Laurence Willemet

Institut des Sciences Moléculaires, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Laurence Willemet is a leading researcher in tactile sensing and robotic manipulation, whose work bridges the gap between human touch perception and artificial haptic systems. Her primary research areas include curvature sensing, slippage detection, and gentle grasping—all critical for advancing dexterous robotic hands. Willemet’s major contributions center on developing innovative tactile sensors that mimic human skin’s ability to perceive subtle contact cues. Her most cited paper, "Curvature sensing with a spherical tactile sensor using the color-interference of a marker array" (2020, 33 citations), introduced a novel method for perceiving object shape through touch alone, even when vision is occluded—a breakthrough for in-hand manipulation. She further advanced the field with "Efficient tactile encoding of object slippage" (2022, 17 citations), demonstrating how tactile information can be processed in under 200 milliseconds to adjust grip strength, mirroring human reflexes. Her recent work, "Learning to estimate incipient slip with tactile sensing to gently grasp objects" (2024), tackles the challenge of regulating grip force without prior knowledge of friction coefficients, enabling robots to handle delicate objects safely. Willemet’s research has profound implications for prosthetics, manufacturing, and human-robot interaction, establishing her as a pivotal figure in tactile robotics.