Holly Dinkel

Ames Research Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Holly Dinkel is an emerging researcher at the forefront of autonomous robotics and computer vision for space exploration applications. Her work focuses on enabling intelligent robotic systems to operate independently in microgravity environments, with a particular emphasis on change detection, 3D point cloud processing, and autonomous caretaking of space habitats. Dinkel's research addresses one of the most pressing challenges in future deep-space exploration: maintaining spacecraft and habitats like NASA's Gateway space station during extended uncrewed periods. Her most notable contributions include the development of novel algorithms for scene change detection using 3D point clouds, enabling free-flying robots such as NASA's Astrobee to autonomously monitor and assess their environments without human supervision. Her 2024 paper "AstrobeeCD: Change Detection in Microgravity with Free-Flying Robots" has already garnered 4 citations, while her complementary work on unsupervised change detection for space habitats has accumulated 2 citations — a strong early showing for recently published research. Together, these works represent a meaningful step toward truly autonomous robotic caretaking in space. Dinkel's research sits at a critical intersection of robotics, computer vision, and space systems engineering, positioning her as a promising voice in next-generation space exploration technology.