Dina Youakim

Papers

Total Citations

130

H-Index

About

Dina Youakim is a leading researcher in autonomous underwater robotics, specializing in manipulation, motion planning, and obstacle avoidance for subsea intervention. Her work bridges the gap between terrestrial mobile robotics and the challenging underwater domain, where visibility, communication, and dynamic environments impose unique constraints. Youakim’s most influential contribution is her 2018 paper on a **3D laser scanner for underwater manipulation** (64 citations), which enabled precise perception and object interaction in low-visibility conditions—a critical advance for tasks like valve turning and connector plugging. Her **motion planning survey** (51 citations) systematically analyzed autonomous manipulator strategies, providing a foundational framework for the field. She further refined control systems with her **Task-Priority framework for obstacle avoidance** (15 citations), offering a practical formulation for real-time collision avoidance during inspection and intervention missions. Collectively, her work has shaped how underwater robots perceive, plan, and act autonomously, advancing capabilities from simple pick-and-place to complex, dexterous manipulation. Youakim’s research is essential reading for engineers and scientists developing next-generation autonomous underwater vehicles for offshore energy, marine science, and subsea infrastructure maintenance.