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Recent Posts
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04/13/25 “Pumping” Like a Skater
Skater-Inspired Vehicle Control Strategy Accepted to IAV 2025
This research has been accepted to the 12th IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAV 2025). It introduces a novel, bio-inspired approach to improve vehicle speed and energy efficiency using active suspension systems.
You’ve probably seen skateboarders in a half-pipe, generating speed not by pushing off the ground, but by skillfully shifting their weight up and down. This motion—called “pumping”—lets them accelerate without any external force. Inspired by this, we asked an interesting question: If a human on a skateboard can gain speed without an engine, can a vehicle with an active suspension system do the same?
In our recent research work, led by Zhaodong Zhou (Oakland University) in collaboration with Prof. Jun Chen and myself (ClearMotion), we provided an answer: yes, it’s possible. By actively modulating suspension movements in sync with road geometry—just like a skater’s rhythm—a car can increase its speed while descending, without any extra engine power. This idea of “vehicular pumping” could open up new possibilities in energy efficiency and advanced suspension design.
We’re excited that this work has been accepted to the 12th IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAV 2025).
Full paper: [Pre-print]
Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss active suspension control, vehicle dynamics, or bio-inspired engineering strategies.
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12/23/24 ClearMotion on NIO ET9
As a controls researcher, it’s incredibly fulfilling to see our active suspension technology now in production in NIO’s flagship ET9. At this moment, I realize how the mathematical theories I’ve studied—algebra, differential equations, complex analysis, and control theories like linear systems, robust control, optimal control, output regulation, and adaptive dynamic programming—could come together to create something tangible. I hope many of my colleagues in the controls community can share in this excitement.
Reference
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12/01/23 Senior Technical Specialist
I’m happy to share that I have been promoted to Senior Technical Specialist – Advanced Research at ClearMotion! I look forward to continuing my work in cutting-edge research (motion planning, SLAM, reinforcement learning, and AI in general) to enhance our intelligent active suspension systems, elevating driving safety, comfort, and bringing more fun to every journey in the vehicle. Thanks to the ClearMotion team for the support! hashtag#changetheride
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01/19/23 Paper accepted by ACC 2023
Our paper “On XYZ-Motion Planning for Autonomous Vehicles with Active Suspension Systems” has been accepted by 2023 IEEE American Control Conference (ACC 2023). I will attend the conference in person in San Diego, CA.
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12/07/22 Talk at Boston AV meetup group
I will be giving a presentation at Boston Autonomous Vehicles Meetup Group. The title of the presentation is XYZ Motion Planning for Autonomous Vehicles with Active Suspension Systems.
More details of the events can be found here meetup.com
