M. Erdmann

Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh

Papers

Total Citations

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About

M. Erdmann is a pioneering researcher in robotic manipulation, whose work fundamentally explores how robots can interact with objects under uncertainty and limited sensory information. His core research areas include dexterous manipulation, contact mechanics, and sensor design for autonomous systems. Erdmann’s major contributions center on the theory and practice of stable support and tactile sensing. In his most cited work, "Stably supported rotations of a planar polygon with two frictionless contacts" (2002, 38 citations), he established foundational principles for balancing objects against known forces, a critical concept for reliable robotic grasping. He further advanced the field by investigating how robots can infer an object's pose and motion purely through the tactile feedback of pushing, as detailed in "Pose from pushing" (14 citations) and "Observing pose and motion through contact" (12 citations). Notably, Erdmann also introduced a groundbreaking method for automatically designing task-specific sensors in "Action subservient sensing and design" (8 citations), and championed the use of randomization as a powerful strategy for solving robot tasks under uncertainty. His work has profoundly shaped modern approaches to robust, sensor-driven manipulation.