Professor Dezong Zhao

Professor of Autonomous Systems (Autonomous Systems & Connectivity)

email: Dezong.Zhao@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: He/him/his

James Watt South Building, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ G12 8QQ

Biography

My research focuses on making a leap from automation to autonomy, with the target of 'automating the world'. I am interested in exploring the frontiers in control engineering, embodied AI, causal learning, autonomous vehicles, robotics and digital twins. I have been awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering/Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow in 2025, a Turing Fellow in 2024, a Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellow in 2020, and an EPSRC Innovation Fellow in 2018. More information can be found on my personal homepage Dezong Zhao on Google Site. A full list of my publications can be found at Dezong Zhao's Google Scholar.

Work Experience

Professor of Autonomous Systems, University of Glasgow, 2025 - present
Reader in Autonomous Systems, University of Glasgow, 2023 - 2025
Senior Lecturer in Autonomous Systems, University of Glasgow, 2020 - 2023
Lecturer in Intelligent Systems, Loughborough University, 2017 - 2020
Research Associate, Loughborough University, 2011 - 2017
Research Fellow, Tsinghua University, 2010 - 2011

Qualifications

PhD in Control Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing China, 2006 - 2010
MSc in Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China, 2003 - 2006
BEng in Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China, 1999 - 2003

I am always happy to work with self-motivated postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. Below are some available funding sources:

Postdoctoral Opportunities

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (due by September each year)
Newton International Fellowships (due by March each year)

PhD scholarship Opportunities

School / EPSRC Scholarship (open to all students, two rounds, due by the end of January and May each year)
CSC Scholarship (open to Chinese students, due by the end of January each year)

Research interests

Professor Zhao’s research spans multiple areas of robotics and autonomous systems, including perception, decision making, modelling, control, reasoning, learning, computing, and digital twinning. He is passionate in investigating fundamental theories and developing tools to deliver safe, trustworthy and efficient autonomous systems. In applications, he aims to tackle the challenges raised in connected and autonomous vehicles, robotics, and embodied intelligence.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018

Number of items: 76.

2026

Ye, Zhaoan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhang, Li, Yan, Xidong, Bi, Qinglin, Zhao, Wenjing and Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618 (2026) Enhancing data efficiency with a trustworthy counterfactual generative model. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, (doi: 10.1109/TII.2026.3652484) (Early Online Publication)

Tian, Zhen, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Tian, Daxin and Sun, Yao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-377X (2026) Balanced exploration and attention-inspired decision making for autonomous driving. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 75(1), pp. 84-99. (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2025.3590637)

Ruan, Jingzhi, Wu, Lin, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Guo, Fan, Zhao, Wenjing and Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618 (2026) Efficient Visuo-Tactile Learning via Fine-Grained Alignment and Importance-Aware Token Retention. In: IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP 2026), Barcelona, Spain, 04-08 May 2026, (Accepted for Publication)

2025

Zhen, Tian, Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Ansari, Shuja ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-0264 and Wei, Chongfeng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4565-509X (2025) Evaluating scenario-based decision-making for interactive autonomous driving using rational criteria: a survey. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2025.3636070) (Early Online Publication)

Ye, Zhaoan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhang, Li, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618 and Wei, Chongfeng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4565-509X (2025) Causal VAE-DM: Trustworthy Generative Modeling for Image Modification Based on Causal Graphs. In: 45th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS 2025), Glasgow, Scotland, 20-23 July 2025, ISBN 9798331517250 (doi: 10.1109/ICDCSW63273.2025.00023)

Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Zhen, Tian, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Wei, Chongfeng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4565-509X (2025) Uncertainty-aware roundabout navigation: a switched decision framework integrating Stackelberg games and dynamic potential fields. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2025.3638264) (Early Online Publication)

Wang, Jingyan, Hao, Yijia, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Imran, Muhammad Ali ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4743-9136 and Ahmad, Wasim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6868-9236 (2025) Pose-Guided Focal Loss For Enhancing Vision Transformers In Continuous Sign Language Recognition. In: 35th IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning for Signal Processing (IEEE MLSP 2025), Istanbul, Turkey, 31 Aug - 03 Sep 2025, ISBN 9798331570293 (doi: 10.1109/MLSP62443.2025.11204296)

