Leena Singh

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Draper Laboratory

Papers

Total Citations

160

H-Index

About

Leena Singh is a leading figure in robotic motion planning and guidance control, renowned for her innovative use of field-based algorithms to solve complex navigation problems. Her seminal work, "Real-time robot motion control with circulatory fields" (2002, 68 citations), introduced a groundbreaking feedback algorithm that steers robots through obstacle fields by rotating paths around obstacles—a clever departure from traditional repulsive potential fields. This approach, inspired by charged particle dynamics, has become a foundational concept in the field. Singh further advanced autonomous systems with her highly cited paper "Band-Limited Guidance and Control of Large Parafolils" (2009, 54 citations), addressing the unique challenges of controlling large, flexible aerial systems. Her contributions extend to multi-linked manipulators, where she applied modified magnetic fields to ensure global convergence and collision-free motion in constrained environments like robotic packaging. As a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Singh’s work bridges theoretical elegance and practical application, earning her a reputation for solving high-stakes, real-world guidance and control problems. Her research continues to inspire engineers tackling autonomous navigation in cluttered, dynamic spaces.