Dr. Hong Zhang

Biography

Hong Zhang is a faculty member in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta. He completed his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Northeastern University in 1982 and earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1986. His research primarily focuses on Robotics, Computer Vision, and Image Processing, with notable contributions to image segmentation techniques. His innovative work in visual robot image processing involves developing algorithms for pixel classification, particularly aimed at applications within Alberta's oil sands industry. Zhang's research evaluates segmentation algorithms with a unique performance metric that fairly assesses both over-segmentation and under-segmentation across images with multiple objects. He is also interested in Collective Robotics, investigating the principles that allow multiple robots to collaborate on tasks. His methodologies are inspired by the behaviors of social insects, leading to the synthesis of interaction rules between robots. In recent years, his efforts have been directed towards collective decision-making and construction tasks, with applications demonstrated in various practical scenarios.

Research Interests