Nicole Thumma

Papers

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About

Nicole Thumma’s research lies at the intersection of multi-robot systems, cooperative localization, and path planning, with a focus on enabling teams of robots to navigate and localize effectively in GPS-denied environments. Her most cited work, “Prioritized Planning for Cooperative Range-Only Localization in Multi-Robot Networks” (2022, 14 citations), introduces a novel algorithm that strategically plans robot trajectories to minimize localization error when robots rely solely on inter-radio range measurements. By addressing the challenge of poor network configurations—which can severely degrade localization accuracy—Thumma’s approach prioritizes robot movements to maintain optimal geometric formations, ensuring robust and reliable state estimation across the team. This contribution is critical for applications like search-and-rescue, underground exploration, and autonomous swarms, where external positioning signals are unavailable. Her work demonstrates a deep understanding of the interplay between motion planning and sensor-based estimation, offering practical solutions for real-world multi-robot coordination. With a growing citation record and a focus on scalable, decentralized algorithms, Thumma is establishing herself as a promising voice in robotics, advancing the frontier of cooperative autonomy.