Li, Dachuan, Huang, Zijian, Hao, Qi, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Cao, Weipeng, Tolba, Amr and Rodrigues, Joel J.P.C. (2025) Safe tactical decision-making for autonomous vehicles considering uncertainties in deep learning-based visual perception. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2025.3607513) (Early Online Publication)

Zhao, Wenjing, Gong, Siyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Fenglin, Sze, N N and Wang, Song (2025) Effects of early notifications on driver responses to lateral collision warnings. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 220, 108144. (doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2025.108144) (PMID:40541057)

Zhou, Quan, Xu, Bin, Tian, Jianyi, Zhang, Cetengfei, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Zhang, Yuanjian (2025) Adversarial swarm learning for robust equivalent consumption minimization of electrified vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, 11(4), pp. 9701-9711. (doi: 10.1109/tte.2025.3565230)

Guo, Fan, Ma, Chuyu, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Guochen and Song, Kang (2025) Enhancing negotiation policies via spatio-temporal directed graphs for autonomous interaction. IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 22, pp. 17941-17954. (doi: 10.1109/tase.2025.3586434)

Dang, Meiting, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Wang, Yafei and Wei, Chongfeng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4565-509X (2025) Dynamic game-theoretical decision-making framework for vehicle-pedestrian interaction with human bounded rationality. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 26(7), pp. 10822-10833. (doi: 10.1109/tits.2025.3548699)

Vijayakumar, Harikrishnan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Li, Dachuan, Zhou, Quan, Zhang, Yuanjian and Song, Kang (2025) Decision making of Automated Vehicles in mixed environment based on Bayesian sequential games. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2025.3561510) (Early Online Publication)

Hao, Jinbo, Guo, Fan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Chen, Yun, Song, Kang and Xie, Hui (2025) Joint prediction of intention and trajectory in automated driving using Interactive Dynamic Bayesian Network. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2025.3557184) (Early Online Publication)

Guo, Fan, Han, Xiao, Song, Kang, Jiang, Kaichen, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Hao, Jinbo, Wang, Caimei and Xie, Hui (2025) Game theory-based harmonious decision-making for autonomous bus lane change. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 26(4), pp. 4934-4947. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2025.3533577)

Yin, Hongbo, Tian, Daxin, Lin, Chunmian, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2025) CUDA-X: unsupervised domain-adaptive vehicle-to-everything collaboration via knowledge transfer and alignment. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, (doi: 10.1109/TNNLS.2025.3539358) (Early Online Publication)

Liang, Chengsi, Du, Hongyang, Sun, Yao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-377X, Niyato, Dusit, Kang, Jiawen, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Imran, Muhammad Ali ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4743-9136 (2025) Generative AI-driven semantic communication networks: Architecture, technologies and applications. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, 11(1), pp. 27-47. (doi: 10.1109/tccn.2024.3435524)

Wang, Xuan, Qin, Hongmao, Bian, Yougang, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Zheng, Nan (2025) String stability under general topologies for CAVs: A coupled sliding surface-based distributed TMPC approach. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 194, 103937. (doi: 10.1016/j.tre.2024.103937)

2024

Zhang, Peiyu, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Cao, Dongpu and Bi, Luzheng (2024) Efficient robust model predictive control for behaviorally stable vehicle platoons. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, (doi: 10.1109/tits.2024.3498037) (Early Online Publication)

Jiang, Yuande, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhu, Bing, Liu, Zhanwen and Zhao, Xiangmo (2024) Driving segment embedding and patterns dictionary generation from real-world data using self-supervised learning. Automotive Innovation, 7, pp. 559-570. (doi: 10.1007/s42154-024-00300-4)

Slade, Sam, Zhang, Li, Huang, Haoqian, Asadi, Houshyar, Lim, Chee Peng, Yu, Yonghong, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Hanhe and Gao, Rong (2024) Neural inference search for multiloss segmentation models. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 35(11), pp. 15113-15127. (doi: 10.1109/TNNLS.2023.3282799) (PMID:37327096)

