Guest Speaker: Prof. ZHU Zheng Hong
Department of Mechanical Engineering
York University
Prof. Zheng Hong (George) Zhu is a Professor and Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Robotics and AI at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering. He is also the founding Director of York’s Manufacturing Technology Entrepreneurship Centre and Space Engineering Design Laboratory.
Prof. Zhu is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading scholars in astronautics and is internationally recognized for his contributions to spacecraft dynamics and control, space robotics, space-debris mitigation, and space-tether technologies. In addition to his academic career, he brings 11 years of professional experience in the Canadian defence industry. This experience has helped shape a research and leadership approach that bridges fundamental inquiry, mission-oriented engineering, and applied technology development.
Prof. Zhu has published more than 450 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, with over 8,600 Google Scholar citations and an h-index of 51. He has led major interdisciplinary programs, including two CubeSat missions and large-scale initiatives, e.g., in-space additive manufacturing, funded by CFI, NFRF, NSERC, and CSA, totaling approximately $16 million.
Prof. Zhu’s distinctions include election as an Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Engineering Institute of Canada, Engineers Canada, Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association. He is also an Associate Fellow of AIAA and a College Member of the Royal Society of Canada. His honours include the 2024 Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Gold Medal, the 2024 CSME Solid Mechanics Medal, the 2021 Robert W. Angus Medal, and York University’s 2021 President’s Research Excellence Award.
He further shapes the field as Editor-in-Chief of Acta Astronautica, the flagship journal of the International Academy of Astronautics, and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, China’s No.1 aerospace engineering journal.
Abstract
Autonomous robotic active debris removal is critical for ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities. This research introduces a novel framework that employs a swarm of small, resource-limited spacecraft (e.g., CubeSats, Nanosats) instead of a single complex robotic platform for the capture and deorbit of tumbling, noncooperative debris. Inspired by the collective behaviors of ant colonies and bird flocks, the approach leverages a decentralized, behavior-based control architecture that enables spacecraft swarms to self-organize, explore, and collaboratively encapsulate targets. Individual agents execute aggregation and flocking behaviors to converge on the debris, while anti-flocking mechanisms optimize distribution for comprehensive surface coverage and shape capture. Limited onboard memory and local inter-agent communication facilitate synchronized capture actions through shared observations of debris landmarks. The result is a leaderless, interchangeable multi-agent system that enhances robustness, scalability, and mission resilience, while reducing cost and system complexity. This swarm-based paradigm advances the state of the art in active debris removal and provides a scalable, efficient pathway toward sustainable space operations.
