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About

Anne Mahacek is a robotics researcher whose work centers on the development of low-cost, accessible testbeds for multi-robot systems, with a particular focus on adaptive navigation and multi-vehicle control. Her major contributions include the creation of a low-cost indoor testbed for multirobot adaptive navigation research, which enables the study of navigation techniques that adjust in real-time based on environmental measurements—a departure from conventional pre-defined path planning. She also developed the PVC-ROV underwater robotic testbed, a three-vehicle system built from inexpensive, hobby-class components, designed to advance research in multi-robot control for underwater environments. Additionally, her work on quadrotor testbed development at NASA Ames, in collaboration with Santa Clara University’s Robotics Systems Laboratory, extended cluster control techniques to aerial platforms. While her citation counts (10, 6, and 4 for her most-cited papers) reflect a focused but emerging impact, her emphasis on affordability and accessibility has made her testbeds valuable tools for hands-on robotics education and experimentation. Mahacek’s work exemplifies how practical, low-cost platforms can democratize research in adaptive and multi-robot systems.