Lan, Wenxing, Li, Dachuan, Hao, Qi, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Tian, Bin (2024) Implicit scene context-aware interactive trajectory prediction for autonomous driving. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 9(9), pp. 5461-5477. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2023.3342202)

Li, Jiawei, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2024) Distributed robust model predictive control for virtual coupling under structural and external uncertainty. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 25(8), pp. 8751-8769. (doi: 10.1109/tits.2024.3363136)

Zhao, Wenjing, Gong, Siyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Fenglin, Sze, N N, Quddus, Mohammed, Huang, Helai and Zhao, Xiangmo (2024) Impacts of information quantity and display formats on driving behaviors in a connected vehicle environment. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 203, 107621. (doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2024.107621) (PMID:38729056)

Tian, Zhen, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Jiang, Yuande, Tian, Daxin, Zhang, Yuanjian and Sun, Yao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-377X (2024) Efficient and balanced exploration-driven decision making for autonomous racing using local information. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2024.3432713) (Early Online Publication)

Zhang, Peiyu, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2024) A distributionally robust optimization model for vehicle platooning under stochastic disturbances. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 73(7), pp. 9666-9681. (doi: 10.1109/tvt.2024.3375301)

Zhen, Tian, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Zhao, Wenjing and Tian, Daxin (2024) Balanced Reward-inspired Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Vehicle Racing. In: 6th Annual Learning for Dynamics & Control Conference (L4DC 2024), Oxford, 15-17 July 2024, pp. 628-640.

Liu, Shang, Zhang, Ronghui, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Song, Houbing (2024) Adaptive dual-channel event-triggered fuzzy control for autonomous underwater vehicles with multiple obstacles environment. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, (doi: 10.1109/tits.2024.3387999) (Early Online Publication)

Li, Chenwei, Xie, Ailing, Zhou, Jianshan, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Lu, Caixia (2024) Robust Neural Control for Distributed Formation of UAVs under Uncertain Disturbances. In: 3rd 2023 International Conference on Autonomous Unmanned Systems (3rd ICAUS 2023) (ICAUS 2023), Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, 09-11 Sep 2023, pp. 1-10. ISBN 9789819710836 (doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-1083-6_1)

Zhao, Wenjing, Gong, Siyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Fenglin, Sze, N.N., Quddus, Mohammed and Huang, Helai (2024) A spatial-state-based omni-directional collision warning system for intelligent vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, (doi: 10.1109/tits.2024.3387942) (Early Online Publication)

Zhang, Peiyu, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2024) Efficient robust control of mixed platoon for improving fuel economy and ride comfort. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, (doi: 10.1109/tvt.2024.3390224) (Early Online Publication)

Wu, Sifan, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2024) Continuous decision-making in lane changing and overtaking maneuvers for unmanned vehicles: a risk-aware reinforcement learning approach with task decomposition. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 9(4), pp. 4657-4674. (doi: 10.1109/tiv.2024.3380074)

Zhang, Peiyu, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Chang, Mai, Duan, Xuting, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Cao, Dongpu and Leung, Vicor C.M. (2024) Robust car-following control of connected and autonomous vehicles: a Stochastic Model Predictive Control approach. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, (doi: 10.1109/tiv.2024.3379730) (Early Online Publication)

Zhao, Wenjing, Gong, Siyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Fenglin, Sze, N.N., Quddus, Mohammed and Huang, Helai (2024) Developing a new integrated advanced driver assistance system in a connected vehicle environment. Expert Systems with Applications, 238(A), 121733. (doi: 10.1016/j.eswa.2023.121733)

Lin, Chunmian, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2024) V2VFormer: vehicle-to-vehicle cooperative perception with spatial-channel transformer. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 9(2), pp. 3384-3395. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2024.3353254)

Hu, Jincheng, Lin, Yang, Li, Jihao, Hou, Zhuoran, Chu, Liang, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhou, Quan, Jiang, Jingjing and Zhang, Yuanjian (2024) Performance analysis of AI-based energy management in electric vehicles: A case study on classic reinforcement learning. Energy Conversion and Management, 300, 117964. (doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117964)

