Jiankun Wang

About

Jiankun Wang is a prominent robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of motion planning, machine learning, and autonomous mobile systems. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to learning-based path planning algorithms, particularly innovations that enhance the efficiency and optimality of Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) variants. His landmark paper "Neural RRT*: Learning-Based Optimal Path Planning" (2020) has accumulated over 530 citations, establishing him as a leading voice in combining deep learning with classical sampling-based planners. Wang has consistently addressed fundamental limitations of conventional RRT algorithms — including slow convergence, memory inefficiency, and trap-space problems — through creative solutions such as elastic band optimization (EB-RRT, 153 citations), Voronoi diagram-based heuristics (172 citations), and Gaussian Mixture Regression sampling (GMR-RRT*, 103 citations). His adoption of Generative Adversarial Networks for heuristic-guided planning further demonstrates his commitment to data-driven robotics. Beyond algorithmic development, Wang has shaped the broader research community through influential survey papers on learning-based motion planning and biomimetic robotics. His cumulative citation record reflects substantial and growing impact on autonomous robot navigation research worldwide.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Neural RRT*: Learning-Based Optimal Path Planning

   533 citations · 2020
2. 2
   A Generalized Voronoi Diagram-Based Efficient Heuristic Path Planning Method for RRTs in Mobile Robots

   172 citations · 2021
3. 3
   EB-RRT: Optimal Motion Planning for Mobile Robots

   153 citations · 2020
4. 4
   Kinematic Constrained Bi-directional RRT with Efficient Branch Pruning for robot path planning

   136 citations · 2020
5. 5
   GMR-RRT*: Sampling-Based Path Planning Using Gaussian Mixture Regression

   103 citations · 2022
6. 6
   A survey of learning‐based robot motion planning

   93 citations · 2021
7. 7
   Risk-DTRRT-Based Optimal Motion Planning Algorithm for Mobile Robots

   82 citations · 2018
8. 8
   A survey of the development of biomimetic intelligence and robotics

   77 citations · 2021
9. 9
   Generative Adversarial Network Based Heuristics for Sampling-Based Path Planning

   69 citations · 2021
10. 10
    Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks for Optimal Path Planning

    56 citations · 2021

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links