Benjamin Nuernberger

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Papers

4

Total Citations

86

H-Index

3

About

Benjamin Nuernberger is a leading roboticist whose work is pushing the boundaries of autonomous exploration in the most extreme environments imaginable. His primary research focuses on developing versatile, high-degree-of-freedom snake-like robots—most notably the EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor) platform—designed for one-shot missions to icy worlds like Enceladus, Titan, and Europa. Nuernberger’s major contributions lie in creating autonomy frameworks that enable these complex robots to navigate unknown, treacherous terrain without prior reconnaissance, including the ability to recover from exteroception failures. His most-cited paper (62 citations) details EELS’ task and motion planning for ice world exploration, while his NEO autonomy framework (3 citations) represents a paradigm shift from incremental space missions to bold, in-situ adaptive exploration. With over 86 combined citations across his key works, Nuernberger is at the forefront of a new era in astrobiology and space robotics, where robots are designed not just to survive, but to thrive in environments where no machine has gone before.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

3
H-Index
4
Papers
86
Total Citations
22
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
EELS: Autonomous snake-like robot with task and motion planning capabilities for ice world exploration
62 citations · 2024
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2024 (3 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 84
🏛 Institutions: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 13 days ago