2023

Lin, Chunmian, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2023) 3D-DFM: anchor-free multimodal 3-D object detection with dynamic fusion module for autonomous driving. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 34(12), pp. 10812-10822. (doi: 10.1109/TNNLS.2022.3171553) (PMID:35560081)

Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649 and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2023) Finding the LQR weights to ensure the associated Riccati equations admit a common solution. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 68(10), pp. 6393-6400. (doi: 10.1109/TAC.2023.3234237)

Yin, Hongbo, Tian, Daxin, Lin, Chunmian, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2023) V2VFormer++: Multi-Modal Vehicle-to-Vehicle Cooperative Perception via Global-Local Transformer. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 25(2), pp. 2153-2166. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2023.3314919)

Vijayakumar, Harikirshnan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Wenjing, Tian, Daxin, Li, Dachuan, Zhou, Quan and Song, Kang (2023) A holistic safe planner for automated driving considering interaction with human drivers. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 9(1), pp. 2061-2076. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2023.3317338)

Melotti, Gledson, Lu, Weihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-9962, Conde, Pedro, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Asvadi, Alireza, Gonçalves, Nuno and Premebida, Cristiano (2023) Probabilistic approach for road-users detection. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 24(9), pp. 9253-9267. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2023.3268578)

Li, Dachuan, Liu, Bowen, Huang, Zijian, Hao, Qi, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Tian, Bin (2023) Safe motion planning for autonomous vehicles by quantifying uncertainties of deep learning-enabled environment perception. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 9(1), pp. 2318-2332. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2023.3297735)

Zhang, Yuanjian, Gao, Bingzhao, Jiang, Jingjing, Liu, Chengyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Zhou, Quan, Chen, Zheng and Lei, Zhenzhen (2023) Cooperative power management for range extended electric vehicle based on internet of vehicles. Energy, 273, 127238. (doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.127238)

Hu, Xiaoyan, Gong, Yu, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Gu, Wen (2023) Structurally optimized neural fuzzy modelling for model predictive control. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 19(6), pp. 7498-7507. (doi: 10.1109/TII.2021.3133893)

Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Tian, Daxin (2023) Data-driven robust predictive control for mixed vehicle platoons using noisy measurement. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 24(6), pp. 6586-6596. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2021.3128406)

Zhang, Peiyu, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2023) Joint optimization of platoon control and resource scheduling in cooperative vehicle-infrastructure system. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 8(6), pp. 3629-3646. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2023.3265866)

Zhao, Wenjing, Gong, Siyuan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Liu, Fenglin, Sze, N.N. and Huang, Helai (2023) Effects of collision warning characteristics on driving behaviors and safety in connected vehicle environments. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 186, 107053. (doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107053)

Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Tian, Daxin (2023) Safe and robust data-driven cooperative control policy for mixed vehicle platoons. International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, 33(7), pp. 4171-4190. (doi: 10.1002/rnc.6412)

Lu, Weihao, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Premebida, Cristiano, Zhang, Li, Zhao, Wenjing and Tian, Daxin (2023) Improving 3D vulnerable road user detection with point augmentation. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 8(5), pp. 3489-3505. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2023.3246797)

Lin, Chunmian, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2023) DA-RDD: toward domain adaptive road damage detection across different countries. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 24(3), pp. 3091-3103. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2022.3221067)

Sheng, Zihao, Liu, Lin, Xue, Shibei, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Jiang, Min and Li, Dewei (2023) A cooperation-aware lane change method for automated vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 24(3), pp. 3236-3251. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2022.3225875)

Yang, Jinsong, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Xue, Shibei, Zhao, Wenjing, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Quan and Song, Kang (2023) Eco-driving of general mixed platoons with CAVs and HDVs. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 8(2), pp. 1190-1203. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2022.3224679)

Yang, Jinsong, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Jiang, Jingjing, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Mason, Byron, Tian, Daxin and Li, Liang (2023) A less-disturbed ecological driving strategy for connected and automated vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, 8(1), pp. 413-424. (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2021.3112499)

