Dr Daniel Zhou Hao

Dr Daniel Hao is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in AI and Robotics at the University of Leicester (School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences). He is the founder and Principal Investigator of the Dynamics, Astronautics, and Neural Intelligence (DANi) Lab and leads DriverLeics, a research-led robotics and autonomy group.

He is PI of the UK Space Agency–funded ISPARK project, developing the UK’s first intelligent robotic arc-welding capability for in-space assembly and manufacturing. He also serves as Leicester’s PI on the PLATOR mission study and Robotics Lead for the ESA/NASA Mars Sample Return DWI qualification model. He is affiliated with Space Park Leicester and a Co-Investigator in the EPSRC CDT in Digital Transformation of the Metals Industry, leading AI-driven manufacturing research. Across these activities, he has contributed to securing over £23M in external research funding (with ~£0.7M as PI).

Prior to Leicester, he conducted research at the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) and the Surrey Space Centre. He holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Manchester and dual MSc degrees in Space Sciences and Astronautical Engineering.

His research spans AI, robotics, spacecraft guidance, navigation and control, vision-language-action systems, and intelligent autonomy for in-orbit servicing and manufacturing. He welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD researchers in robotics, AI, and space technologies.

Research Funding

PI, ISPARK- Intelligent SPace Arc-welding Robot (~£630k in total), UK Space Agency, 11.2025
Co-I, Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Transformation of Metals Industry (£18m), EPSRC, 03.2024
PI(Leicester), UK Space Agency's PLATOR Project (~£250k), UK Space Agency, 04.2023
Robotics Lead, ESA/NASA Mars Sample Return DWI Project (~£5m), European Space Agency ITT, 11.2023
PI, Flow-Unified and Stable Optimisation for Generalisable VLAs (10k GH200 GPU Hours), UKRI, 02.2026

Studentship

EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) PhD Studentship (~£100k), 09.2025

Industry Funding

PI, Next Generation Ground Robotic Testbed for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations, Consultancy - Lúnasaspace, 07.2024

Research Interests

• Future Space Missions Powered by AI and Robotics
• Embodied Intelligence in Robotics
• Reinforcement and Imitation Learnings for Robotic Locomotions
• Data Sciences for Future Digital Manufacturing

Journal Editorial

Guest editor for Artificial Intelligence for IoT Systems: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics/special_issues/R1265A6U3R

Publications

Khaksar Ghalati, M., Hao, Z. D., Zhang, J., & Dong, H. (2025). Deep transformers for analyzing BOF steelmaking data. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, 56(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-025-03615-7

Zhang, H., Dhafer, A., Hao, Z. D., & Dong, H. (2025). A generative system for robot-to-human handovers: From intent inference to spatial configuration imagery. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2503.03579 (Preprint)

Ciccarelli, E., Baresi, N., Bernardini N., Saridede, E., Tisaev, M., Hao D.H., Fabris, A.L., and Underwood, C. (2024) 'Trajectory Design and Navigation Analysis of a PLAsma TOrch Rocket Propelled Space Tug', International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (ISSFD), ESOC Darmstadt

Montanaro, U., Martini, S., Hao, Z., Gao, Y., Sorniotti, A. (2023) ‘Multi-input enhanced model reference adaptive control strategies and their application to space robotic manipulators’, International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, doi:10.1002/rnc.6639

Hao, Z., Shyam, A, Rathinam, A., and Gao, Y. (2021) ‘Intelligent spacecraft GNC architecture with the state-of-the-art AI components for on-orbit manipulation’, Frontier in Robotics and AI. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2021.639327

Mavrakis, N., Hao, Z., and Gao, Y. (2021) ‘On-Orbit Robotic Grasping of a Spent Rocket Stage: Grasp Stability Analysis and Experimental Results’, Frontier in Robotics and AI. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2021.652681

Shyam, A., Hao Z., Montanaro U., Dixit S., Rathinam A, Gao, Y., Neumann, G., and Fallah S. (2021) ‘Autonomous Robots for Space: Trajectory Learning and Adaptation Using Imitation’, Frontier in Robotics and AI. doi:10.3389/frobt.2021.638849

Hao, Z., Rathinam, A., Shyam, A., and Gao, Y. (2020) ‘Intelligent GNC Architectures and Designs for Orbital Robotic Applications’, Poster for the Opportunities and Challenges in Space Robotics Workshop, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation - ICRA 2020, Online. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15175.73124

Shyam, A., Rathinam, A., Hao, Z. (2020) ‘Trajectory Tracking and Control of Multiple Robot Arms on a Free-Floating Spacecraft for Debris Removal’, in 3rd UKRAS20 Conference & 1st virtual UK-RAS Conference, 17th April 2020, Online.

Hao, Z., Mavrakis, N., Proenca, P., Gillham Darnley, R., Fallah, S., Sweeting, M. and Gao, Y. (2019) ‘Ground-Based HighDOF AI And Robotics Demonstrator For In-Orbit Space Optical Telescope Assembly’, in 70th International Astronautical Congress, 2019-10-21-2019-10-25, Washington, D.C., United States.

Hao, Z. and Roberts, P. C. E. (2017) ‘Active Aerodynamic Pitch Control for Earth Observation Missions in Very Low Earth Orbits’, in 31st International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS). Matsuyama, Japan.

