Gregory Hitz
Papers
12
Total Citations
593
H-Index
10
About
Gregory Hitz is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of autonomous systems, environmental monitoring, and intelligent path planning. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to **informative path planning (IPP)** — the challenge of guiding robots to gather maximally useful data in complex, large-scale environments. His 2020 framework for UAV-based terrain monitoring (161 citations) and his 2017 work on adaptive continuous-space IPP (139 citations) have become foundational references in the field, offering principled solutions for deploying autonomous aerial vehicles in real-world sensing missions. Hitz has applied these ideas across diverse platforms: from autonomous surface vessels designed to monitor inland waterways and detect harmful cyanobacterial blooms, to solar-powered UAVs capable of multi-day search-and-rescue operations by intelligently harvesting atmospheric updrafts. His earlier work also explored bio-inspired underwater robotics and autonomous construction, reflecting a broad engineering curiosity. With over 500 cumulative citations, his research has shaped how the robotics community thinks about deploying intelligent, self-directing robots for scientific and humanitarian purposes — making environmental and aerial monitoring faster, cheaper, and smarter.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1An informative path planning framework for UAV-based terrain monitoring161 citations · 2020
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- 4Fully autonomous focused exploration for robotic environmental monitoring61 citations · 2014
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- 6Fully autonomous focused exploration for robotic environmental monitoring38 citations · 2014
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- 8Multi-Agent Time-Based Decision-Making for the Search and Action Problem13 citations · 2018
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- 10System integration and fin trajectory Design for a robotic sea-turtle10 citations · 2013