Vijayakumar, Harikrishnan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649, Zhao, Wenjing, Tian, Daxin and Zhang, Yuanjian (2023) A Safe Decision Making Framework for Automated Vehicle Navigation among Human Drivers. In: 22nd IFAC World Congress (IFAC 2023), Yokohama, Japan, 09-14 Jul 2023, pp. 4910-4915. (doi: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1263)

2022

Yang, Jinsong, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Jiang, Jingjing, Lan, Jianglin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-5649 and Li, Liang (2022) An ecological driving strategy for heterogeneous platoon of connected and automated vehicles. Journal of Automotive Safety and Energy, 2022(4), pp. 676-685.

Duan, Xuting, Zhao, Yihan, Xia, Haiying, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhang, Long and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2022) Performance Analysis of Velocity Perturbation Control in Mixed Platoons with Connected Autonomous and Human-Driven Vehicles. In: 5th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (IEEE ICUS 2022), Guangzhou, China, 14-16 Oct 2022, pp. 799-804. ISBN 9781665484565 (doi: 10.1109/ICUS55513.2022.9986735)

Wu, Sifan, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2022) Autonomous On-ramp Merge Strategy Using Deep Reinforcement Learning in Uncertain Highway Environment. In: 5th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2022), Guangzhou, China, 28-30 October 2022, pp. 658-663. ISBN 9781665484565 (doi: 10.1109/ICUS55513.2022.9986797)

Xie, Ailing, Zhou, Jianshan, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2022) Neural Mixed Platoon Controller Design. In: 5th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2022), Guangzhou, China, 28-30 October 2022, pp. 641-646. ISBN 9781665484565 (doi: 10.1109/ICUS55513.2022.9986797)

Lin, Chunmian, Tian, Daxin, Duan, Xuting, Zhou, Jianshan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2022) CL3D: Camera-LiDAR 3D object detection with point feature enhancement and point-guided fusion. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(10), pp. 18040-18050. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2022.3154537)

Zhou, Jianshan, Tian, Daxin, Sheng, Zhengguo, Duan, Xuting, Qu, Guixian, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Cao, Dongpu and Shen, Xuemin (2022) Robust min-max model predictive vehicle platooning with causal disturbance feedback. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(9), pp. 15878-15897. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2022.3146149)

Tian, Daxin, Lin, Chunmian, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Cao, Yue, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Cao, Dongpu (2022) SA-YOLOv3: an efficient and accurate object detector using self-attention mechanism for autonomous driving. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(5), pp. 4099-4110. (doi: 10.1109/TITS.2020.3041278)

Zhang, Ronghui, Li, Kening, Wu, Yueying, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lv, Zhihan, Li, Fuliang, Chen, Xia, Qiu, Zhijun and Yu, Fan (2022) A multi-vehicle longitudinal trajectory collision avoidance strategy using AEBS with vehicle-infrastructure communication. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 71(2), pp. 1253-1266. (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2021.3132558)

Zhou, Quan, Li, Yanfei, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Li, Ji, Williams, Huw, Xu, Hongming and Yan, Fuwu (2022) Transferable representation modelling for real-time energy management of the plug-in hybrid vehicle based on K fold fuzzy learning and Gaussian process regression. Applied Energy, 305, 117853. (doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117853)

2021

Liu, Yang, Zhou, Jianshan, Tian, Daxin, Sheng, Zhengguo, Duan, Xuting, Qu, Guixian and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2021) Joint Optimization of Resource Scheduling and Mobility for UAV-Assisted Vehicle Platoons. IEEE 94th Vehicular Technology Conference: VTC2021-Fall, Online only, 27-30 September 2021. ISBN 9781665413688 (doi: 10.1109/VTC2021-Fall52928.2021.9625397)

Zhou, Quan, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Shuai, Bin, Li, Yanfei, Williams, Huw and Xu, Hongming (2021) Knowledge implementation and transfer with an adaptive learning network for real-time power management of the plug-in hybrid vehicle. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 32(12), pp. 5298-5308. (doi: 10.1109/TNNLS.2021.3093429)