Virgili-Llop, J., Roberts, P. C. E. and Hao, Z. (2017) ‘Using the attitude response of aerostable spacecraft to measure thermospheric wind’, CEAS Space Journal. doi: 10.1007/s12567-017-0153-9

Hao, Z. and Roberts, P. C. E. (2016) ‘Using Aerodynamic Torques To Aid Detumbling Into An Aerostable State’, in 67th International Astronautical Congress. Guadalajara, Mexico, p. IAC-16,C1,8,4,x35312.

Hao, Z., Xu, Q., Roberts, P. C. E., Hobbs, S., and Kingston, J. (2015) ‘System Design for CubeSat as A Secondary Payload For Deep-Space Mission – A Case Study For ESA Asteroid Impact Mission’, in 66th International Astronautical Congress, Jerusalem, Israel, IAC-15,B4,8,11,x31061.

Virgili-Llop, J., Roberts, P. C. E. and Hao, Z. (2014) ‘Aerodynamic Attitude and Orbit Control Capabilities of The ∆Dsat CubeSat’, in 37th Advances in the Astronautical Sciences. Breckenridge, Colorado.

Virgili-Llop, J., Roberts, P. C. E., Hao, Z., Tomas, L. R. and Beauplet, V. (2014) ‘Very Low Earth Orbit mission concepts for Earth Observation: Benefits and challenges’, in 12th Reinventing Space Conference. London, UK

Book Chapter

Rathinam, A., Hao, Z., and Gao, Y. (2020) for Chapter ‘Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation for Orbital Robotic Servicing Applications’ for ‘Space Robotics and Autonomous Systems: Technologies, Advances and Applications’, PBCE130, Publisher: the IET

PhD Supervision
Present team
Hanxin Zhang - Explainable Embodied Intelligence (VLA, VLM)
Gemma McLean - AI and Robotics for Space (Visual-Tactile Sensing For Robotic Research and Grasping)
Abdulqader Dhafer - Embodied Intelligence & Reinforcement Learning in Robotic Skills Learning
Ansel Ong - World Model for Metal Manufeucring Process
Lin Qi - Swarm Robot Vision (Co-Supervision)
Mingshuo Xu - Small Target Tracking (Co-Supervision)
Tom Buteux - A Novel Spacecraft Attitude Determination Approach (Co-Supervision)
Alumni
Roin (Lijia) Deng - AI Crowed Counting (Successfully Completed PhD Nov 2024)
Hengde Zhu - Affective Computing (Successfully Completed PhD Jun 2024 ) [Previously with Dr Siyang Song]
Anthony Miller - Deep learning for Lada Diabetes Classification (Successfully Completed PhD Nov 2025) [Previously with Dr John Panneerselvam]

ESA/NASA DWI Project Research Intern
Abdulqader A.M. Dhafer (2024.03 - 2024.08)

MSc Supervision
Dr. Hao has supervised many MSc in AI related topics (Open to student-proposed projects. Please contact Dr. Hao for more information)

UG Supervision
Dr. Hao has supervised many undergraduate projects in AI and Robotics. Examples of these projects include:
High-Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) Kendo Practice Robot
Nvidia Jetson Controlled Autonomous Driving Vehicle
Reinforcement Learning for a 2-Legged Humanoid Walking

DriverLeics (https://driverleics.github.io/)

Dr. Hao is the team lead of the Research-Inspired Education group for autonomous systems and AI at CMS.

Computing Sciences Modules

[CO2103] - Semester 1 Software Architecture and System Development (Java, Spring Boot, Modern Software Technologies) 

[CO7099] Foundations of Cybersecurity (Encryption, Firewall, Security Protocols, Network Technology)

[CO3201/3202] Computer Science Project

Dr. Hao supervises a range of undergraduate research projects focusing on Artificial Intelligence for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications.

[CO7201] Master's Individual Project

Dr. Hao supervises a range of undergraduate research projects focusing on General Artificial Intelligence Applications and Software Engineering.

Guest Lecture

Dr. Hao is also a guest lecturer in Spacecraft Engineering at the University of Bath (2022). 

 

Articles: 

How AI can help you make a computer game without knowing anything about coding The Conversation

AI could be the breakthrough that allows humanoid robots to jump from science fiction to reality  The Conversation

Events:

UK in Space Festival 2024 at National Space Centre

BrightSparks 2024 STEM Fair

BrightSparks 2023 STEM Fair

UK Space Agency Funded PLATOR Project

Breakfast BBC East Midlands Today (Jun 29, 2023)

University of Leicester Podcast - AI for Space Applications

 

Citizen Recognition Scheme Award  05.2024

Nomination for Superstar Award for Best Lecturer 06.2024

University of Manchester PhD Scholarship 2016 - 2018

PhD in Aerospace Engineering (Funded by UoM), The University of Manchester, UK 2018
Engineering Programme in Robotics (4 ECTS Credits), Tohoku University, Japan 2015
MSc in Astronautical and Space Engineering (Erasums SpaceMaster), Cranfield University, UK 2014
MSc in Space Technology, Luleå University of Technology (Space Campus), Sweden and The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg, Germany 2013
BSc in Aerospace Engineering, Monash University, Australia 2012