Claude Samson

About

Claude Samson is a pioneering researcher in robotics and control theory, whose work has profoundly shaped the field of nonholonomic systems and mobile robot control. Based at INRIA in France, Samson's research centers on feedback control design for nonholonomic mechanical systems, mobile robotics, and underactuated aerial vehicles. His landmark 1995 paper on chained systems and path following, with over 1,060 citations, established foundational methods for controlling a broad class of wheeled robots that resist stabilization through conventional smooth feedback. This work, alongside his influential studies on car-like and unicycle-type robots, introduced time-varying feedback strategies that elegantly circumvented fundamental mathematical limitations, revolutionizing how engineers approach mobile robot navigation. His 1991 book *Robot Control: The Task Function Approach* (441 citations) provided a unified theoretical framework bridging computer science, mechanics, and automatic control for robotic manipulators. Later contributions expanded into VTOL aerial vehicles, demonstrating the versatility of his control principles across diverse robotic platforms. With cumulative citations exceeding 3,800, Samson's body of work represents a cornerstone of modern robotics, offering both rigorous theoretical insights and practical solutions that continue to influence researchers and engineers worldwide.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Control of chained systems application to path following and time-varying point-stabilization of mobile robots

   1,061 citations · 1995
2. 2
   Feedback control of a nonholonomic car-like robot

   550 citations · 1998
3. 3
   Robot Control: The Task Function Approach

   441 citations · 1991
4. 4
   Feedback control of a nonholonomic wheeled cart in Cartesian space

   422 citations · 2002
5. 5
   Trajectory tracking for unicycle-type and two-steering-wheels mobile robots

   323 citations · 1993
6. 6
   Introduction to feedback control of underactuated VTOLvehicles: A review of basic control design ideas and principles

   308 citations · 2013
7. 7
   Time-varying Feedback Stabilization of Car-like Wheeled Mobile Robots

   295 citations · 1993
8. 8
   NONLINEAR CONTROL DESIGN FOR MOBILE ROBOTS

   244 citations · 1994
9. 9
   Control of Nonholonomic Mobile Robots Based on the Transverse Function Approach

   148 citations · 2009
10. 10
    Feedback stabilization of a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot

    75 citations · 2002

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links