Scott C. Livingston
Papers
10
Total Citations
169
H-Index
5
About
Scott C. Livingston is a robotics and formal methods researcher whose work sits at the intersection of control theory, temporal logic synthesis, and autonomous systems. He is best known for developing principled, mathematically rigorous approaches to synthesizing robot controllers that are provably correct by construction — even in uncertain or dynamically changing environments. His landmark 2012 paper on backtracking temporal logic synthesis (62 citations) addressed a core challenge in robotics: enabling agents to navigate worlds with uncertain but fixed structure, laying groundwork for safer autonomous systems. Complementing this, his work on patching GR(1) game strategies (32 citations) introduced efficient methods for repairing controllers when task specifications change, rather than recomputing solutions from scratch — a practically significant contribution. Livingston has also applied formal synthesis to dexterous robotic manipulation (29 citations), multi-objective decision-making with temporal logic constraints, and proactive human-robot interaction in autonomous driving contexts. His research on Signal Temporal Logic and reachability theory further bridges formal verification with real-world dynamical systems. Across his career, Livingston has consistently advanced the field's ability to deploy provably safe, adaptable robot controllers in complex, real-world scenarios.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Backtracking temporal logic synthesis for uncertain environments62 citations · 2012
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- 4Signal Temporal Logic Meets Reachability: Connections and Applications14 citations · 2020
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- 8Hot-swapping robot task goals in reactive formal synthesis4 citations · 2014
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- 10Enhancing tolerance to unexpected jumps in GR(1) games2 citations · 2017