Benjamin Katz
Papers
9
Total Citations
2,525
H-Index
9
About
Benjamin Katz is a robotics engineer and researcher whose work has fundamentally shaped the field of dynamic legged locomotion. Based primarily at MIT, Katz has made seminal contributions to the design and control of quadruped robots, most notably through his central role in developing the MIT Cheetah 3 and Mini Cheetah platforms — two of the most influential legged robots in modern robotics research. His technical contributions span both hardware and software, pioneering low-cost modular actuator systems with backdriveable, high-bandwidth force control capabilities that have become a blueprint for agile robotic design. On the algorithmic side, Katz helped advance convex model predictive control (MPC) frameworks that enable real-time dynamic locomotion, including running, jumping, and navigation over unstructured terrain. His 2018 and 2019 papers on the Cheetah 3 and Mini Cheetah platforms have collectively accumulated well over 1,900 citations, reflecting their outsized impact on the field. Katz's philosophy of software-hardware co-design — ensuring that mechanical architecture and control strategies are developed in concert — has influenced how researchers approach robot development worldwide, making agile quadrupedal locomotion increasingly accessible and reproducible across laboratories.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Dynamic Locomotion in the MIT Cheetah 3 Through Convex Model-Predictive Control717 citations · 2018
- 2MIT Cheetah 3: Design and Control of a Robust, Dynamic Quadruped Robot709 citations · 2018
- 3Mini Cheetah: A Platform for Pushing the Limits of Dynamic Quadruped Control540 citations · 2019
- 4
- 5Optimized Jumping on the MIT Cheetah 3 Robot135 citations · 2019
- 6
- 7A low cost modular actuator for dynamic robots40 citations · 2018
- 8MIT Cheetah 3: Design and Control of a Robust, Dynamic Quadruped Robot35 citations · 2019
- 9Facilitating Model-Based Control Through Software-Hardware Co-Design26 citations · 2018