Papers
38
Total Citations
6,672
H-Index
26
About
Christoph Keplinger is a pioneering researcher at the forefront of soft robotics, soft actuators, and bioinspired robotic systems, whose work has fundamentally reshaped how engineers design machines that interact safely and fluidly with the natural world. His early contributions to pneumatic network (pneu-net) actuators — earning over 1,500 citations — demonstrated that elastomeric soft robots could achieve rapid, sophisticated motion with remarkably simple controls. Keplinger's most transformative achievement is the invention of Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) actuators, a breakthrough class of soft transducers that mimic biological muscle in speed, power, and efficiency, accumulating over 1,000 citations and spawning an entire research ecosystem including Peano-HASEL and untethered robotic implementations. His broader vision, articulated in a widely read 2013 anniversary article (855 citations), foresaw elastic electronics enabling everything from robotic skin to energy harvesters. More recently, Keplinger's group has extended these principles to underwater jellyfish-inspired robots and liquid crystal elastomer systems, while pursuing the grand challenge of energetically autonomous robots. Across more than a decade of research, his work has collectively garnered thousands of citations, establishing him as one of the most influential voices defining the future of lifelike, human-collaborative robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Pneumatic Networks for Soft Robotics that Actuate Rapidly1,557 citations · 2014
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- 5Soft Actuators and Robots that Are Resistant to Mechanical Damage257 citations · 2014
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- 7Towards enduring autonomous robots via embodied energy220 citations · 2022
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- 10Liquid Crystal Elastomers with Enhanced Directional Actuation to Electric Fields144 citations · 2021