👨‍🎓 About Me

I am currently a second-year PhD student at The University of Texas at Austin.

🔥 News

• October 2023: 🗣 Oral Presentation at IROS 2023 - Delighted to present my V2X-Lead paper in Detroit and to receive the IROS 2023 Travel Grant. My heartfelt thanks to the IROS committee for their encouragement and backing.
• August 2023: 🛬 Starting My PhD Journey - Safely arrived in Austin, ready to embark on my PhD at UT. Excited to be part of this vibrant campus and to collaborate with esteemed faculty members and students.

📝 Publications

IROS 2023

[1] V2X-Lead: Lidar-based End-to-End Autonomous Driving with Vehicle-to-Everything Communication Integration. Zhiyun Deng, Yanjun Shi, and Weiming Shen.

IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2023.

• Utilized vehicle-to-everything communication to enhance the safety and efficiency of an end-to-end autonomous driving agent trained by a reinforcement learning algorithm, particularly when the agent’s vision is obstructed by other vehicles in mixed-autonomy traffic.

IEEE TITS

[2] Cooperative Platoon Formation of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Towards Efficient Merging Coordination at Unsignalized Intersections. Zhiyun Deng, Kaidi Yang, Weiming Shen, and Yanjun Shi.

IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (IEEE TITS), 2023.

• Proposed a bi-level optimization method that can jointly optimize the passing sequences and trajectories of vehicles at traffic intersections, effectively enhancing the safety of vehicle interaction and improving overall traffic efficiency.

IEEE TVT

[3] A Coevolutionary Algorithm for Cooperative Platoon Formation of Connected and Automated Vehicles. Zhiyun Deng, Jiaxin Fan, Yanjun Shi, and Weiming Shen.

IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology (IEEE TVT), 2022.

• Developed a trajectory planning method that reduced fuel consumption for platoons of vehicles (where vehicles travel closely together in a group, like a virtual train) on highways, enabling more eco-friendly and cost-effective transportation.

Appied Sciences

[4] A Conflict Duration Graph-based Coordination Method for Connected and Automated Vehicles at Signal-Free Intersections. Zhiyun Deng, Yanjun Shi, Qiaomei Han, Lingling Lv, and Weiming Shen.

Applied Sciences, 2020.

• Developed a trajectory planning method that prioritized passenger comfort by minimizing the number of sudden stops and starts at traffic intersections, resulting in a more pleasant and enjoyable travel experience.

[5] Zhiyun Deng, Jiaxin Fan, Yanjun Shi, and Weiming Shen, Longitudinal Trajectory Optimization for Connected and Automated Vehicles by Evolving Cubic Splines with Coevolution, IEEE 25th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design (IEEE CSCWD 2022).

Dissertations

[6] Zhiyun Deng, Collaborative Control of Multi-Vehicle Systems at Autonomous Intersections without Signal Controllers (in Chinese), Master’s Thesis, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2022.

[7] Zhiyun Deng, Autonomous Intersection Management with Connected and Automated Vehicles (in Chinese), Bachelor’s Thesis, Wuhan University of Technology, 2020.

🏆 Honors and Awards

Fellowship/Scholarships:

• [2024.02] Graduate Student Assembly Travel Award, UT Austin Graduate Student Assembly
• [2023.10] Professional Development Award, UT Austin Graduate School
• [2023.10] IROS 2023 Travel Grant, IEEE IROS Travel Award Committee
• [2023.08] UT Austin School of Engineering (SoE) Fellowship, UT Austin Cockrell School of Engineering and UT Austin Graduate School
• [2021.12] National Scholarship, Ministry of Education of China
• [2021.11] First-Class Scholarship , Huazhong University of Science and Technology
• [2020.11] First-Class Scholarship, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Honors:

• [2022.06] Outstanding Graduate Award, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
• [2020.06] Outstanding Dissertation Award, Wuhan University of Technology
• [2022.06] Outstanding Graduate Award, Wuhan University of Technology

📖 Educations

• 2023.08 – 2027.05 (expected), Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States.
• 2020.09 – 2022.06, M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
• 2016.09 – 2020.06, B.Eng. in Automotive Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China.

💻 Experience

• 2023.09 – Present, Graduate Research Assistant, The University of Texas at Austin.
• 2022.07 – 2023.06, Graduate Research Assistant, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.