About

Dimitra Panagou is a leading researcher in autonomous systems, multi-robot coordination, and safe control theory, whose work sits at the intersection of control engineering, robotics, and formal methods. She is perhaps best known for pioneering the use of Lyapunov-like barrier functions for multi-agent coordination, a framework introduced in her highly cited 2015 paper (246 citations) that transformed how researchers approach multi-objective control problems in networked robotic systems. Her early contributions to vision-based leader-follower formations and nonholonomic vehicle navigation—combining Model Predictive Control with elegant vector field methods—established her as an authority on constrained motion planning in complex environments. Panagou's research consistently bridges theoretical rigor with practical applicability, spanning decentralized UAV planning in 3D obstacle environments to fixed-time control under spatiotemporal constraints. Her more recent work advances the frontier of Control Barrier Functions (CBFs), addressing real-world implementation challenges and extending the theory to stochastic, safety-critical systems through risk-aware formulations. With cumulative citations in the hundreds across a decade of influential publications, Panagou's scholarship continues to shape the foundations of provably safe autonomy for both ground and aerial robotic platforms.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

11
H-Index
34
Papers
819
Total Citations
24
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Distributed Coordination Control for Multi-Robot Networks Using Lyapunov-Like Barrier Functions
246 citations · 2015
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2025 (6 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 50
🏛 Institutions: University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, National Technical University of Athens, University of Delaware

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 15 days ago