Onur Tekdas

About

Onur Tekdas is a robotics and wireless networking researcher whose work sits at the productive intersection of mobile robotics, sensor networks, and communication systems. His research has made significant contributions to two interconnected areas: robotic data collection from sensor fields and mobile robotic networking. Tekdas is perhaps best known for pioneering the concept of "robotic data mules" — mobile robots that autonomously harvest data from distributed wireless sensor nodes, dramatically extending network lifetime without requiring dense relay infrastructure. His 2009 paper on this topic has accumulated 176 citations and remains a foundational reference in the field. Complementing this, his work on robotic routers demonstrated how mobility-enabled robots could dynamically provision wireless connectivity for users in large or obstacle-filled environments, work that has garnered nearly 90 citations across multiple publications. Beyond data collection, Tekdas made notable theoretical contributions to sensor placement optimization for triangulation-based robot localization, providing algorithms to minimize sensor deployment while guaranteeing localization accuracy — work cited over 100 times. His research on disaster response communication bridges further illustrates his commitment to real-world impact. Across his career, Tekdas has shaped how researchers think about integrating mobile robotics with communication infrastructure, accumulating over 500 citations in total.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Using mobile robots to harvest data from sensor fields

   176 citations · 2009
2. 2
   Sensor Placement for Triangulation-Based Localization

   100 citations · 2010
3. 3
   Robotic data mules for collecting data over sparse sensor fields

   99 citations · 2011
4. 4
   Robotic Routers: Algorithms and Implementation

   57 citations · 2009
5. 5
   Robotic routers

   29 citations · 2008
6. 6
   Efficient data collection from wireless nodes under the two-ring communication model

   24 citations · 2012
7. 7
   Sensor Placement Algorithms for Triangulation Based Localization

   17 citations · 2007
8. 8
   Maintaining connectivity in environments with obstacles

   15 citations · 2010
9. 9
   Building a Communication Bridge With Mobile Hubs

   11 citations · 2011
10. 10
    Energy-Efficient Data Collection from Wireless Nodes Using Mobile Robots

    2 citations · 2011

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links