Michael Zavlanos

Research Themes

Robotics & Autonomy

Research Interests

Control theory, optimization, and learning; in particular, robotics and autonomous systems, networked and distributed control systems, and cyber-physical systems.

Bio

Michael M. Zavlanos research focuses on control theory, optimization, learning, and AI and, in particular, autonomous systems and robotics, networked and distributed control systems, and cyber-physical systems.

Education

• Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 2008

Positions

• Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor in Computer Science
• Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Young Investigator Program Award. Office of Naval Research. 2014
• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2012
• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2011

Courses Taught

• ME 758S: Curricular Practical Training
• ME 627: Linear System Theory
• ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• ECE 391: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• ECE 291: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• COMPSCI 394: Research Independent Study
• CEE 627: Linear System Theory

Publications

• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Sampling-based optimal control synthesis for multirobot systems under global temporal tasks. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2019 May 1;64(5):1916–31.
• Ma WJ, Oh C, Liu Y, Dentcheva D, Zavlanos MM. Risk-averse access point selection in wireless communication networks. IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems. 2019 Mar 1;6(1):24–36.
• Guo M, Zavlanos MM. Probabilistic Motion Planning Under Temporal Tasks and Soft Constraints. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2018 Dec 1;63(12):4051–66.
• Freundlich C, Zhang Y, Zavlanos MM. Distributed Hierarchical Control for State Estimation with Robotic Sensor Networks. IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems. 2018 Dec 1;5(4):2023–35.
• Lee S, Zavlanos MM. Approximate projection methods for decentralized optimization with functional constraints. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2018 Oct 1;63(10):3248–60.
• Guo M, Zavlanos MM. Multirobot Data Gathering under Buffer Constraints and Intermittent Communication. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2018 Aug 1;34(4):1082–97.
• Lee S, Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. Complexity Certification of a Distributed Augmented Lagrangian Method. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2018 Mar 1;63(3):827–34.
• Freundlich C, Lee S, Zavlanos MM. Distributed Active State Estimation with User-Specified Accuracy. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2018 Feb 1;63(2):418–33.
• Freundlich C, Zhang Y, Zhu AZ, Mordohai P, Zavlanos MM. Controlling a robotic stereo camera under image quantization noise. International Journal of Robotics Research. 2017 Oct 1;36(12):1268–85.
• Preciado VM, Zavlanos MM. Distributed network design for laplacian eigenvalue placement. IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems. 2017 Sep 1;4(3):598–609.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. On the Convergence of a Distributed Augmented Lagrangian Method for Nonconvex Optimization. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2017 Sep 1;62(9):4405–20.
• Guo M, Zavlanos MM. Distributed data gathering with buffer constraints and intermittent communication. In: Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2017. p. 279–84.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Distributed Intermittent Connectivity Control of Mobile Robot Networks. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2017 Jul 1;62(7):3109–21.
• Ma WJ, Dentcheva D, Zavlanos MM. Risk-averse sensor planning using distributed policy gradient. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2017. p. 4839–44.
• Calkins L, Khodayi-Mehr R, Aquino W, Zavlanos M. Stochastic model-based source identification. In: 2017 IEEE 56th Annual Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2017. 2017. p. 1272–7.
• Guo M, Zavlanos MM. Temporal task planning in wirelessly connected environments with unknown channel quality. In: 2017 IEEE 56th Annual Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2017. 2017. p. 4161–8.
• Lee S, Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. A distributed augmented Lagrangian method for model predictive control. In: 2017 IEEE 56th Annual Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2017. 2017. p. 2888–93.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Sampling-based control synthesis for multi-robot systems under global temporal specifications. In: Proceedings - 2017 ACM/IEEE 8th International Conference on Cyber-Physical Systems, ICCPS 2017 (part of CPS Week). 2017. p. 3–13.
• Freundlich C, Lee S, Zavlanos MM. Distributed estimation and control for robotic sensor networks. In: 2016 IEEE 55th Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2016. 2016. p. 3518–23.
• Lee S, Zavlanos MM. Approximate projections for decentralized optimization with SDP constraints. In: 2016 IEEE 55th Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2016. 2016. p. 1030–5.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Simultaneous intermittent communication control and path optimization in networks of mobile robots. In: 2016 IEEE 55th Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2016. 2016. p. 1794–9.
• Lee S, Ribeiro A, Zavlanos MM. Distributed continuous-time online optimization using saddle-point methods. In: 2016 IEEE 55th Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2016. 2016. p. 4314–9.
