Dr. Umar Iqbal

Associate Professor

Office

GE Road 241

Office Phone

(309) 438-1755office
phone

uiqbal1@ilstu.eduemail

About
Education
Awards & Honors
Selected Research

Biography

Dr. Umar Iqbal is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and a founding faculty member of the College of Engineering at Illinois State University. His research develops resilient multisensor autonomy, sensor fusion, estimation, GNSS-challenged navigation, robotic perception, and control that let intelligent vehicles and robots operate reliably when GNSS or individual sensors are degraded, uncertain, or unavailable. That work has progressed from MEMS-based inertial/GNSS integration and nonlinear navigation-error modeling to radar- and LiDAR-aided sensing, precise point positioning, robotic navigation, and integrity-aware autonomy. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications with 1,200+ citations (Google Scholar), contributed as a Co-PI, faculty advisor, and investigator on NSF- and DOE/Argonne-funded programs totaling nearly $3 million, and co-supervised and mentored 8 master's and 12 doctoral students.

At Illinois State, Dr. Iqbal contributes to building the new College of Engineering by developing and teaching first-year engineering design, leading the MotoVida humanitarian design challenge with OSF HealthCare, and helping establish teaching and robotics laboratories, design studios, a makerspace, and ABET processes.

He joined Illinois State in 2024 from Mississippi State University (2018–2024), where he was Co-PI on an NSF S-STEM award for engineering transfer students, faculty advisor to the DOE/Argonne EcoCAR EV Challenge team, and co-architect of the ECE department's fully online program. Earlier, he was a postdoctoral fellow and deputy director of the NavINST Research Lab at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, taught engineering design at the University of Ottawa and Queen's University, and held industry R&D roles.

He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Queen's University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng., APEGA), a Senior Member of IEEE, a member of the Institute of Navigation, and an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has developed and taught more than 25 distinct courses across five universities, from first-year design to graduate multisensor fusion, robotics, and control; he was inducted into Mississippi State's Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2024 and received University College's 2026 Impact Award at Illinois State for contributions to student success.

Current Courses

ELE 220.001 Circuits II

EGR 130.001 Introduction to Engineering Design

ELE 225.001 Mechatronics I

EGR 120.001 Engineering Explorations

EGR 120.003 Engineering Explorations

EGR 120.005 Engineering Explorations

Teaching Interests & Areas

First-Year Engineering Design; Autonomous Systems Design; Multisensor Data Fusion and Estimation; Robotics (Mechanics, Dynamics, Planning, and Control); Navigation Systems (GNSS/INS); Feedback and Digital Control Systems; Embedded and Real-Time Systems; Signals and Systems; Circuits and Electronics; Electromagnetics; Project-Based, Laboratory, Design-Studio, and Blended Learning

Research Interests & Areas

Resilient Multisensor Autonomy: sensor fusion and estimation that keep intelligent vehicles and robots operating under degraded, uncertain, or adversarial sensing; integrity monitoring and fault detection; trustworthy autonomous systems

Positioning and Navigation: GNSS/INS integration; low-cost MEMS inertial sensing; precise point positioning; navigation in GNSS-challenged and GNSS-denied environments; radar- and LiDAR-aided navigation; indoor and pedestrian positioning

Robotic Perception and Control: LiDAR-based perception; robotic navigation and control on ROS 2 platforms; direction-of-arrival estimation for vehicle localization; machine learning for low-cost inertial sensors

Interdisciplinary Research: humanitarian robotics (MotoVida all-terrain mini-ambulance with OSF HealthCare); sensing for healthcare sustainability and biomechanics; agricultural robotics and sensing; engineering-education research on first-year design and blended learning

Ph D Electrical and Computer Engineering

Queen’s University

Kingston, ON, Canada

MS Electrical and Computer Engineering

Royal Military College of Canada

Kingston, ON, Canada

MS Electronics Engineering

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology

Topi, Pakistan

BS Electrical Engineering

University of Engineering and Technology

Lahore, Pakistan

Impact Award

Student-nominated recognition for contributions to student success and learning. University College & Office of the Provost, Illinois State University

2026

Academy of Distinguished Teachers

Inducted for fostering challenging, inclusive, and engaging engineering learning environments. Bagley College of Engineering, Mississippi State University

2024

Certificate of Outstanding Contribution

Recognized for leadership as Track Chair (2022) and Publicity Chair (2024) of the IEEE International Conference on Communications, Signal Processing, and their Applications

2024

Certificate of Recognition

Recognized for service and leadership as elected Chair of the Physics & Engineering Division, Mississippi Academy of Sciences.

