Papers
41
Total Citations
630
H-Index
14
About
Feitian Zhang is a leading figure in bio-inspired underwater robotics, whose work bridges the gap between energy-efficient gliders and highly maneuverable robotic fish. His core research focuses on the design, modeling, and control of **gliding robotic fish**—a hybrid platform that combines the long endurance of underwater gliders with the agility of fin-actuated robots. Zhang’s major contributions include pioneering the miniature underwater glider concept (88 citations) and developing autonomous sampling algorithms for harmful algae monitoring (91 citations), demonstrating real-world environmental impact. He has also advanced soft robotics with super-coiled polymer-driven fish (20 citations) and explored distributed flow sensing for closed-loop speed control in flexible robots (43 citations). Notably, his work on tail-enabled spiraling maneuvers (31 citations) and steady spiraling motion (23 citations) has provided foundational analytical models for three-dimensional gliding. With over 380 total citations, Zhang’s innovations have direct applications in long-duration aquatic monitoring, and his recent foray into vision-and-language navigation (19 citations) signals a broader interest in autonomous robot navigation in continuous environments. His research is essential reading for anyone interested in energy-efficient, maneuverable underwater robots for environmental sensing.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Miniature Underwater Glider: Design and Experimental Results88 citations · 2014
- 3
- 4Tail-Enabled Spiraling Maneuver for Gliding Robotic Fish31 citations · 2014
- 5Miniature underwater glider: Design, modeling, and experimental results30 citations · 2012
- 6Steady spiraling motion of gliding robotic fish23 citations · 2012
- 7
- 8
- 9Gliding robotic fish for mobile sampling of aquatic environments18 citations · 2014
- 10Passivity-Based Stabilization of Underwater Gliders With a Control Surface17 citations · 2014