Taegyu Kim

Purdue University West Lafayette, Pennsylvania State University, Dong-A University

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Taegyu Kim is a leading researcher in the security and reliability of robotic systems, with a primary focus on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robotic aerial vehicles (RAVs). His work bridges the critical gap between control theory and software security, addressing the unique vulnerabilities that arise when closed-source firmware governs physical machines. Kim’s most influential contribution is **RVFuzzer** (2019, 39 citations), a control-guided testing framework that systematically identifies input validation bugs in robotic vehicles—a foundational tool for preempting catastrophic failures. He further advanced the field with **MAYDAY** (2020, 7 citations), a methodology for investigating RAV accidents by reverse-engineering control models from program code, enabling forensic analysis of real-world crashes. In **Dispatch** (2022, 13 citations), Kim tackled the challenge of retrofitting security into proprietary aerial vehicle firmware, demonstrating how to add safety guarantees without vendor cooperation. Earlier in his career, he explored bipedal locomotion using uDEAS optimization (2007, 11 citations), showcasing a deep understanding of control systems that later informed his security work. Kim’s research is vital for ensuring the safe deployment of autonomous systems in transportation, exploration, and critical infrastructure.