Dr Ali Rohan is a Lecturer in Digital Engineering and Transformation. He specialises in AI, robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and computer vision, with a focus on developing intelligent systems capable of perceiving, reasoning, and operating autonomously in complex and unstructured environments. His work spans aerial, surface, and underwater robotic systems, with particular emphasis on perception, sensor fusion, learning-based methods, and autonomous decision-making.
His research addresses challenges in autonomous operation where sensing is incomplete, unreliable, or degraded. A central theme of his work is understanding how limitations in sensing and perception affect robotic autonomy and developing AI-driven approaches for robust perception, navigation, and decision-making.
Alongside robotics and autonomous systems, his research explores the application of AI across a range of domains, including predictive maintenance and condition monitoring for industrial systems, healthcare, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and offshore inspection.
Dr Rohan holds a PhD in Electrical, Electronics and Control Engineering from Kunsan National University, South Korea, where his doctoral research focused on AI and computer vision for autonomous aerial systems, including multimodal perception for surveillance and search-and-rescue applications.
He has held academic and research positions in the UK and South Korea, contributing to projects in autonomous systems, industrial AI, robotics, computer vision, and sustainability-focused applications. Prior to joining Loughborough University, he held positions at the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, the University of Nottingham, Dongguk University, and Kunsan National University.
His broader expertise includes machine learning, signal and image processing, intelligent automation, sensor fusion, autonomous navigation, and the integration of AI with physical and robotic systems.
Research
Core research areas: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Autonomous Systems.
Research topics/ areas of applications include:
- Physical AI, Agentic AI, and embodied intelligence
- AI and robotics for environmental monitoring
- Computer vision and robotic perception
- Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
- Autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs)
- Multi-robot and heterogeneous robotic systems
- Sensor fusion, localisation and navigation
- Autonomous decision-making and control
- AI for industrial manufacturing
- AI for renewable energy
- AI and machine learning for robotics
- Autonomous and intelligent robotic systems
Reviewer:
Member Peer Review College, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Reviewer, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Pattern Recognition, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, Journal of Field Robotics, Expert Systems with Applications, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Signal Processing, IET journals, IEEE Access, , Drones.
Editorial Activity:
Associate Editor, Electronics.
Guest Editor, Special Issue: Advances in Multimodal Data Fusion, AI, Machine Learning, and Robotics for Inspection, Fault Diagnosis, and Real-Time Solutions in Challenging Environments
Teaching modules
- WSC419 - Machine Learning and AI for Engineering
- WSC413 - Machine Learning for IoT Systems
- WSA105 – Mechanical Design