrained path planning (2012). His research culminated in practical hardware impact through the CHIMP robot platform (2015), designed for complex real-world tasks. With thousands of citations across a tightly focused body of work, Likhachev stands as a defining figure in computationally efficient robot planning research.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Fast replanning for navigation in unknown terrain679 citations · 2005
- 2ARA*: Anytime A* with Provable Bounds on Sub-Optimality595 citations · 2003
- 3Anytime dynamic A*: an anytime, replanning algorithm538 citations · 2005
- 4D*lite394 citations · 2002
- 5SIPP: Safe interval path planning for dynamic environments331 citations · 2011
- 6Improved fast replanning for robot navigation in unknown terrain296 citations · 2003
- 7Anytime search in dynamic graphs246 citations · 2008
- 8Topological constraints in search-based robot path planning177 citations · 2012
- 9Search-based planning for manipulation with motion primitives133 citations · 2010
- 10CHIMP, the CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform123 citations · 2015