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About

Philine Donner is a leading researcher in cooperative dynamic object manipulation, a field at the intersection of robotics, control theory, and human-robot interaction. Her work focuses on enabling multiagent teams—both robot-robot and human-robot—to jointly manipulate complex, underactuated objects through synchronized swinging and energy-based control. Donner’s major contributions include developing novel controllers that allow robots to inject energy into pendulum-like and flexible objects, enabling tasks such as lifting bulky items to elevated locations. Her 2016 paper on cooperative swinging of complex pendulum-like objects, with 33 citations, provides foundational experimental validation for these approaches. She has also advanced the theoretical understanding of multi-effector manipulation through physically plausible wrench decomposition, addressing how forces from multiple contact points contribute to object motion. Donner’s work on human-robot cooperative swinging, including leader-follower role assignment, demonstrates her commitment to intuitive and effective physical collaboration. Her research has broad implications for manufacturing, logistics, and assistive robotics, where teams of robots or humans and robots must handle large, awkward, or flexible objects. With over 99 total citations across her most-cited works, Donner is shaping the future of dynamic, cooperative manipulation.