Masahiro (Hiro) Ono is the Group Leader of the Robotic Surface Mobility Group. His broad interest is centered around the application of autonomy for space missions, with an emphasis on enhancing the safety, efficiency, and performance of robotic mobility though the applications of risk-aware decision making and machine learning.
Since he joined JPL in 2013, he has led a number of research projects on Mars rover autonomy, as well as three NIAC studies on Enceladus Vent Explorer (Phase I and II) and Comet Hitchhiker (Phase I). Hiro was a flight software developer of M2020’s Enhanced AutoNav and the lead of M2020 Landing Site Traversability Analysis. He also led the development of a machine learning-based Martian terrain classifier, SPOC (Soil Property and Object Classification), which won JPLs Software of the Year Award in 2020.
- PhD, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
- MS, Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
- MS, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
- BS, Aeronautics and Astronautics, The University of Tokyo, 2005
- Research Technologist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (2013 - )
- Research Associate (equivalent of tenure-track faculty), Keio University (2012-2013)
Robotic autonomy, surface mobility, machine learning, path planning, risk-aware planning
Papers (Google Scholar): https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iyB4P2MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Movies:
- SPOC Lite (terrain classifier for Mars rovers): https://youtu.be/LJXQ0-a9IJE
- MAARS (Machine learning-based analytics for automated rover systems): https://youtu.be/-AYvgTlDKQM