Lan, Jianglin and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2021) Robust model predictive control for nonlinear parameter varying systems without computational delay. International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, 31(17), pp. 8273-8294. (doi: 10.1002/rnc.5235)

Lu, Weihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-9962, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Premebida, Cristiano, Chen, Wen-Hua and Tian, Daxin (2021) Semantic Feature Mining for 3D Object Classification and Segmentation. In: 2021 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2021), Xi’an, China, 30 May-5 June 2021, pp. 13539-13545. ISBN 9781728190778 (doi: 10.1109/ICRA48506.2021.9561986)

Tian, Daxin, Zhang, Peiyu, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Mianfeng and Li, Lei (2021) Optimal Control of Mixed Platoons with Autonomous and Human-Driven Vehicles. 4th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2021), Beijing, China, 15-17 October 2021. (Accepted for Publication)

Shao, Yanmin, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Qu, Guixian, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Xiong, Yun and Guo, Shengmin (2021) Robust Distributed Time-Varying Vehicle Formation Control under Switching Topologies and External Disturbances. 4th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2021), Beijing, China, 15-17 October 2021. (Accepted for Publication)

Tian, Daxin, Li, Jiawei, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Hao, Wei and Long, Kejun (2021) A Linear Quadratic Gaussian Optimal Control Approach for Train Platoon Formation. 4th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2021), Beijing, China, 15-17 October 2021. (Accepted for Publication)

Zhou, Quan, He, Yinglong, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Li, Ji, Li, Yanfei, Williams, Huw and Xu, Hongming (2021) Modified particle swarm optimization with chaotic attraction strategy for modular design of hybrid powertrains. IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, 7(2), pp. 616-625. (doi: 10.1109/TTE.2020.3014688)

Duan, Xuting, Wang, Qi, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Wang, Jian, Sheng, Zhengguo, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X and Sun, Yafu (2021) Implementing Trajectory Tracking Control Algorithm for Autonomous Vehicle. In: 4th IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems (ICUS 2021), Beijing, China, 15-17 Oct 2021, pp. 947-953. ISBN 9781665438858 (doi: 10.1109/ICUS52573.2021.9641133)

2020

Lan, Jianglin and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2020) Min-max model predictive vehicle platooning with communication delay. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 69(11), pp. 12570-12584. (doi: 10.1109/TVT.2020.3025729)

Wang, Yunpeng, Lang, Ping, Tian, Daxin, Zhou, Jianshan, Duan, Xuting, Cao, Yue and Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X (2020) A game-based computation offloading method in vehicular multiaccess edge computing networks. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 7(6), pp. 4987-4996. (doi: 10.1109/JIOT.2020.2972061)

Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Stobart, Richard and Mason, Byron (2020) Real-time energy management of the electric turbocharger based on explicit model predictive control. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 67(4), pp. 3126-3137. (doi: 10.1109/TIE.2019.2910033)

2018

Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Winward, Edward, Yang, Zhijia, Stobart, Richard, Mason, Byron and Steffen, Thomas (2018) An integrated framework on characterization, control, and testing of an electrical turbocharger assist. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 65(6), pp. 4897-4908. (doi: 10.1109/TIE.2017.2774726)

This list was generated on Wed Mar 11 20:21:28 2026 GMT.

Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item | Conference Proceedings

Number of items: 76.

Articles

Tian, Zhen, Zhao, Dezong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9848-372X, Lin, Zhihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8152-3886, Zhao, Wenjing, Flynn, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3618, Jiang, Yuande, Tian, Daxin, Zhang, Yuanjian and Sun, Yao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-377X (2024) Efficient and balanced exploration-driven decision making for autonomous racing using local information. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, (doi: 10.1109/TIV.2024.3432713) (Early Online Publication)

Conference or Workshop Item

Conference Proceedings

This list was generated on Wed Mar 11 20:21:28 2026 GMT.

