The Robotic Exploration Lab in The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University conducts research in control, motion planning, and navigation for robotic systems that explore our planet and our universe.

Latest News

Research

Differentiable Fluid-Structure Interaction for Robotics

Differentiable Fluid-Structure Interaction for Robotics

A fully differentiable solver for simulating coupled fluid-robot dynamics

Read more »
Visual-Inertial-Leg Odometry With Online Parameter Adaptation

Visual-Inertial-Leg Odometry With Online Parameter Adaptation

An open source visual-inertial-leg odometry with high estimation accuracy

Read more »
Enhanced Balance for Legged Robots Using Reaction Wheels

Enhanced Balance for Legged Robots Using Reaction Wheels

Novel hardware design to enhance quadruped robots

Read more »
Data-Efficient Model Learning for Control

Data-Efficient Model Learning for Control

Building new algorithms for learning dynamics models that are sample efficient and generalizable.

Read more »
Differentiable Collision Detection

Differentiable Collision Detection

Smooth and differentiable collision detection between pairs of convex primitives, enabled by differentiable convex optimization.

CALIPSO - A Differentiable Solver for Trajectory Optimization with Conic and Complementarity Constraints

CALIPSO - A Differentiable Solver for Trajectory Optimization with Conic and Complementarity Constraints

Trajectory optimization with conic and complementarity constraints–plus differentiable!

Dojo - A Differentiable Simulator for Robotics

Dojo - A Differentiable Simulator for Robotics

Differentiable rigid-body-dynamics with contact simulator for robotic systems.

Trajectory Optimization with Optimization-Based Dynamics

Trajectory Optimization with Optimization-Based Dynamics

Bi-level trajectory optimization with dynamics represented as constrained optimization problems.

Fast Contact-Implicit Model-Predictive Control

Fast Contact-Implicit Model-Predictive Control

Fast model-predictive control for systems that make and break contact with objects and the environment.

Direct Policy Optimization

Direct Policy Optimization

Directly optimizing robust policies for feedback motion planning.

Read more »
Motion Planning for Soft Robots

Motion Planning for Soft Robots

Real-time simulation and trajectory optimization for soft robots.

Read more »
Dynamic Games Solver

Dynamic Games Solver

Developing a fast and robust solver for constrained dynamic games aimed at identifying Nash equilibrium strategies.

Read more »
Trajectory Optimization in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP)

Trajectory Optimization in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP)

The CR3BP is a useful model for designing and analyzing spacecraft trajectories that pass between multiple large bodies. We use optimization techniques to find trajectories that meet mission constraints while being dynamically feasible in the CR3BP.

Read more »
Intelligent Radiation Protection of Commercial Components in Space

Intelligent Radiation Protection of Commercial Components in Space

Extending lifetimes of commercial microelectronic devices in harsh radiation environments without additional shielding or device alterations.

Read more »
Fast Trajectory Optimization

Fast Trajectory Optimization

Building new solvers for trajectory optimization problems that are fast, accurate, and numerically robust.

Read more »
Design and Control of Agile Quadrupeds

Design and Control of Agile Quadrupeds

Designing a new, lost-cost quadrupeds with state-of-the-art control.

Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization

Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization

Optimizing long duration spacecraft maneuvers for electric propulsion.

Read more »
Underactuated Attitude Control of Small Satellites

Underactuated Attitude Control of Small Satellites

Developing algorithms and hardware for underactuated control of small satellites, mainly through trajectory optimization techniques of magnetorquer attitude manipulation.

Read more »
Distributed Trajectory Optimization

Distributed Trajectory Optimization

Scalable Cooperative Transport of Cable-Suspended Loads with UAVs using Distributed Trajectory Optimization

Read more »
Fast Solution of Optimal Control Problems With L1 Cost

Fast Solution of Optimal Control Problems With L1 Cost

Developing a fast, low memory footprint algorithm to solve minimum-fuel problems with possible implementation onboard a CubeSat for embedded trajectory optimization.

Read more »
PyCubed

PyCubed

An open-source, radiation-tested reliable cubesat framework programmable entirely in python.

Read more »
Control and Motion Planning with Contact Interactions

Control and Motion Planning with Contact Interactions

Controlling systems that make and break contact with objects and the environment. Applications to robotic locomotion and manipulation.

Robust Motion Planning

Robust Motion Planning

Making things get where they’re supposed to go when we don’t know exactly how they move and what disturbance forces might be pushing on them.

Read more »
KickSat Project

Tiny low-cost satellites made on printed circuit boards

Read more »

People

Faculty

Zac Manchester
Assistant Professor

Researchers

Giusy Falcone
Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD Students

Taylor Howell
Model-predictive control and differentiable simulators for contact
Brian Jackson
Real-time motion planning
Simon Le Cleac'h
Game-theoretic optimization and optimization through contact
Kevin Tracy
Optimization and control
Swaminathan Gurumurthy
Deep Equilibrium Models
Suvansh Sanjeev
Reinforcement Learning and Control
Shuo Yang
Legged Robots State Estimation, Mapping and Control
Jacob Willis
Small spacecraft systems and control
Jeong Hun (JJ) Lee
Swimming Dynamics and Control
Paulo Fisch
Small satellite vision and localization
Mitchell Fogelson
Design and Control Optimization

Masters Students

Ben Bokser
Legged Robots
Fausto Vega
Small spacecraft and navigation
Sofia Kwok
Flying vehicle optimization and control
Zixin Zhang
Legged robots
John Zhang
Optimization and control through contact
Khai Nguyen
Optimization-based planning and control
Sam Schoedel
Optimization-based planning and control

Undergraduate Students

Past Undergraduate Students

Nathan Kau Legged Robots
Tarun Punnoose Legged Robots
Aaron Schultz Legged Robots

Alumni

Max Holliday Now at NASA Ames
Andrew Gatherer Now at SpaceX
Jan Bruedigam PhD student at TU Munich
Laura Lee Now at Boston Dynamics
Remy Derollez Now at Loft Orbital
Jared Blanchard PhD Student at Stanford
Benjamin Jensen Masters Student
Chiyen Lee Legged Robots
Brandon Hung Now at Everyday Robots