Robert Katzschmann
Assistant Professor Of Robotics at ETH Zürich
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Summary
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Senior🎓
Top SchoolRobert Katzschmann is an Assistant Professor of Robotics at ETH Zürich and head of the Soft Robotics Lab, combining 11+ years of academic and industry experience to design soft, biohybrid robots that blend living tissue, fluidic actuation, and intelligent controllers. His work spans foundational research—from a PhD at MIT on model-based control of fluidic soft robots—to product-focused roles as CTO of Dexai Robotics and applied scientist at Amazon Robotics, giving him rare depth in both theory and deployed systems. He develops robots that move and manipulate adaptively under fluidic or electrostatic stimulation and integrates sensing through flexible electronics for applications ranging from underwater manipulation to medical devices. As a co-founder of mimic he is translating generative AI and soft-robotics research into practical robotic products, reflecting a persistent focus on energy-efficient, biocompatible, multifunctional designs. Notably, his background includes building FDA-approved surgical systems and interdisciplinary training in controls, machine learning, and fluid mechanics, which informs his lab’s emphasis on model-informed learning for embodied systems.
11 years of coding experience
14 years of employment as a software developer
Abitur (A-Level) High School/Secondary Diplomas and Certificates, Abitur (A-Level) High School/Secondary Diplomas and Certificates at Liselotte-Gymnasium, Mannheim, GermanyDoctor of Philosophy - PhD Mechanical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDiplom-Ingenieur Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Robotics Microsystems Technology, Diplom-Ingenieur Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Robotics Microsystems Technology at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)Master's thesis Robotics, Master's thesis Robotics at Stanford University
Chinese, Latin, English, German
Stackoverflow
11reputation
150reached
0answers
1question
Github Skills (27)
robotics10
verification10
drake9
python8
toolbox7
trajectory-generation7
dynamics7
robot7
motion-planning7
planning7
pybullet6
optimization6
nonlinear6
scene-graph6
ros5
Programming languages (5)
Github contributions (5)
tarquasso/drake
May 2015 - Jan 2018
Contributions:311 commits, 305 pushes, 28 branches in 2 years 8 months
pythonnonlineartoolboxdynamical-systemsdynamical
tarquasso/jugglerExperiment
Jan 2017 - Feb 2017
Contributions:78 commits, 14 pushes, 5 branches in 1 month
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