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About

Anne Koepken is a leading researcher in space robotics and human-robot interaction, with a focus on enabling safe, adaptive, and collaborative robotic systems for extreme environments. Her work bridges the gap between human-like physical intelligence and autonomous multi-robot teams, particularly for space exploration. In her highly cited 2025 paper (10 citations), Koepken introduced a novel framework for virtual elasto-plastic robot compliance, mimicking the human ability to rapidly alter physical stiffness in response to active environments—a breakthrough for enhancing robot safety and robustness during dynamic physical interaction. She also spearheaded the first-ever ISS-to-surface multi-robot collaboration, as detailed in her 2024 study (6 citations), where she demonstrated scalable autonomy teleoperation for a team of robots controlled from the International Space Station. This pioneering mission, part of DLR’s Surface Avatar project in partnership with ESA, showcased how astronauts can remotely coordinate heterogeneous robots on planetary surfaces, dramatically expanding the reach and efficiency of human-robot exploration teams. Koepken’s work is foundational for future lunar and Martian missions, where robots must work both autonomously and under direct human guidance.