Grants

Royal Academy of Engineering/Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, "A Leap Towards Scalable Autonomous Vehicles through Data-efficient AI", PI, £56k, 2025-2026.
Royal Society Exchange Grant, "Trustworthy Perception and Safe Control of Automated Heavy-Duty Vehicle Platoons in Extreme Scenarios", PI, £12k, 2025-2027.
EPSRC Network+ Hub, UK Open Multimodal AI Network, Glasgow PI, £1.82m, 2025-2027.
MSCA Staff Exchanges, "Solid and Fluid Regime Transition of Granular Materials", Co-I, €1.8m, 2025-2029.
EPSRC National Hub, TransiT - Digital Twinning Research Hub for Decarbonising Transport, Co-I, £46m, 2024-2029.
EPSRC Innovation Fellowship, Towards Energy Efficient Autonomous Vehicles via Cloud-Aided Learning, PI, £527k, 2018-2022.
Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship, Cooperative Vehicular Communication and Robust Control for Mixed Vehicle Platoons, PI, £74k, 2020-2024.
University of Glasgow Reinvigorating Research Project, Human-Autonomy-Infrastructure Teaming, Co-I, £100k, 2021-2022.
University of Glasgow TNE project, Flagship Legged Robotic Platform for the Excellence of Research and Teaching, Co-I, £100k, 2021 - 2022.
EPSRC Capital Award, HDL-32E LiDAR sensor from Velodyne, Co-I, £35k, 2018-2018.
Advanced Propulsion Centre project, Dynamic Analysis Modelling and Optimisation of GDI Engines, Co-I, £12.2 million (£2.27 million to the institute), 2017-2021.
Caterpillar I&RC Project, Global Nonlinear Control of Electrified Diesel Engines, PI, £30k, 2013-2014.
EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship, Digital Engineering Performance Networks, Co-I, £202k, 2017-2018.
NSFC Standard Grant, Modelling, Control and Scheduling of Networked Cooperation Systems with Multi Agents, Co-I, CNY630k, 2011–2015.

Supervision

I welcome enquiries to PhD opportunities in automatic control, machine intelligence, autonomous vehicles, robotics and future mobility.

Current PhDs

Mr Qikun Chen (2022-), Causal fault diagnosis
Mr Yansong Jiang (2022-), Explainable autonomous perception
Mr Xiao Yi (2022-), Decision making of autonomous vehicles
Mr Xidong Yan (2022-), Knowledge-driven autonomous driving
Mr Xingyu Tao (2023-), Event triggered cameras
Mr Qinglin Bi (2023-), Embodied robotic manipulation
Mr Jingzhi Ruan (2024-), Embodied robotic sensing
Mr Zixuan Huang (2024-), Accelerated autonomous testing
Mr Boyu Chen (2024-), End-to-end autonomous driving
Mr Joao Lopes (2025-), Physical interaction of robots

Future PhDs

I particularly welcome phd students who are interested in the following research areas:

Embodied intelligence
Causal inference
Safe and trustworthy autonomous systems

Alshehhi, Ahmed
Resilient Teleoperation for Semi-Autonomous Systems
Chen, Qikun
Unravelling the Mystery: A Causal-Based Approach to Task Failure Explanation
Jiang, Yansong
Interpretability of Object Recognition in Autonomous Driving
Ruan, Jingzhi
Tactile-Enhanced Multimodal Learning for Advanced Robotic Reasoning and Manipulation
Wu, Yanping
Multi-Modal Context-Aware Behavior Estimation for Human-Robot Collaboration with Heterogeneous Agents
Yan, Xidong
Knowledge Based Eco-Driving for Connected and Automated Vehicles

Finished PhDs

Dr Zhaoan Ye (2021-2025), Enhancing Data Efficiency for Autonomous Systems with Trustworthy Counterfactual Generative Models
Dr Rongyu Yu (2021-2025), Human behavior-driven robotics and security
Dr Zhen Tian (2021-2025), Training-efficient deep reinforcement learning for safe autonomous driving
Dr Hari Vijayakumar (2019-2024), Uncertainty-aware decision making of automated vehicles
Dr Weihao Lu (2019-2023), Deep learning for 3D object detection on point clouds for autonomous driving
Dr Jinsong Yang (2018-2023), Eco-driving for connected and automated vehicles in mixed traffic
Dr Xiaoyan Hu (2018-2022), Nonlinear control based on structurally optimised neural fuzzy networks
Dr Wen Gu (2017-2022), Model learning and learning based control of dynamic systems

