Alicia Lai

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Alicia Lai is a robotics researcher whose work spans two frontier domains: planetary exploration and subsea teleoperation. Her early contributions to Mars rover technology, captured in her widely cited 1998 paper on long-range planetary rovers, emerged in the wake of NASA's landmark Mars Pathfinder mission and helped shape international thinking about mobile robotic systems capable of conducting science and sample return across vast Martian terrain. This work garnered 31 citations, reflecting its influence during a pivotal era in space robotics. Lai's subsequent research shifted focus to the equally challenging environment of deep-sea operations, where she tackled the formidable problem of performing complex manipulative tasks through severely bandwidth-limited acoustic communication links. Her 2002 paper on visual imagery for subsea teleprogramming, with 25 citations, demonstrated how remote camera integration could enable human operators to guide underwater robots effectively despite significant communication constraints. Complementing this, her work on bolting and unbolting tasks validated teleprogramming approaches through rigorous in-air testing before real-world deployment. Across both domains, Lai's research addresses a unifying challenge: enabling intelligent, human-guided robotic work in environments hostile to direct human presence — a contribution that remains deeply relevant as both space and ocean exploration continue to expand.