Zach J. Patterson

About

Zach J. Patterson is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the dynamic intersection of soft robotics, smart materials, and biologically-inspired machine design. His research focuses on shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation, soft-rigid hybrid robot architectures, and model-based control strategies for compliant robotic systems — areas where he has made substantial contributions to both theory and practical implementation. Patterson's most cited work, "Shape Memory Materials for Electrically-Powered Soft Machines" (2020, 80 citations), established foundational understanding of how smart materials enable untethered soft robotic locomotion. Building on this, he developed robust multi-axis control frameworks for SMA-driven manipulators and pioneered rapid 3D-printing workflows that make fieldable soft robots more accessible to the broader research community. His safety-focused contributions, including control barrier function approaches for soft-rigid hybrid systems, address one of the field's most pressing practical challenges. Perhaps most remarkably, Patterson bridges engineering and paleontology: his 2023 study using soft robotics to reconstruct early echinoderm locomotion from 500 million years ago demonstrates a genuinely creative application of robotics methodology. With over 200 cumulative citations and growing influence across actuation, control, and bio-inspired design, Patterson represents an exciting emerging voice in modern robotics research.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Shape memory materials for electrically-powered soft machines

   80 citations · 2020
2. 2
   Robust Control of a Multi-Axis Shape Memory Alloy-Driven Soft Manipulator

   44 citations · 2022
3. 3
   A Method for 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping of Fieldable Untethered Soft Robots

   24 citations · 2022
4. 4
   Characterization and Analysis of a Flexural Shape Memory Alloy Actuator

   19 citations · 2021
5. 5
   Soft robotics informs how an early echinoderm moved

   14 citations · 2023
6. 6
   Design and Closed‐Loop Motion Planning of an Untethered Swimming Soft Robot Using 2D Discrete Elastic Rods Simulations

   14 citations · 2022
7. 7
   Safe Supervisory Control of Soft Robot Actuators

   11 citations · 2024
8. 8
   Safe Control for Soft-Rigid Robots with Self-Contact Using Control Barrier Functions

   8 citations · 2024
9. 9
   Design of Trimmed Helicoid Soft-Rigid Hybrid Robots

   3 citations · 2025
10. 10
    An Untethered Brittle Star Robot for Closed-Loop Underwater Locomotion.

    2 citations · 2020

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links