Yicheng Chen

Yicheng Chen

PhD student in robotics

The University of Tokyo

Hello! I’m Yicheng.

I am currently a PhD student at the DRAGON Lab, The University of Tokyo, supervised by Associate Professor Moju Zhao. I am into aerial robotics, with a focus on motion planning research, from foundational algorithms to real-world applications.

I obtained my MSc and BEng degree from Beihang University.

Interests
  • Aerial Robotics
  • Motion Planning
  • Optimization
  • Embodied AI
Education

  • PhD student in Robotics, Oct. 2024 -

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

  • MSc in Control Science and Engineering, Sept. 2021 - Jun. 2024

    School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University

  • BEng in Automation, Sept. 2017 - Jun. 2021

    School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University

Posts

Featured Work

Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Haokun Liu, Zicheng Luo, Kotaro Kaneko, Moju Zhao
February, 2026 IEEE T-ASE
Hierarchical Trajectory Planning of Floating-Base Multi-Link Robot for Maneuvering in Confined Environments
Hierarchical Trajectory Planning of Floating-Base Multi-Link Robot for Maneuvering in Confined Environments

A planning framework for floating-base multi-link robots that has been demonstrated on a real robot to generate continuous, collision-free, and dynamically feasible trajectories directly from raw point-cloud inputs, without relying on handcrafted obstacle models.
PDF Cite Video DOI
Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Wenyuan Qin, Yongzhao Hua, Xiwang Dong, Qingdong Li
March, 2025 IROS 2025
Learning to Initialize Trajectory Optimization for Vision-Based Autonomous Flight in Unknown Environments
Learning to Initialize Trajectory Optimization for Vision-Based Autonomous Flight in Unknown Environments

We introduce NEO-Planner, which uses a neural network to initialize trajectory optimization for autonomous drones, cutting computation by 26% without sacrificing quality.
PDF Cite Code Video DOI

Publications

Effector-Centric NMPC of Tiltable Multirotors for Offset-Free Omnidirectional Aerial Manipulation
Jinjie Li, Yicheng Chen, Johannes Kübel, Haokun Liu, Moju Zhao (2026). Effector-Centric NMPC of Tiltable Multirotors for Offset-Free Omnidirectional Aerial Manipulation. IEEE T-RO.

PDF DOI Video 1 Video 2 Video 3

CoFL-S: Spatially Queryable Sector Flow Fields for Local Language-Conditioned Navigation
Haokun Liu, Zhaoqi Ma, Yicheng Chen, Wentao Zhang, Masaki Kitagawa, Zicen Xiong, Jinjie Li, Moju Zhao (2026). CoFL-S: Spatially Queryable Sector Flow Fields for Local Language-Conditioned Navigation. CoRL 2026.

PDF Video

CoFL: Continuous Flow Fields for Language-Conditioned Navigation
Haokun Liu, Zhaoqi Ma, Yicheng Chen, Masaki Kitagawa, Wentao Zhang, Zicen Xiong, Jinjie Li, Moju Zhao (2026). CoFL: Continuous Flow Fields for Language-Conditioned Navigation. IEEE Transactions on Robot Learning (under review).

PDF Video

Hierarchical Trajectory Planning of Floating-Base Multi-Link Robot for Maneuvering in Confined Environments
Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Haokun Liu, Zicheng Luo, Kotaro Kaneko, Moju Zhao (2026). Hierarchical Trajectory Planning of Floating-Base Multi-Link Robot for Maneuvering in Confined Environments. IEEE T-ASE.

PDF Cite Video DOI

Learning Agile and Robust Omnidirectional Aerial Motion on Overactuated Tiltable-Quadrotors
Wentao Zhang, Zhaoqi Ma, Jinjie Li, Huayi Wang, Haokun Liu, Junichiro Sugihara, Chen Chen, Yicheng Chen, Moju Zhao (2026). Learning Agile and Robust Omnidirectional Aerial Motion on Overactuated Tiltable-Quadrotors. IEEE RA-L.

PDF Code Video

Design, Modeling and Direction Control of a Wire-Driven Robotic Fish Based on a 2-DoF Crank-Slider Mechanism
Yita Wang, Chen Chen, Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Yuichi Motegi, Kenji Ohkuma, Toshihiro Maki, Moju Zhao (2026). Design, Modeling and Direction Control of a Wire-Driven Robotic Fish Based on a 2-DoF Crank-Slider Mechanism. ICRA 2026.

PDF Video

Hierarchical Language Models for Semantic Navigation and Manipulation in an Aerial-Ground Robotic System
Haokun Liu, Zhaoqi Ma, Yunong Li, Junichiro Sugihara, Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Moju Zhao (2025). Hierarchical Language Models for Semantic Navigation and Manipulation in an Aerial-Ground Robotic System. Advanced Intelligent Systems.

PDF Video DOI

Learning to Initialize Trajectory Optimization for Vision-Based Autonomous Flight in Unknown Environments
Yicheng Chen, Jinjie Li, Wenyuan Qin, Yongzhao Hua, Xiwang Dong, Qingdong Li (2025). Learning to Initialize Trajectory Optimization for Vision-Based Autonomous Flight in Unknown Environments. IROS 2025.

PDF Cite Code Video DOI

Adaptively Dynamic RRT*-Connect: Path Planning for UAVs Against Dynamic Obstacles
Yicheng Chen, Lingling Wang (2022). Adaptively Dynamic RRT*-Connect: Path Planning for UAVs Against Dynamic Obstacles. CACRE 2022.

PDF Cite DOI Slides

Multi-UAV Mobile Edge Computing and Path Planning Platform Based on Reinforcement Learning
Huan Chang, Yicheng Chen, Baochang Zhang, David Doermann (2021). Multi-UAV Mobile Edge Computing and Path Planning Platform Based on Reinforcement Learning. IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence.

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Projects

Aug 4, 2023
Aeriva: A Mini Autonomous Quadrotor Platform
Aeriva: A Mini Autonomous Quadrotor Platform

I designed and assembled this safe and agile 3.5-inch drone. It has been used in various scientific research and competitions in my lab.
May 20, 2022
SLAM Practice on Unmanned Ground Vehicles
SLAM Practice on Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Implemented some basic SLAM algorithms on a TurtleBot and an Ackerman mini vehicle.
Dec 23, 2018
2018 Beihang Robot Competition
2018 Beihang Robot Competition

Built an Arduino-based robot with the following functions: line tracking, obstacle avoidance, object grabbing, and Bluetooth remote control.

Moments

I love staying active through sports, especially long-distance running 🏃, hiking 🥾, cycling 🚴, table tennis 🏓, and snowboarding 🏂.