Ben Mitchinson
Papers
29
Total Citations
975
H-Index
18
About
Ben Mitchinson is a leading researcher in biomimetic robotics and computational neuroscience, best known for his pioneering work on active touch sensing systems inspired by the rodent whisker system. His research bridges robotics, neuroscience, and ethology, with major contributions including the development of the Whiskerbot and Shrewbot platforms, which replicate the rat vibrissal system for tactile sensing and simultaneous localisation and mapping (tSLAM). Mitchinson’s work on implementing spiking neural networks in FPGA hardware (128 citations) has advanced real-time signal processing for control applications. His highly cited papers on whisking robots (122 citations) and biomimetic vibrissal sensing (102 citations) have shaped the field of tactile discrimination, demonstrating how active whisker sensors can enhance mobile robot perception. Notable achievements include the SCRATCHbot and MIRO robots, with MIRO (29 citations) serving as an edutainment companion that engages users in science through biomimetic design and affective communication. With over 600 total citations across his top papers, Mitchinson’s interdisciplinary impact continues to inspire new approaches in robotics and sensory neuroscience.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Whisking with robots122 citations · 2009
- 3Biomimetic vibrissal sensing for robots102 citations · 2011
- 4
- 5Tactile Discrimination Using Active Whisker Sensors79 citations · 2011
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9MIRO29 citations · 2015
- 10SCRATCHbot: Active Tactile Sensing in a Whiskered Mobile Robot29 citations · 2010