Benjamin Gorissen

About

Benjamin Gorissen is a pioneering researcher in soft robotics and fluidic actuation systems, whose work has fundamentally expanded the possibilities of compliant, intelligent machines. Based primarily at the intersection of mechanical engineering and robotics, Gorissen has built a distinguished body of research centered on elastic inflatable actuators, pneumatic systems, and autonomous soft robots that operate without traditional rigid components or electronics. His most influential contribution, "Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications" (2017, 448 citations), helped define the modern landscape of compliant robotics, articulating why soft systems represent a necessary evolution beyond 20th-century rigid automation. His subsequent work on shell-snapping-inspired soft jumpers (252 citations) addressed one of the field's fundamental limitations — actuation speed — while his explorations of inflatable origami and multistable structures (131 citations) demonstrated how geometric complexity can unlock multimodal robotic behavior from a single pressure input. Gorissen has also advanced electronics-free autonomy through oscillating and self-sequencing pneumatic systems, reducing reliance on conventional controllers. With contributions to medical microactuators, artificial cilia, and embodied energy autonomy, his research spans scales from microscale endoscopy to macroscale locomotion. Collectively accumulating over 1,400 citations, his work is shaping the future of adaptable, safe, and biologically inspired robotics.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications

   448 citations · 2017
2. 2
   Inflatable soft jumper inspired by shell snapping

   252 citations · 2020
3. 3
   Towards enduring autonomous robots via embodied energy

   220 citations · 2022
4. 4
   Inflatable Origami: Multimodal Deformation via Multistability

   131 citations · 2022
5. 5
   Flexible pneumatic twisting actuators and their application to tilting micromirrors

   106 citations · 2014
6. 6
   Hardware Sequencing of Inflatable Nonlinear Actuators for Autonomous Soft Robots

   92 citations · 2018
7. 7
   A buckling-sheet ring oscillator for electronics-free, multimodal locomotion

   86 citations · 2022
8. 8
   Metachronal patterns in artificial cilia for low Reynolds number fluid propulsion

   81 citations · 2020
9. 9
   Modeling and bonding-free fabrication of flexible fluidic microactuators with a bending motion

   66 citations · 2013
10. 10
    Chip-on-tip endoscope incorporating a soft robotic pneumatic bending microactuator

    49 citations · 2018

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links