Zilin Huang

Hey, thanks for stopping by!

I am currently a final-year Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working under the guidance of Prof. Sikai (Sky) Chen and serving as the Co-Founder of Sky-Lab. I am also affiliated with the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) and the Smart Highway Research Center (SHRC). Before joining UW-Madison, I worked with Prof. Samuel Labi at the Purdue University.

I envision that future transportation systems will evolve into a complex human-robot-society ecosystem, where humans coexist, interact, and collaborate with diverse autonomous agents (e.g., autonomous vehicles, delivery robots, and flying vehicles) in mobility environments. These agents must not only operate safely, but also understand human behaviors, preferences, and social norms to enable seamless integration into human society. Building on this vision, my research aims to develop human-centered and trustworthy autonomous systems that can operate seamlessly with, alongside, and around humans. This leads to several key research questions that drive my work: 1) How to develop an open-world simulation platform that supports unified simulation of diverse human and agents with realistic physical and social interactions; 2) How to design algorithms that enable agents to achieve human-level intelligence while ensuring their decisions are socially compliant and reliable; 3) How to effectively transfer these capabilities from simulation to real deployment and continuously improve through real-world feedback. Through this research, we can achieve broader societal goals—enhanced safety, mobility, and efficiency, along with improved user trust and satisfaction—ultimately enabling a future where humans and robots coexist harmoniously.

Technologically, I am interested in the following areas: