David Hyunchul Shim

About

David Hyunchul Shim is a pioneering robotics and autonomous systems researcher whose work spans unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), multi-robot coordination, and autonomous navigation. His early foundational contributions in the 2000s established robust frameworks for controlling rotorcraft-based UAVs, including a widely adopted flight control system and decentralized nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) for multiple autonomous helicopters operating under complex constraints — work that has collectively garnered over 400 citations and remains highly influential in aerial robotics. Shim's research creativity is evident in his diverse problem-solving approach: he developed a novel UAV-based algorithm for herding flocks of birds away from airport airspace (143 citations), and pioneered direct visual servoing frameworks for autonomous drone racing in obstacle-dense environments. His contributions to ground robotics are equally significant, including assistive delivery robots for real-world postal services and multi-floor indoor delivery systems. Perhaps most notably, Shim contributed to the award-winning TEAM CoSTAR effort in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, developing the NeBula autonomy architecture for robots navigating challenging underground environments — work recognized across two high-impact publications totaling over 150 citations. His career reflects a sustained commitment to translating autonomous systems research into practical, real-world applications.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Decentralized nonlinear model predictive control of multiple flying robots

   216 citations · 2003
2. 2
   A FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AERIAL ROBOTS: ALGORITHMS AND EXPERIMENTS

   195 citations · 2002
3. 3
   Robotic Herding of a Flock of Birds Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

   143 citations · 2018
4. 4
   NeBula: Quest for Robotic Autonomy in Challenging Environments; TEAM\n CoSTAR at the DARPA Subterranean Challenge

   105 citations · 2021
5. 5
   A direct visual servoing‐based framework for the 2016 IROS Autonomous Drone Racing Challenge

   60 citations · 2017
6. 6
   Assistive Delivery Robot Application for Real-World Postal Services

   59 citations · 2021
7. 7
   NeBula: TEAM CoSTAR's Robotic Autonomy Solution that Won Phase II of DARPA Subterranean Challenge

   51 citations · 2022
8. 8
   Flying robots: modeling, control and decision making

   45 citations · 2002
9. 9
   Decentralized Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Multiple Flying Robots in Dynamic Environments

   39 citations · 2003
10. 10
    Development of an Indoor Delivery Mobile Robot for a Multi-Floor Environment

    29 citations · 2024

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links