2024

Dr. George Adebiyi Award

Awarded for outstanding teaching and student support, presented by the NSBE & IMAGE chapters at Mississippi State University.

2021

Outstanding Volunteer Award, IEEE

Recognized for years of dedicated volunteer service as Section Secretary and Vice Chair (Programs), IEEE Kingston Section.

2016

Registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.)

APEGA - Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, Canada

2016

Research Excellence Award

Awarded for distinguished doctoral research at the ECE Department, Queen’s University, in multi-sensor systems and navigation.

2012

Senior Member, IEEE

Recognizing sustained professional and technical achievement. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

2012

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

Competitive, merit-based provincial scholarship recognizing academic excellence and doctoral research potential. Government of Ontario

2011

Grants and Contracts

Advancing Zero Waste to Landfill at OSF HealthCare through Plastic Waste Valorization

Md Hafizur Rahman, Umar Iqbal, Craig C McLauchlan, Ryan Wolf.

Connected Communities Initiative (CCI), OSF HealthCare and Illinois State University. July 1 2026 - June 30 2027

Establishing Advanced Biomechanical Research Facilities

Michael Torry, Umar Iqbal.

Illinois State University ARCS-Track II. October 1 2025 - September 30 2027

Motion-Tracking Pilot for Human Movement Sensing

Umar Iqbal.

University Research Grant. 2025

UAV-Based Removal of Agricultural Plastics: Interdisciplinary Robotics Pilot

Umar Iqbal.

College of Engineering Collaborative Seed Grant. 2025

EcoCAR EV Challenge

Umar Iqbal.

U.S. Department of Energy / Argonne National Laboratory · Awarding Org: Mississippi State University. 2022

Improving Engineering Transfer Student Success through Early Advising and Purposeful Community-Building

Umar Iqbal.

National Science Foundation (S-STEM #2130171). 2021

Conference Proceeding

Warped Fourth Order Cumulant Beamforming for Estimating DOA from Non-uniform Linear Arrays of DIFAR Sonobuoys

A Massoud, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

2024 6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNAL PROCESSING, AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, ICCSPA 2024, (2024), 10.1109/ICCSPA61559.2024.10794275

A Review of Sensor System Schemes for Integrated Navigation

Umar Iqbal, A Abosekeen, M Elsheikh, A Noureldin, MJ Korenberg.

2022 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNAL PROCESSING, AND THEIR APPLICATIONS (ICCSPA), (2022), 10.1109/ICCSPA55860.2022.10019177

An Analysis to Enhance the Reliability of an Integrated Navigation System at Multiple Stages by using FOS

Umar Iqbal, A Abosekeen, A Noureldin, MJ Korenberg.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 33RD INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS+ 2020), 326-340, (2020), 10.33012/2020.17606

Enhanced Land Vehicles Navigation by Fusing Automotive Radar and Speedometer Data

A Abosekeen, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 33RD INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS+ 2020), 2206-2219, (2020), 10.33012/2020.17527

Integration of Electronic Scanning Radars with Inertial Technology for Seamless Positioning in challenging GNSS Environments

MA Rashed, M Elhabiby, Umar Iqbal, MJ Korenberg, A Noureldin.

2020 IEEE 92ND VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE (VTC2020-FALL), (2020), 10.1109/VTC2020-Fall49728.2020.9348655

Bi-orthonormal based De-Noising for Improving Wellbore Continuous MWD Surveying Utilizing MEMS Inertial Sensors

Umar Iqbal, A Osman, L Wang, CX Zhang, A Noureldin.

2018 IEEE/ION POSITION, LOCATION AND NAVIGATION SYMPOSIUM (PLANS), 310-315, (2018)

Adaptive Square-Root CKF based SLAM Algorithm for Indoor UGVs

JZ Xia, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin, MM Atia, F Sun.

