Research

Multi-agent systems bring their own set of challenges, falling across a wide range of behaviors. I use techniques from game theory, optimization, learning, and control to answer questions across different scales of the autonomy stack, from strategic planning of traffic flows to tactical deconfliction of drones.

Congestion Management for Advanced Air Mobility

Centralized air traffic control does not scale to the volume and on-demand character of drone and eVTOL operations, but today's largely uncoordinated approach is unsafe at any meaningful density. I work on designing protocols and algorithms to optimize strategic traffic flow deconfliction between flights for efficiency and fairness. A recent focus: how do current regulatory frameworks like ASTM F3548-21 break as drone traffic scales?

Publications on this topic

  1. JATS 2025 pdf

    Privacy-Preserving Mechanisms for Coordinating Airspace Usage in Advanced Air Mobility

    C. Maheshwari,M. G. Mendoza,V. Tuck,P. Y. Su,V. Qin,S. Seshia,H. Balakrishnan,S. Sastry

    ACM Journal on Autonomous Transportation Systems, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1-34

  2. Frontiers 2023

    Traffic Management Protocols for Advanced Air Mobility

    C. Chin,V. Qin*,K. Gopalakrishnan,H. Balakrishnan

    Frontiers in Aerospace Engineering, vol. 2, pp. 1176969

  3. ICRAT 2022

    Cost-Aware Congestion Management Protocols for Advanced Air Mobility

    V. Qin*,H. Balakrishnan

    10th International Conference on Research in Air Transportation, Tampa FL

Game-Theoretic Multi-Agent Decision Making

When many strategic agents plan simultaneously, the equilibrium matters more than any single agent's optimum — and the equilibrium can be fragile to modeling error. I work on trajectory optimization and conflict resolution that stay robust when other agents deviate from the model you assumed for them.

Publications on this topic

  1. CDC 2026 (to appear)

    Strategically Robust Game-Theoretic Multi-Agent Trajectory Optimization

    V. Qin*,N. Lanzetti,S. Bolognani,H. Balakrishnan

    65th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Honolulu HI

  2. AAS/AIAA 2023 pdf

    Satellite Collision Avoidance Using Repeated Games

    S. Dolan,V. Qin,G. Ding,H. Balakrishnan

    AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Big Sky MT

Market Structures and Competition Among Service Providers

Future airspace will be shared by competing service providers, and the market structure they operate under shapes the resulting traffic as much as any control algorithm does. I study how competition, entry, and pricing between providers affect system-level efficiency, and what market designs align private incentives with public outcomes.

Publications on this topic

  1. JAT 2024 pdf

    Market Structures for Service Providers in Advanced Air Mobility

    V. Qin*,G. Ding,H. Balakrishnan

    Journal of Air Transportation, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 169-183

  2. ICRAT 2024 pdf

    Modeling Competition Between Service Providers in Advanced Air Mobility

    V. Qin*,H. Balakrishnan

    11th International Conference on Research in Air Transportation, Singapore

    Best Paper in Economics, Environment and Information Track

  3. ATM 2023 pdf

    Market Structures for Service Providers in Advanced Air Mobility

    V. Qin*,G. Ding,H. Balakrishnan

    15th USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminar, Savannah GA

There are no technical problems, only political problems. Technology expands our Pareto frontier; politics determines where we end up within that frontier.