David E. Johnson

About

David E. Johnson is a robotics researcher whose work spans mobile wireless networks, deformable object manipulation, and haptic feedback systems. His most influential contribution, the "TrueMobile" testbed (22 citations), pioneered real-world experimentation for mobile robotic wireless and sensor networks, challenging the field's reliance on simulation by demonstrating that models fail to capture real-world radio and sensor irregularity. In motion planning, Johnson developed a reduced-dimension configuration space approach (20 citations) that enables fast, physically plausible deformation of high-degree-of-freedom objects—a critical advance for soft robotics and virtual environments. His tactile feedback device (18 citations), which uses tilting plates to replicate compliance sensations, bridges robotics and human-computer interaction by allowing users to feel surface deformations of virtual objects. Johnson also advanced shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator control using graph theory (8 and 3 citations), optimizing speed and energy consumption for applications in prosthetics and exoskeletons. His work uniquely combines theoretical rigor with practical hardware implementation, making him a notable figure in experimental robotics and haptics.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   TrueMobile: A Mobile Robotic Wireless and Sensor Network Testbed

   22 citations · 2005
2. 2
   Deformable robot motion planning in a reduced-dimension configuration space

   20 citations · 2010
3. 3
   Compliance display using a tilting-plate tactile feedback device

   18 citations · 2014
4. 4
   Optimal control of multi-input SMA actuator arrays using graph theory

   8 citations · 2011
5. 5
   Optimal control of multi-input SMA actuator arrays using graph theory: Expanding wavefront & simultaneous operations

   3 citations · 2011
6. 6
   Robot couriers

   2 citations · 2005

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links