David Gingras

Papers

Total Citations

113

H-Index

About

David Gingras is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of autonomous navigation, terrain reconstruction, and planetary exploration. His most notable contribution is the Canadian Planetary Emulation Terrain 3D Mapping Dataset (2013), a collection of 272 three-dimensional laser scans gathered at Canadian planetary analogue facilities, which has become a valuable benchmark resource for the robotics community, accumulating 54 citations. This dataset enables researchers to develop and test algorithms in Earth-based environments that closely mimic extraterrestrial conditions. Gingras has also made significant methodological contributions to rover motion planning. His 2010 work on rough terrain reconstruction introduced a two-step pipeline using 360-degree LIDAR scanning to build navigable 3D terrain models, earning 37 citations and establishing practical tools for robots operating in unstructured natural environments. Complementing this, his fluid mechanics-based path planning approach addressed the computational challenges of processing large 3D point clouds on irregular meshes, providing an elegant solution to navigation in deformed terrain geometries. Together, these contributions reflect Gingras's sustained focus on making autonomous mobile robots more capable and reliable in challenging, real-world environments, with particular relevance to planetary rover missions.