Main Page

From FZwiki

Control & Dynamical Systems

Francisco A. Zabala California Institute of Technology Ph.D. Student Control and Dynamical Systems

Neurobiology & Biomechanics

Research Interests

Application of control, and dynamical systems theory to the characterization of sensory-motor transformations that are used by organisms to perform complex navigation tasks. Reverse engineering these relations for designing and developing biomimetic algorithms suited for implementation in next-generation robotic platforms. At present, I am focused in the characterization of flight dynamics and control in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) under the advise of Prof. Michael H. Dickinson and Prof. Richard M. Murray.

Projects (partial listing)

Note: please click on the titles (rather than the images) to access each project's page. 2008–Present Automated Tracking of Insect Flight 2008–Present Characterization of Flight Initiation in Drosophila 2006–2007 Team Caltech: DARPA Urban Challenge 2005–2006 Vision-based Navigation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

ARCHIVE

Publications

Journal Articles

• Flight dynamics and control of evasive maneuvers: the fruit fly's takeoff [preprint]

F. A. Zabala, G. M. Card, E. I. Fontaine, R. M. Murray and M. H. Dickinson (2009)
To appear. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering Letters (invited article for special issue on Biorobotics).

• Wing and body motion during flight initiation in Drosophila revealed by automated visual tracking [link]

E. I. Fontaine, F. Zabala, M. H. Dickinson, and J. W. Burdick (2009)
Journal of Experimental Biology, 212, 1307-1323, 2009.

Refereed Conference Papers

• Directionality Control and Flight Stability of Takeoff [preprint]

F. A. Zabala (2009)
To appear. 2009 IEEE Intl. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA '09). Kobe, Japan, May 2009.

• Dynamics of Escaping Flight Initiations of Drosophila melanogaster [pdf]

F. A. Zabala, G. M. Card, E. I. Fontaine, R. M. Murray, and M. H. Dickinson (2008)
In Proc. 2008 IEEE RAS/EMBS Int. Conf. on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob '08), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2008, pp. 1-7.

Technical Reports

• Vision-based Navigation for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle [pdf]
  

F. A. Zabala (2006)
Senior Design Project. Aug 2006.

• IONO: Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Ground Vehicle [pdf]
  

F. A. Zabala (2006)
AUVSI Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition. Final Report, May 2006.

Other

• Projective Geometry: Putting Engineering into Perspective
  

F. A. Zabala (2007)
CSU Journal of Undergraduate Research in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Vol. IX, Spring 2007.

Coursework

• BE 105 - Introduction to Biomechanics (Sp09)
• BE 152 - The Physiology of Motion (Wi09)
• CDS 110b - Introduction to Control Theory (Wi09)
• CDS 140a - Introduction to Dynamics (Fa08*)
• CDS 270-1 - Advanced Topics in Systems and Control: System Identification (Sp08)
• CDS 104 - Introductory Concepts for Dynamical Systems (Sp08)
• CS/EE/ME 75abc - Multi-Disciplinary Systems Engineering (Fa06, Wi07, Sp07)
• CDS 110a - Introductory Control Theory (Fa06). Course Project

* audited

Funding & Awards

• California Institute of Technology (2009, 2010)
  • Betty & Gordon Moore Minority Fellowship, Fellow

• Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (2009)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, Fellow

• U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, Fellow (2007)

• National Science Foundation
  • NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention (2007)

• California State University
  • California Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Fellow (2006)
  • College of Engineering and Computer Science Research Project Grant, Recipient (2005, 2006)
  • CSU Research Competition, 2nd Place (2006)
  • Rockwell-Collins Inc. IFES R&D Competition, 1st Place Team (2006)
  • Outstanding Senior Project Award, Recipient (2006)
  • Scholar-Athlete Scholarship [NCAA Div. I Soccer] (2003, 2004)

Media

• College of Engineering and Computer Science Highlights Fall, 2006
  Sections: Research Conference, Flying Robot, and Rockwell-Collins Summer Engineering Program
  
• Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellows December, 2006; by Debra Cano Ramos
  
• Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Development April, 2006; by Linda Capplette
  
• CSUF Soccer Team 2003–2005

CV

[zabala_cv.pdf]

Contact

Control and Dynamical Systems
California Institute of Technology
1200 E California Blvd MC 107-81
Pasadena, CA 91125
Office: (626) 395-3368