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About

Gerardo Jarquin is a leading researcher in the field of robotic control, with a primary focus on the motion and force control of complex, redundant robotic systems—including underwater vehicle-manipulator systems (UVMS) and humanoid robots. His most significant contribution is the development of a passivity-based, model-free control scheme for UVMS, which enforces orthogonalized motion and force second-order sliding modes during contact tasks. This work, cited 56 times, provides a robust solution for real-world underwater manipulation without requiring precise system models. Jarquin has also made substantial advances in hierarchical inverse kinematics (HIK), introducing real-time smooth task transitions and terminal attractor-based methods to eliminate discontinuities in control signals. His 2013 paper on smooth task transitions (30 citations) is particularly influential, offering a practical framework for generating feasible velocity trajectories for highly redundant robots. By addressing the critical challenge of task prioritization and transition, Jarquin’s work enables more fluid and reliable robot behavior in dynamic environments. His research bridges kinematic planning and dynamic control, as seen in his work on cooperative redundant arms, making him a key figure in advancing the autonomy and safety of robotic systems operating in unstructured settings.