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About

Alican Mertan is a rising researcher in evolutionary robotics and soft robotics, whose work focuses on the co-optimization of robot morphology (body shape) and control (behavior). His research addresses a fundamental challenge in the field: how to automatically design both the physical structure and the neural controller of soft robots, which are notoriously difficult to engineer manually. Mertan’s most-cited paper, “Modular Controllers Facilitate the Co-Optimization of Morphology and Control in Soft Robots” (2023, 9 citations), demonstrates that using modular, reusable controllers can significantly improve the efficiency of this co-optimization process. He has also investigated the problem of premature convergence in such systems (2024, 7 citations), a key obstacle to discovering diverse, high-performing robot designs. More recently, Mertan has explored multi-morphology controllers (2024, 3 citations) and the role of morphological computation in driving adaptive behavior (2024, 1 citation). His work is notable for its systematic approach to overcoming the “body-brain” co-design bottleneck, and his findings have implications for automating the creation of complex, compliant robots. With a growing citation record and a focus on foundational issues in evolutionary robotics, Mertan is establishing himself as a thoughtful contributor to the future of autonomous robot design.