Ioana Lal

Spitalul Clinic Județean de Urgență Cluj-Napoca, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Ioana Lal is a robotics researcher whose work centers on the design, modeling, and advanced control of dynamically stable mobile robots, with a particular focus on ball-balancing robots (ballbots). Her major contributions lie in bridging practical hardware design with robust control theory. In her highly cited 2019 paper, she detailed the complete construction of a novel ballbot, making critical engineering decisions on components like motors and omnidirectional wheels to meet specific agility and size requirements. Building on this, her 2020 work introduced a sliding mode control strategy for the ballbot, demonstrating a robust, simplified approach to stabilization that effectively handles system uncertainties. While her published citation counts (5 and 2 for her key papers) are modest, reflecting an early-career stage, the work is notable for its hands-on, end-to-end methodology—from mechanical design to real-time control implementation. This integrated approach, combining practical engineering with nonlinear control design, provides a valuable blueprint for researchers and students in mobile robotics and mechatronics, showcasing how to achieve stable, agile locomotion in underactuated systems.