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About

Douglas Thomson is a robotics and autonomous systems researcher whose work spans mobile robot control, fault detection, and planetary exploration. He is best known for pioneering the application of Inverse Simulation to wheeled mobile robots, a technique that delivers highly accurate trajectory tracking by working backwards from a desired response to determine the required control inputs. His 2015 paper on this approach has garnered 10 citations, establishing him as an early advocate for Inverse Simulation in ground robotics. Thomson subsequently extended this methodology into fault detection and isolation for planetary rovers, recognising the critical reliability demands placed on robotic systems operating millions of kilometres from human intervention. More recently, his research has shifted towards autonomous multi-robot teams for planetary surface exploration, with studies examining coordinated mission planning in environments such as Jezero Crater on Mars, incorporating orbital imaging data and probabilistic methods to guide rover teams intelligently. His 2024 and 2025 publications reflect a growing ambition to address the fundamental autonomy limitations constraining current planetary missions. Complementing this, his comparative study of RRT-based path planning algorithms advances robust navigation over challenging three-dimensional terrains. Across roughly a decade of research, Thomson has built a coherent body of work bridging control theory, fault tolerance, and autonomous exploration robotics.