• Aranda M, López-Nicolás G, Sagüés C, Zavlanos MM. Distributed Formation Stabilization Using Relative Position Measurements in Local Coordinates. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2016 Dec 1;61(12):3925–35.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. Distributed scheduling of network connectivity using mobile access point robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2016 Dec 1;32(6):1333–46.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. A Distributed Algorithm for Convex Constrained Optimization under Noise. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2016 Sep 1;61(9):2496–511.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Global Planning for Multi-Robot Communication Networks in Complex Environments. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2016 Aug 17;PP(99).
• Lee S, Zavlanos MM. Distributed primal-dual methods for online constrained optimization. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2016. p. 7171–6.
• Khodayi-Mehr R, Aquino W, Zavlanos MM. Nonlinear reduced order source identification. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2016. p. 6302–7.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. A distributed LTL-based approach for intermittent communication in mobile robot networks. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2016. p. 5557–62.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Intermittent connectivity control in mobile robot networks. In: Conference Record - Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers. 2016. p. 1125–9.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Distributed communication-aware coverage control by mobile sensor networks. Automatica. 2016 Jan 1;63:209–20.
• Freundlich C, Zavlanos M, Mordohai P. Exact bias correction and covariance estimation for stereo vision. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. 2015. p. 3296–304.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Dentcheva D, Zavlanos MM. An augmented Lagrangian method for distributed optimization. Mathematical Programming. 2015 Aug 24;152(1–2):405–34.
• Freundlich C, Mordohai P, Zavlanos MM. Optimal path planning and resource allocation for active target localization. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2015. p. 3088–93.
• Khodayi-Mehr R, Aquino W, Zavlanos MM. Model-based sparse source identification. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2015. p. 1818–23.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. On the convergence rate of a Distributed Augmented Lagrangian optimization algorithm. In: Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2015. p. 541–6.
• Aranda M, López-Nicolás G, Sagüés C, Zavlanos MM. Coordinate-free formation stabilization based on relative position measurements. Automatica. 2015 Jul 1;57:11–20.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Liu Y, Petropulu A, Zavlanos MM. Distributed cooperative beamforming in multi-source multi-destination clustered systems. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing. 2014 Dec 1;62(23):6105–17.
• Aranda M, López-Nicolás G, Sagüés C, Zavlanos MM. Three-dimensional multirobot formation control for target enclosing. In: IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 2014. p. 357–62.
• Cappelleri D, Efthymiou D, Goswami A, Vitoroulis N, Zavlanos M. Towards mobile microrobot swarms for additive micromanufacturing. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. 2014 Sep 19;11.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Distributed simultaneous coverage and communication control by mobile sensor networks. In: 2014 IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing, GlobalSIP 2014. 2014. p. 833–7.
• Guo M, Zavlanos MM, Dimarogonas DV. Controlling the relative agent motion in multi-agent formation stabilization. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2014 Jan 1;59(3):820–6.
• Kantaros Y, Zavlanos MM. Communication-aware coverage control for robotic sensor networks. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2014. p. 6863–8.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM. Distributed stochastic multicommodity flow optimization. 2013 IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing, GlobalSIP 2013 - Proceedings. 2013 Dec 1;883–6.
• Freundlich C, Mordohai P, Zavlanos MM. A hybrid control approach to the Next-Best-View problem using stereo vision. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2013 Nov 14;4493–8.
• Kalogerias DS, Chatzipanagiotis N, Zavlanos MM, Petropulu AP. Mobile jammers for secrecy rate maximization in cooperative networks. ICASSP, IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing - Proceedings. 2013 Oct 18;2901–5.
• Zavlanos MM, Ribeiro A, Pappas GJ. Network integrity in mobile robotic networks. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2013 Jan 7;58(1):3–18.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Petropulu A, Zavlanos MM. A distributed algorithm for cooperative relay beamforming. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2013 Jan 1;3796–801.
• Freundlich C, Mordohai P, Zavlanos MM. Hybrid control for mobile target localization with stereo vision. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2013 Jan 1;2635–40.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Liu Y, Petropulu A, Zavlanos MM. Controlling groups of mobile beamformers. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2012 Jan 1;1984–9.
• Chatzipanagiotis N, Dentcheva D, Zavlanos MM. Approximate augmented lagrangians for distributed network optimization. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2012 Jan 1;5840–5.