2017 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MECHATRONICS AND AUTOMATION (ICMA), 1942-1946, (2017)

Enhanced MEMS SINS Aided Pipeline Surveying System by Pipeline Junction Detection in Small Diameter Pipeline

LW Guan, XD Cong, YL Sun, YB Gao, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

IFAC PAPERSONLINE, 50 (1), 3560-3565, (2017), 10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.08.962

Analysis of Rolling Motion Effect on SINS Error Modeling in PIG

LW Guan, A Osman, YB Gao, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2016 IEEE/ION POSITION, LOCATION AND NAVIGATION SYMPOSIUM (PLANS), 681-686, (2016)

Pipeline Junction Detection from Accelerometer Measurement Using Fast Orthogonal Search

LW Guan, A Osman, YB Gao, Umar Iqbal, M Korenberg, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2016 IEEE/ION POSITION, LOCATION AND NAVIGATION SYMPOSIUM (PLANS), 21-26, (2016)

Adaptive Integrated Indoor Pedestrian Tracking System Using MEMS sensors and Hybrid WiFi/Bluetooth-Beacons With Optimized Grid-based Bayesian Filtering Algorithm

MM Atia, Umar Iqbal, S Givigi, A Noureldin, M Korenberg.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2015 INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION, 437-444, (2015)

Automated Estimation and Mitigation of Wireless Time-Delays in Smartphones for a Robust Integrated Navigation Solution

Y Zhuang, Z Syed, C Goodall, Umar Iqbal, N El-Sheimy.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 26TH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS 2013), 667-676, (2013)

Non-Linear Modeling of Pseudorange Errors for Centralized Non-Linear Multi-Sensor System Integration

Umar Iqbal, J Georgy, WF Abdelfatah, M Tamazin, M Korenberg, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 25TH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS 2012), 494-502, (2012)

2D MOBILE MULTI-SENSOR NAVIGATION SYSTEM REALIZATION USING FPGA-BASED EMBEDDED PROCESSORS

WF Abdelfatah, J Georgy, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

2011 24TH CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING (CCECE), 1218-1221, (2011)

Real-Time Realization of 2D RISS/GPS Integrated Navigation on Xilinx's MicroBlaze Soft-core Processor for Land Applications

WF Abdelfatah, J Georgy, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2011 INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION, 414-421, (2011)

Modeling Residual Errors of GPS Pseudoranges by Augmenting Kalman Filter with PCI for Tightly-Coupled RISS/GPS Integration

Umar Iqbal, J Georgy, MJ Korenberg, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS 2010), 2271-2279, (2010)

A Tightly-Coupled Reduced Multi-Sensor System for Urban Navigation

T Karamat, J Georgy, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 22ND INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE SATELLITE DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION (ION GNSS 2009), 582-592, (2009)

Enhanced Mobile Robot Outdoor Localization Using INS/GPS Integration

E North, J Georgy, M Tarbouchi, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

2009 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER ENGINEERING AND SYSTEMS (ICCES 2009), 127-+, (2009), 10.1109/ICCES.2009.5383296

WIP: MotoVida Challenge: A First-Year Humanitarian Design Curriculum Integrating EE/ME Skills

Umar Iqbal, Md Hafizur Rahman, Salil Bavdekar, Matt Aldeman, Chaomin Luo, Reid Jockisch.

ASEE Conferences, 10.18260/1-2--61075

Journal Article

A Sensor-Centric Survey of Autonomous Driving: Integrating Measurement Physics, Uncertainty Modeling, and Safety-Critical Multi-Sensor Fusion

Umar Iqbal, A Massoud, A Noureldin.

SENSORS, 26 (12), (2026), 10.3390/s26123801

Combining Fast Orthogonal Search with Deep Learning to Improve Low-Cost IMU Signal Accuracy

JL Guan, E Mounier, Umar Iqbal, MJ Korenberg.

SENSORS, 26 (8), (2026), 10.3390/s26082300

Enhanced Super-Resolution DOA Estimation via Aperture Extrapolation in RIS Technology for ITS Applications

A Massoud, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT, 74, (2025), 10.1109/TIM.2025.3596985

Simple and Effective Control System for Active AC Ripple Filtering Circuits

R Sharma, M Karimi-Ghartemani, Umar Iqbal.

