Dr Gengqian Yang

Gengqian's Journey in AAPS: An Alumni Profile

Gengqian joined the AAPS CDT after completing his MSc with distinction in Robotics and Autonomous Systems at the University of Bath in 2020. Before coming to Bath, he earned his Bachelor's in Telecommunication Engineering from Zhengzhou University, China, where he received multiple academic excellence scholarships and awards.

Motivated by a desire to apply electronics, sensing and AI to real-world problems, he was drawn to AAPS as a unique opportunity to continue his research journey in a collaborative environment. The disruption caused by COVID-19 delayed his original plans, but ultimately led him to discover the CDT and its transdisciplinary approach to future mobility. Outside of research, Gengqian enjoys movies, music, hiking, and catching up with friends over a drink at the pub.

PhD Focus

Gengqian's PhD project, Noncontact Driver Attentiveness Detection System, tackles one of the most critical challenges in road safety: human error. With over 1.3 million road traffic fatalities globally each year and human error contributing to the vast majority of crashes, there is an urgent need for robust driver monitoring systems.

His research focuses on fusing millimetre-wave FMCW radar and computer vision. By extracting cardiorespiratory signals and facial cues from non-intrusive sensors and combining them with behavioural cues, he develops lightweight AI models capable of detecting adverse driver sates such as fatigue and distraction. His work includes comparative studies of radar and camera based vital sign monitoring, the design of robust radar-based cardiorespiratory monitoring systems for drivers under real-world driving scenarios, and driver fatigue classification models. The methods he has developed have potential not only in automotive safety, but also in broader areas such as digital health, biometrics, aviation, and aerospace sectors.

Highlights at AAPS

Over his time in AAPS, Gengqian has combined deep technical work with active engagement in the CDT community and the wider research landscape:

• He has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in IEEE and Springer venues on noncontact driver physiology monitoring and driver drowsiness detection.

• He has presented his research at international conferences, such as ICVS and IEEE MetroXRAINE.

• Within AAPS and IAAPS, he has taken on leadership roles, severing on the organising committee for the AAPS Annual Conference.

• He has also been highly involved in teaching, including unit demonstrating and exam invigilation for signal processing course, developing course material on dimensionality reduction and feature selection for AI/ML unit.

These experiences have strengthened his skills in project management, communication and teamwork, and given him a holistic view of how sensing and AI techniques work in the automotive background.

Looking forward

In the next decade, Gengqian aspires to remain at the forefront of sensing technology innovation for safer, smarter mobility. He is actively seeking opportunities in academic or industrial R&D in automotive interior and exterior sensing, and contribute to systems that have a tangible impact on road safety and human wellbeing. Whether in an university lab, an industrial research centre, or a hybrid role bridging both, he hopes to keep building technologies that help prevent crashes, save lives and enable more intelligent, human-centred mobility.