Welcome to the Autonomous Robotics & Multi-agent Operations Research (ARMOR) Lab!

Research Visions

I am Mingyu (Ben) Kim, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Southern University.

My research focuses on multi-robot systems, sensor networks, probabilistic modeling, and real-time optimization under uncertainty. I develop algorithms that enable autonomous systems to sense, learn, and make decisions efficiently in dynamic and uncertain environments.

My work spans applications in:

• Autonomous drones and surface vessels
• Maritime domain awareness and naval sensing
• Environmental monitoring & water-quality intelligence
• Disaster response and infrastructure resilience
• Distributed optimization for multi-agent systems

I am always interested in collaborative research and interdisciplinary partnerships across robotics, control systems, environmental sensing, and defense applications.

Research Interests

• Multi-Robot Coordination & Control
  Cooperative planning, decentralized decision-making, and real-time task allocation.

• Optimal Sensor Placement & Network Design
  Algorithms for detecting uncertain targets, Poisson/LGCP modeling, and outlier detection.

• Probabilistic Modeling & State Estimation
  Kalman Filtering, Bayesian inference, distributed fusion.

• Autonomous Marine & Aerial Vehicles
  UAV/USV planning, environmental sensing, and autonomous surveillance missions.

• Digital Twin & Data-Driven Modeling
  Integration of robotic systems with digital replicas for real-time prediction and decision-making.

Recent Projects

Real-Time Sensor Placement for Uncertain Target Detection

• Developed Poisson/LGCP-based models for target arrivals in naval surveillance.
• Designed near–real-time algorithms minimizing undetected targets.

Distributed Optimization for Multi-Robot Systems

• Decentralized estimation and coordination with time-varying constraints.
• Applications in persistent monitoring and environmental exploration.

USV–UAV Collaborative Sensing for Coastal Water Quality

• Autonomous sampling, environmental modeling, and digital-twin integration.

Drone-Based Situational Awareness for Emergency Response

• Path planning, anomaly detection, and infrastructure monitoring in collaboration with state agencies.

A full list of publications, talks, teaching materials, and ongoing projects can be found in the menu above.

Opportunities for Students

I am actively recruiting motivated Master’s and Ph.D. students interested in statistics, robotics, optimization, and sensing systems.

Students in my group will gain experience in:

• ROS2, PX4, Python, MATLAB, C++
• UAV/USV deployment and field experiments
• Optimization, control theory, probability, and machine learning
• Writing high-impact papers and proposals
• Collaborations with federal and state agencies

If you are interested, please email me with:

• Your CV
• Research interests
• Relevant coursework or projects

Collaborations

I welcome collaboration with:

• Researchers in robotics, controls, environmental science, and data analytics
• Federal and state agencies
• Industry partners in autonomy, sensing, and environmental technologies

Feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss ideas or explore joint projects.

News

• Preparing submissions for IEEE IROS 2026 and ACC 2026.
• Launching a new multi-robot platform with drones and Blue Robotics USVs.
• Expanding collaborations with naval and environmental research partners.

Contact

Mingyu (Ben) Kim
Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Georgia Southern University
Email: mkim@georgiasouthern.edu