Susan Bonner

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About

Susan Bonner is a pioneering researcher in robotics and computational geometry, with a primary focus on collision detection and path planning for three-dimensional environments. Her most significant contribution is the development of the Successive Spherical Approximation (SSA) scheme, a hierarchical representation technique that enables rapid and exact collision detection in dynamic 3D spaces. This work, detailed in her highly cited 2003 paper "A representation scheme for rapid 3D collision detection" (32 citations), provides a foundational method for testing robot-carried object paths against obstacles. Bonner further advanced the field by introducing a novel generate-and-test approach for automatic, collision-free path planning, as described in her 2003 paper "Planning 3-D collision-free paths" (9 citations). Her early research, dating back to 1989, established the SSA hierarchy using bounded rectangular sectors of spheres, laying the groundwork for efficient robot workcell operations. With a career spanning from foundational theory to practical implementation, Bonner's work remains essential for researchers in robotics, automation, and spatial reasoning, offering elegant solutions to complex 3D navigation challenges.