Marilyn Nashman

About

Marilyn Nashman is a pioneering robotics and computer vision researcher whose work has fundamentally shaped how autonomous systems perceive and navigate their environments. Her research spans robot vision, motion analysis, and autonomous navigation, with particularly influential contributions to optical flow-based obstacle avoidance. Nashman's most celebrated work centers on using visual flow cues for real-time robot mobility. Her studies on central flow divergence and peripheral flow — garnering over 270 combined citations — demonstrated that robots could reliably navigate complex environments using motion vision alone, without relying on traditional depth sensors. This elegant approach to spatial perception proved highly influential in autonomous systems research. Her work on vision-based robotic convoy driving further extended these principles to coordinated multi-robot scenarios. Her career spans several decades of innovation, beginning with foundational contributions at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) in the early 1980s, where she developed a Six-Dimensional Vision System enabling robots to determine object position and orientation for precise grasping. Her collaborative work combining structured-light and infrared ranging techniques also advanced real-time robot servoing capabilities. Nashman's sustained contributions across perception, sensing, and autonomous navigation make her a significant figure in the development of intelligent robotic systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Real-time obstacle avoidance using central flow divergence and peripheral flow

   170 citations · 1995
2. 2
   Real-time obstacle avoidance using central flow divergence, and peripheral flow

   103 citations · 1998
3. 3
   Vision-based robotic convoy driving

   22 citations · 1995
4. 4
   Vision-based robotic convoy driving

   21 citations · 1995
5. 5
   <title>Six-Dimensional Vision System</title>

   19 citations · 1982
6. 6
   Real-time cooperative interaction between structured-light and reflectance ranging for robot guidance

   12 citations · 1985
7. 7
   Sensory Interactive Robots * *Contribution of the U.S. National Bureau of Standards, not subject to copyright.

   9 citations · 1981
8. 8
   A low level robot interface: the high speed host interface

   2 citations · 1986
9. 9
   Robotics support project for the Air Force ICAM program

   2 citations · 1981

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links