Fangzheng Liu

Hi, I'm Fangzheng Liu, a PhD candidate in the Responsive Environments group. I'm a maker and engineer, and I hope I can go to space in the future! I love painting, basketball, and hiking! I really enjoy building things (embedded systems, electrical-mechanical systems) that can do some interesting things.

I got my first Master's degree in Signal and Information Processing from China (2018). After that, I went to CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and worked as an engineer in the AMS-02 experiment, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector operating on the International Space Station (ISS).

After a year of work at CERN, I came to MIT Media Lab. Currently, my main research is miniature robotics and wireless sensor networks for future solar system object exploration to address challenges in planetary and deep space explorations faced by current platforms, such as single high-cost rovers and landers, for more efficient planetary and deep space exploration. I developed low-cost, resource-efficient autonomous miniature robots for inspections and diagnostics on external surfaces of in-orbit spacecraft, as well as planetary rovers and landers. A notable project within this framework is the development of the "AstroAnt", a miniature robot slated for deployment to the Lunar South Pole in the IM-2 lunar mission in 2024. The AstroAnt will work on the top panel of the MAPP-1 lunar rover, collecting thermal data from various positions to monitor the rover's thermal system performance.

My personal Web: FZ-portfolio