David Howard

University of Salford, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Papers

Total Citations

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About

David Howard is a researcher whose work spans biomechanics, legged robotics, and robotic manipulation, with particular focus on locomotion and grasping systems. His foundational contributions to understanding human and robotic movement have shaped both biological modeling and engineering applications. In 2004, Howard introduced three novel pseudo-inverse formulations for real-time control of foot-force distribution in multi-legged walking machines, proposing alternative locomotion performance objectives to optimize how robotic systems distribute load across their limbs — a paper that has garnered 30 citations. Building on this robotics foundation, his 2008 work presenting a phase-dependent hypothesis for the locomotor functions of the human foot complex (31 citations) bridges engineering and biomechanical science, offering new frameworks for understanding how feet contribute dynamically across the gait cycle. His 2006 paper on computational models for synthesizing human walking (21 citations) further demonstrates his commitment to translating biological movement into formal models. More recently, Howard has turned his attention to soft robotics, developing SoGraB, a visual benchmarking protocol designed to standardize the evaluation of soft robotic grippers for handling delicate goods — addressing a critical gap in an emerging and rapidly expanding field.