Finished RAs

Dr Jianglin Lan (2018-2021), RA in Low Carbon Autonomous Vehicles
Dr Juan Du (2019-2020), RA in Image Analysis and Machine Learning
Dr Lu Ge (2020-2021), RA in Communications in Connected Vehicles
Dr Dan Zhou (2020-2021), RA in Energy Management of Autonomous Vehicles

Teaching

Courvse Conveners

ENG 4175/5107 (2020-), Autonomous Vehicle Guidance Systems
ENG 3005/3071 (2021-), Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Team Design Projects 3 for Aerospace and Mechatronic students)

Professional activities & recognition

Prizes, awards & distinctions

2015: Young Researcher Award (IEEE Control on Decision and Control)
2016: Most Citation Award (International Journal of Automation and Computing)
2016: Santander Mobility Award (Santander)
2018, 2019: Best Poster Prize (Future Powertrain Conference)
2021: Best Paper Award (IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems)
2021: Excellent Solution Award (Global High-Level Talent Innovation and Application Competition)
2022: Top 4% Peer Review College Member (EPSRC)
2023: Best Paper Award (IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems)

Research fellowships

2018 - 2022: EPSRC Innovation Fellowship
2020 - 2023: Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship
2024 - 2026: Turing Fellow

Grant committees & research advisory boards

2018: UKRI Future Leaders Fellow Peer Review College, Member
2020: EPSRC Peer Review College, Full member

Editorial boards

2022: Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
2022: Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles
2022: Guest Editor on the special issue 'Deep Reinforcement Learning and IoT in Intelligent System' for Sensors
2022: Guest Editor on the special issue 'Underwater-Aerial Integrated Image Processing for Smart Ocean Monitoring' for Journal of Electronic Imaging

Professional & learned societies

2017: Senior Member, IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
2019: Member, Society of Automotive Engineers
2019: Fellow, Higher Education Academy
2020: Member, IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology)

Selected international presentations

2021: COTA International Conference of Transportation Professionals (Online)
2021: CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (Online)

Additional information

Conference TPC member / Session Chair

2025 IROS Associate Editor
2025 ICDCS Workshop Chair
2024 CSTFM Publication Chair
2022 CVCI Invited Session Chair
2019 IEEE ACC Session Chair
2018 PMC TPC
2015 IEEE CDC Session Chair
2014 IEEE ICIA TPC
2014 IEEE ICIST TPC
2013 WCICA TPC
2013 IEEE ICRB TPC
2013 IEEE ICIA TPC

Session/Workshp Organisation

2023 IEEE CASE, Session Co-organiser
2022 Workshop of Connected Autonomous Systems at University of Glasgow, Co-Chair

Patents

Tomas Longley, Richard Stobart, Jiamei Deng, and Dezong Zhao, “Control system for an engine assembly” (US 2015/0046067 A1, EP20120160010)
Tomas Longley, Richard Stobart, Jiamei Deng, and Dezong Zhao, “Optimised real-time control of a highly dynamic engine system” (US 2015/0066337 A1, EP20120160006)

Visiting Positions

Visiting Research Professor at Tsinghua University, 2020-2021
Visiting Fellow at The University of Hong Kong, 2022

PhD viva Convener / Examiner

External Examiner for University of Leeds since 2025
External Examiner for Nanyang Technological University since 2025
External Examiner for Hong Kong Polytechnic University since 2025
External Examiner for University of Warwick since 2023
External Examiner for Loughborough University since 2023
External Examiner for University of Birmingham since 2021
Convener at University of Glasgow since 2022

Regular Reviewer

IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine, IEEE Control Systems Letters, IEEE Networking Letters, Asian Journal of Control, SAE International, ACTA AUTOMATICA SINICA, Journal of Control Theory and Applications, IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, American Control Conference, IFAC Symposium on Automotive Control, IEEE Multi-conference on Systems and Control, IFAC Congress.

A portrait of Dezong Zhao

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James Watt School of Engineering