Jake Gemerek

Cornell University, Moog (United States)

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Jake Gemerek is a robotics researcher whose work bridges autonomous navigation, computer vision, and field robotics. His primary research areas include mobile robot control, directional sensor planning, and excavation autonomy. In his highly cited 2019 paper, Gemerek tackled the challenging problem of real-time human target tracking using a nonholonomic ground robot equipped with an onboard camera with bounded field-of-view—demonstrating how video processing can guide camera control for effective following. This work, with 14 citations, laid groundwork for vision-based autonomous surveillance and human-robot interaction. He further advanced sensor planning in 2022 by addressing occlusion avoidance for directional sensors, a critical issue in monitoring and surveillance applications where objects block visibility. Most recently, Gemerek introduced TERA (2025), a simulation environment for developing terrain excavation robot autonomy, enabling researchers to build and test excavation algorithms without the complexity and cost of physical experiments. His contributions span from foundational computer vision control to practical simulation tools for construction and mining robotics, reflecting a career dedicated to making autonomous systems more capable in real-world, unstructured environments.