ELECTRONICS, 13 (23), (2024), 10.3390/electronics13234614

Real-Time Safe Landing Zone Identification Based on Airborne LiDAR

A Massoud, A Fahmy, Umar Iqbal, S Givigi, A Noureldin.

SENSORS, 23 (7), (2023), 10.3390/s23073491

The Implementation of Precise Point Positioning (PPP): A Comprehensive Review

Mohamed Elsheikh, Umar Iqbal, Aboelmagd Noureldin, Michael Korenberg.

Sensors, 23 (21), 8874, (2023), 10.3390/s23218874

Low-Cost Real-Time PPP/INS Integration for Automated Land Vehicles (vol 19, 4896, 2019)

M Elsheikh, W Abdelfatah, A Noureldin, Umar Iqbal, M Korenberg.

SENSORS, 22 (15), (2022), 10.3390/s22155568

A Novel Multi-Level Integrated Navigation System for Challenging GNSS Environments

A Abosekeen, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin, MJ Korenberg.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, 22 (8), 4838-4852, (2021), 10.1109/TITS.2020.2980307

Implementation of Parallel Cascade Identification at Various Phases for Integrated Navigation System

Umar Iqbal, A Abosekeen, J Georgy, A Umar, A Noureldin, MJ Korenberg.

FUTURE INTERNET, 13 (8), (2021), 10.3390/fi13080191

Low-Cost Real-Time PPP/INS Integration for Automated Land Vehicles

M Elsheikh, W Abdelfatah, A Noureldin, Umar Iqbal, M Korenberg.

SENSORS, 19 (22), (2019), 10.3390/s19224896

A Reduced Inertial Sensor System Based on MEMS for Wellbore Continuous Surveying While Horizontal Drilling

L Wang, A Noureldin, Umar Iqbal, AM Osman.

IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, 18 (14), 5662-5673, (2018), 10.1109/JSEN.2018.2840162

Research on an Improved Method for Foot-Mounted Inertial/Magnetometer Pedestrian-Positioning Based on the Adaptive Gradient Descent Algorithm

QY Wang, J Yin, A Noureldin, Umar Iqbal.

SENSORS, 18 (12), (2018), 10.3390/s18124105

Pseudoranges Error Correction in Partial GPS Outages for a Nonlinear Tightly Coupled Integrated System

Umar Iqbal, J Georgy, WF Abdelfatah, MJ Korenberg, A Noureldin.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, 14 (3), 1510-1525, (2013), 10.1109/TITS.2013.2264474

AUGMENTED FAST ORTHOGONAL SEARCH/KALMAN FILTERING (FOS/KF) POSITIONING AND ORIENTATION SOLUTION USING MEMS-BASED INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM (INS) IN DRILLING APPLICATIONS

R Li, A Massoud, J Georgy, Umar Iqbal, JH Zhao, A Noureldin.

INSTRUMENTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 40 (4), 275-289, (2012), 10.1080/10739149.2012.673192

ENHANCING KALMAN FILTERING-BASED TIGHTLY COUPLED NAVIGATION SOLUTION THROUGH REMEDIAL ESTIMATES FOR PSEUDORANGE MEASUREMENTS USING PARALLEL CASCADE IDENTIFICATION

Umar Iqbal, J Georgy, WF Abdelfatah, M Korenberg, A Noureldin.

INSTRUMENTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 40 (6), 530-566, (2012), 10.1080/10739149.2012.704470

FPGA-Based Real-Time Embedded System for RISS/GPS Integrated Navigation

WF Abdelfatah, J Georgy, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

SENSORS, 12 (1), 115-147, (2012), 10.3390/s120100115

Enhanced MEMS-IMU/odometer/GPS integration using mixture particle filter

J Georgy, T Karamat, Umar Iqbal, A Noureldin.

GPS SOLUTIONS, 15 (3), 239-252, (2011), 10.1007/s10291-010-0186-4

Implementation methodology of embedded land vehicle positioning using an integrated GPS and multi sensor system

Shafiq Islam, Umar Iqbal, JMP Langlois, A Noureldin.

INTEGRATED COMPUTER-AIDED ENGINEERING, 17 (1), 69-83, (2010), 10.3233/ICA-2010-0330