Zheng Sun

About

Zheng Sun is a leading researcher in robotic motion planning, whose work has fundamentally advanced the field of probabilistic roadmap (PRM) planners. His primary research areas include sampling strategies for narrow passages in configuration spaces, optimal path planning on complex terrains, and energy-efficient robotic navigation. Sun's most influential contribution is the development of the "bridge test" for sampling narrow passages, a landmark paper with 358 citations that introduced a hybrid sampling strategy to overcome one of the most persistent challenges in PRM planning. This work, along with his subsequent papers on narrow passage sampling (173 citations) and cost-sensitive adaptive strategies (111 citations), established a systematic framework for addressing the narrow passage problem. Sun also made significant contributions to energy-minimizing path planning on terrains, where he modeled the physical costs of friction and gravity for mobile robots. His research on frictional mechanical systems explored the computational power of mechanical linkages, demonstrating remarkable breadth. With over 900 total citations across his most-cited works, Sun's research continues to influence both theoretical foundations and practical applications in robotic path planning.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   The bridge test for sampling narrow passages with probabilistic roadmap planners

   358 citations · 2004
2. 2
   Narrow passage sampling for probabilistic roadmap planning

   173 citations · 2005
3. 3
   Hybrid PRM Sampling with a Cost-Sensitive Adaptive Strategy

   111 citations · 2006
4. 4
   On finding energy-minimizing paths on terrains

   83 citations · 2005
5. 5
   On finding approximate optimal paths in weighted regions

   62 citations · 2004
6. 6
   On energy-minimizing paths on terrains for a mobile robot

   47 citations · 2004
7. 7
   Movement Planning in the Presence of Flows

   30 citations · 2004
8. 8
   On Robotic Optimal Path Planning in Polygonal Regions With Pseudo-Euclidean Metrics

   23 citations · 2007
9. 9
   Adaptively combining multiple sampling strategies for probabilistic roadmap planning

   16 citations · 2005
10. 10
    On Frictional Mechanical Systems and Their Computational Power

    11 citations · 2003

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links