Papers
9
Total Citations
385
H-Index
7
About
Ali Nahvi has made foundational contributions to robot calibration, haptic systems, and robotic grasping. His most influential work, the 2002 paper on the "noise amplification index for optimal pose selection in robot calibration" (159 citations), introduced a new observability index that is significantly more sensitive to calibration error than prior indices, providing a powerful tool for improving robot accuracy. In the same year, his paper on calibrating a parallel robot using multiple kinematic closed loops (128 citations) advanced autonomous calibration methods for redundant parallel robots, addressing ill-conditioning and observability in pose selection. Nahvi’s research also extends to haptic devices and dexterous manipulation. He led the design of VirSense, a novel six-DOF haptic interface with fixed-base motors and gravity compensation, and derived an improved passivity criterion for haptic rendering that relates Coulomb and viscous friction to sampling rate and stiffness (2014, 16 citations each). His work on the Utah/MIT Dextrous Hand revealed the non-negligible role of pulley friction in force control (34 citations). Additionally, Nahvi developed the Multi-Aspect Grasp (MAG) index for evaluating grasp quality in object manipulation tasks (2010–2011, 11 citations each). With over 370 total citations, his research continues to influence robotics, haptics, and calibration methodologies.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1The noise amplification index for optimal pose selection in robot calibration159 citations · 2002
- 2Calibration of a parallel robot using multiple kinematic closed loops128 citations · 2002
- 3An investigation of the transmission system of a tendon driven robot hand34 citations · 2002
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- 6Multi-aspect grasp index for robotic arms11 citations · 2011
- 7
- 8Virtual Bone Surgery Using a Haptic Robot5 citations · 2009
- 9Total least squares in robot calibration5 citations · 1997