• Zavlanos MM, Ribeiro A, Pappas GJ. A framework for integrating mobility and routing in mobile communication networks. Conference Record - Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers. 2011 Dec 1;1461–5.
• Zavlanos MM, Ribeiro A, Pappas GJ. Distributed control of mobility & routing in networks of robots. IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications, SPAWC. 2011 Sep 16;236–40.
• Zavlanos MM, Julius AA, Boyd SP, Pappas GJ. Inferring stable genetic networks from steady-state data. Automatica. 2011 Jun 1;47(6):1113–22.
• Zavlanos MM, Julius AA. Robust flux balance analysis of metabolic networks. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2011 Jan 1;2915–20.
• Zavlanos MM, Preciado VM, Jadbabaie A. Spectral control of mobile robot networks. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2011 Jan 1;3245–50.
• Zavlanos MM, Egerstedt MB, Pappas GJ. Graph-theoretic connectivity control of mobile robot networks. Proceedings of the IEEE. 2011 Jan 1;99(9):1525–40.
• Zavlanos MM, Ribeiro A, Pappas GJ. Mobility & routing control in networks of robots. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2010 Jan 1;7545–50.
• Zavlanos MM. Synchronous rendezvous of very-low-range wireless agents. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2010 Jan 1;4740–5.
• Preciado VM, Zavlanos MM, Jadbabaie A, Pappas GJ. Distributed control of the Laplacian spectral moments of a network. Proceedings of the 2010 American Control Conference, ACC 2010. 2010 Jan 1;4462–7.
• Michael N, Zavlanos MM, Kumar V, Pappas GJ. Maintaining Connectivity in Mobile Robot Networks. Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics. 2009 Dec 1;54:117–26.
• Zavlanos MM, Tanner HG, Jadbabaie A, Pappas GJ. Hybrid control for connectivity preserving flocking. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2009 Dec 1;54(12):2869–75.
• Zavlanos MM, Koditschek DE, Pappas GJ. A distributed dynamical scheme for fastest mixing markov chains. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2009 Nov 23;1436–41.
• Julius A, Zavlanos M, Boyd S, Pappas GJ. Genetic network identification using convex programming. IET systems biology. 2009 May;3(3):155–66.
• Ny JL, Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Resource allocation for signal detection with active sensors. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2009 Jan 1;8561–6.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Distributed connectivity control of mobile networks. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2008 Dec 10;24(6):1416–28.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. A dynamical systems approach to weighted graph matching (Accepted). Automatica. 2008 Oct 9;
• Zavlanos MM, Tahbaz-Salehi A, Jadbabaie A, Pappas GJ. Distributed topology control of dynamic networks. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2008 Sep 30;2660–5.
• Zavlanos MM, Julius AA, Boyd SP, Pappas GJ. Identification of stable genetic networks using convex programming. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2008 Sep 30;2755–60.
• Michael N, Zavlanos MM, Kumar V, Pappas GJ. Distributed multi-robot task assignment and formation control. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2008 Sep 18;128–33.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Dynamic assignment in distributed motion planning with local coordination. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2008 Feb 1;24(1):232–42.
• Zavlanos MM, Spesivtsev L, Pappas GJ. A distributed auction algorithm for the assignment problem. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2008 Jan 1;1212–7.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Dynamic assignment in distributed motion planning with limited information. Proceedings of the American Control Conference. 2007 Dec 1;1173–8.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Sensor-based dynamic assignment in distributed motion planning. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2007 Nov 27;3333–8.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Potential fields for maintaining connectivity of mobile networks. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2007 Aug 1;23(4):812–6.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Distributed hybrid control for multiple-pursuer multiple-evader games. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics). 2007 Jan 1;4416 LNCS:787–9.
• Zavlanos MM, Jadbabaie A, Pappas GJ. Flocking while preserving network connectivity. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2007 Jan 1;2919–24.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Distributed connectivity control of mobile networks. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2007 Jan 1;3591–6.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Distributed formation control with permutation symmetries. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2007 Jan 1;2894–9.
• Dimarogonas DV, Loizou SG, Kyriakopoulos KJ, Zavlanos MM. A feedback stabilization and collision avoidance scheme for multiple independent non-point agents. Automatica. 2006 Feb 1;42(2):229–43.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. A dynamical systems approach to weighted graph matching. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2006 Jan 1;3492–7.
• Zavlanos MM, Pappas GJ. Controlling connectivity of dynamic graphs. Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, and the European Control Conference, CDC-ECC ’05. 2005 Dec 1;2005:6388–93.
• Dimarogonas DV, Zavlanos MM, Loizou SG, Kyriakopoulos KJ. Decentralized Motion Control of Multiple Holonomic Agents under Input Constraints. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2003 Jan 1;4:3390–5.