EPIC Lab
EPIC Estimation · Perception · Intelligence · Computing
Reliable intelligence for the physical world.
Mission
From uncertainty to reliable action.
At the EPIC Lab, we study how robots estimate their motion from multiple sensors, detect when that estimate becomes unreliable, and relate the resulting uncertainty to measurable task performance in changing real-world environments.
Our work connects estimation, perception, computing, and action as one physical system. The goal is not only an accurate answer, but an answer a robot can obtain, trust, and use while it moves.
- 01
Sense
Collect complementary measurements from cameras, inertial sensors, LiDAR, GNSS, and the robot itself.
- 02
Estimate
Recover motion, calibration, and uncertainty from noisy, asynchronous observations.
- 03
Understand
Connect state estimates with geometry, maps, objects, and task-relevant structure.
- 04
Act
Use what the robot knows—and what it does not know—to plan, interact, and recover.
Featured work
Systems, not isolated components.
Representative collaborative work that shaped the technical questions EPIC now pursues—from estimator design to dense maps and sensing-compute co-design.
Efficient perception · 2026
miniVIO
A minimalist visual-inertial odometry system built around compact motion constraints.
IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
Sensing and computing · 2026
ORBCam
In-sensor ORB feature processing for ultra-low-power quantized visual-inertial odometry.
IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
Dense spatial representation · 2024
NeRF-VINS
Real-time visual-inertial navigation against a neural radiance field map.
IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
People
The EPIC Lab team.
A growing group at The George Washington University working across robotics, estimation, perception, and intelligent physical systems.
Principal Investigator
Chuchu Chen
Assistant Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University.
Ph.D. Students
Master's Students
Master's Student · Since 2026
Zhentao Fan
B.Eng., Guangdong University of Technology.
Undergraduate Researchers
Undergraduate Researcher · Since 2026
Lucas Tovar-Gaytan
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University.
Undergraduate Researcher · Since 2026
William Wang
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University.
Alumni
Alumnus · Former Undergraduate Researcher
Matthew Chapin
Mechanical Engineering, The George Washington University.
Contact
Questions about EPIC Lab?
For questions about EPIC Lab research, publications, or the group, contact Chuchu Chen by email.
The George Washington University · Washington, DC