Alexander Alspach
Papers
12
Total Citations
483
H-Index
9
About
Alexander Alspach is a leading roboticist whose work sits at the intersection of computational design, soft robotics, and human-robot interaction. His research focuses on co-optimizing robot morphology and motion—treating a robot’s physical form and its control as a single, solvable problem. In his highly cited 2018 paper (90 citations), Alspach introduced a framework that simultaneously optimizes design parameters and motion trajectories, enabling robots to be built for specific tasks rather than adapted from nature. He is equally known for pioneering soft, 3D-printed skins with integrated pressure sensing (84 citations, 2015), which allow robots to safely and gently interact with humans—a critical step toward collaborative robots. His work on the Snapbot (34 citations) demonstrates reconfigurable legged locomotion, while his recent research on example-guided reinforcement learning (2025) tackles the challenge of whole-body manipulation. With over 470 total citations across his top papers, Alspach’s contributions have shaped how robots are designed, built, and controlled, advancing both the theory and practice of creating machines that can safely and intelligently move through our world.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 23D printed soft skin for safe human-robot interaction84 citations · 2015
- 3
- 4
- 5Task-based limb optimization for legged robots42 citations · 2016
- 6Design and fabrication of a soft robotic hand and arm system36 citations · 2018
- 7Snapbot: A reconfigurable legged robot34 citations · 2017
- 8Design of a soft upper body robot for physical human-robot interaction20 citations · 2015
- 9Imitating human movement with teleoperated robotic head13 citations · 2016
- 10