Biography
Muqing Cao is a Faculty Early Career Award (FECA) Fellow in the Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) pillar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, where he worked with Prof Sebastian Scherer. He received his PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and his BEng in Aerospace Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His research focuses on multi-robot systems, task and motion planning, and aerial robotics. His work has been published in leading robotics and systems venues, including The International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO), Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS), IEEE ICRA, and IEEE/RSJ IROS. His honours include the IJRR Paper of the Season Honourable Mention (Q2 2025–2026), RSS Pioneer 2025, and the IROS 2023 Best Entertainment and Amusement Paper Award.
Education
- PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, 2023
- BEng in Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, 2017
Research interests
Multi-robot systems, task and motion planning, aerial robotics, autonomous navigation, robot planning.
Selected publications
- Muqing Cao, Kun Cao, Xinhang Xu, Shenghai Yuan, Yan Loi Wong, and Lihua Xie, “Braid-based Entanglement-Free Trajectory Planning for Multiple Tethered Robots” (Paper of the Season Honourable Mention), The International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), 2024.
- Muqing Cao, Thien-Minh Nguyen, Shenghai Yuan, Andreas Anastasiou, Angelos Zacharia, Savvas Papaioannou, Panayiotis Kolios, Christos G. Panayiotou, Marios M. Polycarpou, Xinhang Xu, et al., “Cooperative Aerial Robot Inspection Challenge: A Benchmark for Heterogeneous Multi-Uncrewed-Aerial-Vehicle Planning and Lessons Learned,” IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 2025.
- Muqing Cao, Kun Cao, Shenghai Yuan, Thien-Minh Nguyen, and Lihua Xie, “Neptune: Nonentangling Trajectory Planning for Multiple Tethered Unmanned Vehicles,” IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO), 2023.
- Muqing Cao, Xinhang Xu, Yizhuo Yang, Jianping Li, Tongxing Jin, Pengfei Wang, Tzu-Yi Hung, Guosheng Lin, and Lihua Xie, “Learning Dynamic Weight Adjustment for Spatial-Temporal Trajectory Planning in Crowd Navigation,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2025.
- Muqing Cao, Kun Cao, Shenghai Yuan, Kangcheng Liu, Yan Loi Wong, and Lihua Xie, “Path Planning for Multiple Tethered Robots Using Topological Braids,” Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS), 2023.
- Muqing Cao, Xinhang Xu, Shenghai Yuan, Kun Cao, Kangcheng Liu, and Lihua Xie, “DoubleBee: A Hybrid Aerial-Ground Robot with Two Active Wheels” (Best Entertainment and Amusement Paper Award), IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2023.
Awards
- Early Career Award, Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) Teaching and Academic Research Talent (START) Scheme, 2026
- IJRR Paper of the Season Honourable Mention (Q2 2025–2026)
- RSS Pioneer 2025
- IROS 2023 Best Entertainment and Amusement Paper Award
- Dean’s List – School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Academic Year 2015/2016