Sara Susca

About

Sara Susca is a leading researcher in robotics and sensor networks, whose work has fundamentally advanced how autonomous systems perceive and interact with their environments. Her primary research areas include distributed robotic sensor networks, environmental boundary monitoring, and robust pose estimation for legged robots in GPS-denied environments. Susca’s most influential contribution is her pioneering algorithm for monitoring environmental boundaries with mobile sensors, detailed in her highly cited 2008 paper (213 citations). This work enables a network of robots to optimally approximate a contour using only local sensed information, a breakthrough with profound implications for environmental monitoring and disaster response. She further expanded this foundation through her tutorial on collective motion in sensor networks (66 citations), which has become a key reference for researchers in multi-vehicle coordination. In a notable shift to legged robotics, Susca developed a real-time, multi-sensor system for 6-DOF pose estimation on dynamic quadrupeds, achieving better than 0.5m accuracy over 50m traveled in complex, day/night outdoor terrain (57 citations). This work, enabling 24-hour autonomous operation in GPS-denied conditions, has been critical for field robotics. Her elegant application of consensus algorithms to distributed estimation problems showcases her ability to solve complex geometric challenges with simple, provably correct feedback strategies, cementing her reputation as a key innovator in autonomous systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Monitoring Environmental Boundaries With a Robotic Sensor Network

   213 citations · 2008
2. 2
   On collective motion in sensor networks: sample problems and distributed algorithms

   66 citations · 2006
3. 3
   Monitoring environmental boundaries with a robotic sensor network

   61 citations · 2006
4. 4
   Robust multi-sensor, day/night 6-DOF pose estimation for a dynamic legged vehicle in GPS-denied environments

   57 citations · 2012
5. 5
   Real-time pose estimation of a dynamic quadruped in GPS-denied environments for 24-hour operation

   46 citations · 2015
6. 6
   Monitoring Environmental Boundaries with a Robotic Sensor Network

   8 citations · 2006
7. 7
   Gradient algorithms for polygonal approximation of convex contours

   7 citations · 2009
8. 8
   Distributed algorithms for polygonal approximation of convex contours

   5 citations · 2006
9. 9
   Distributed boundary estimation and monitoring

   2 citations · 2007

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links