Meng-Li Cao
Papers
5
Total Citations
66
H-Index
5
About
Meng-Li Cao is a leading researcher in the field of robotic olfaction, specializing in multi-robot systems for chemical source localization and plume tracing in complex environments. Their work addresses the fundamental challenge of enabling robots to detect and locate odor sources in both ventilated indoor spaces and outdoor field conditions, where turbulent airflow creates intermittent and fluctuating chemical plumes. Cao's major contributions include pioneering the application of bio-inspired algorithms—such as Cuckoo Search and adapted Ant Colony Optimization—to odor source search, as well as developing estimation-based route planning methods that allow wheeled mobile robots to dynamically follow optimal paths for chemical source discovery. Their research has garnered significant attention, with their most cited papers accumulating over 60 citations collectively. Notably, their 2016 study on multi-robot Cuckoo search in ventilated environments and their 2019 work on outdoor chemical source searching have each received 22 citations, demonstrating sustained impact. Cao has also advanced plume re-contact strategies, enabling robots to rapidly re-engage with lost chemical trails, a critical capability for real-world applications in environmental monitoring, hazardous material detection, and search-and-rescue operations.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 5Learning to Rapidly Re-Contact the Lost Plume in Chemical Plume Tracing7 citations · 2015