Papers
13
Total Citations
443
H-Index
9
About
Boris Sofman is a leading figure in field robotics, whose work has fundamentally advanced how autonomous vehicles navigate unstructured, outdoor environments. His research centers on self-supervised learning, terrain perception, and real-time anomaly detection, all aimed at making robots safer and more capable in the wild. In his highly cited 2006 paper (113 citations), Sofman pioneered a self-supervised online learning framework that allows robots to improve their navigation by leveraging overhead imagery—a feature that traditionally generalized poorly—to predict terrain traversability. This work laid the foundation for his broader contributions to long-range navigation, where he demonstrated how aerial data could be processed to support ground vehicles over vast distances. Sofman also made critical advances in robot safeguarding, developing "anytime" novelty and change detection systems that enable robots to identify hazardous, unfamiliar situations before failure occurs. His 2010 paper on learning for autonomous navigation (94 citations) synthesizes these themes, showcasing how machine learning can bridge the gap between prior knowledge and onboard perception. With over 400 total citations, Sofman’s research remains essential reading for anyone building robots that must operate reliably in complex, unpredictable terrain.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Improving robot navigation through self‐supervised online learning113 citations · 2006
- 2Learning for Autonomous Navigation94 citations · 2010
- 3Improving Robot Navigation Through Self-Supervised Online Learning50 citations · 2006
- 4
- 5Terrain Classification from Aerial Data to Support Ground Vehicle Navigation39 citations · 2018
- 6Anytime online novelty and change detection for mobile robots38 citations · 2011
- 7Anytime online novelty detection for vehicle safeguarding22 citations · 2010
- 8Efficient Optimization of Control Libraries16 citations · 2011
- 9Segmentation-based online change detection for mobile robots15 citations · 2011
- 10Anytime Online Novelty Detection for Vehicle Safeguarding3 citations · 2009