Daniel Zhou Hao

Dr. Hao is a lecturer (assistant professor) in AI and Robotics at CMS. He is the founder of the Dynamics and Neural Intelligence (DANi) Lab and the Team Lead of the DriverLeics research-inspired education group in AI-powered robotics and autonomous systems.

Dr. Hao is the Leicester's PI in the UK Space Agency (UKSA) funded PLATOR project. He is also the Robotics Lead for the ESA/NASA Mars Sample Return DWI Project (ESA Prog. ref: E/019A-02R - MSR SRP E3P2), affiliated with Space Park Leicester. Dr. Hao is the Co-I of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Transformation of Metals Industry (2024), working with School of Engineering.

Dr. Hao's expertise encompasses Spacecraft AOCS/GNC, Robotics, and AI. His current research interests include autonomous GNC supporting in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, Large language and vision models driven robotics, Reinforcement Learning for Legged Space Robots, AI-driven Robotic Manipulation, and AI for Space Sciences.

Before joining Leicester, Dr. Hao worked at the Centre for Vision, Speech, and Signal Processing (CVSSP)- funded by the University of Surrey, and at the Surrey Space Centre- funded by EPSRC. He was awarded a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, specialising in Very Low Earth Orbits Thermospherical Spacecraft Attitude Control, from the University of Manchester in 2018. Additionally, he holds double-MSc in both Space Sciences and Astronautical Engineering.

Dr. Hao is passionate about discussing science to inspire the general public and younger generations to be fascinated by AI and Space. He has lead teams to participate in various outreach events, including the BrightSparks STEM Fair 2023, Cheltenham Science Festival 2019, and BlueDot Science Festival 2016