John J. Leonard | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford University of Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Simultaneous localization and mapping[1] |
| Awards | National Science Foundation Career Award (1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Robotics |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Website | marinerobotics |
John J. Leonard is an Americanroboticist and Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. A member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Leonard is a researcher insimultaneous localization and mapping,[2][3] and was the team lead for MIT's team at the2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, one of the six teams to cross the finish line in the final event, placing fourth overall.
Leonard received hisB.S. inElectrical Engineering from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1987[1] and hisD.Phil. inEngineering Science from theUniversity of Oxford in 1994,[1] under theThouron Award. He spent five years as apostdoctoral fellow andResearch Scientist in the MIT Sea Grant Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Laboratory, and joined the MIT faculty in 1996.[1]
Leonard is one of the early pioneers ofSLAM withHugh F. Durrant-Whyte. Leonard has served as an associate editor of theIEEE Journal ofOceanic Engineering and of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation. He received theNational Science Foundation Career Award in 1998, an E.T.S. Walton Visitor Award fromScience Foundation Ireland in 2004, and the King-Sun Fu Memorial Best IEEE Transactions on Robotics Paper Award in 2006.
Leonard describes his primary research goal as persistent autonomy, i.e., the "capability for one or more robots to operate robustly for days, weeks and months at a time with minimal human supervision, in complex, dynamic environments".[4] Leonard focuses on the problem ofsimultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), particularly forautonomous underwater vehicles.
I do not expect there to be taxis in Manhattan with no drivers in my lifetime.
— Leonard in 2013[5]
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