Johan B. C. Engelen

Papers

Total Citations

204

H-Index

About

Dr. Johan B. C. Engelen is a leading researcher in aerial robotics, specializing in the design and control of fully actuated multirotor UAVs. His work addresses the critical transition from conventional underactuated drones to systems capable of full six-degree-of-freedom motion, enabling unprecedented interaction and manipulation capabilities. Dr. Engelen’s major contributions include a comprehensive literature review on fully actuated multirotor UAVs (132 citations), which has become a foundational reference for the field. He pioneered the application of the port-Hamiltonian framework for geometric control, developing an energy tank-based wrench/impedance controller for hexarotors (50 citations) that elegantly models and controls interactive aerial behavior. His research on multimodal aerial locomotion (22 citations) advances active tool handling, pushing aerial manipulators toward practical deployment. By combining rigorous theoretical foundations with innovative hardware designs, Dr. Engelen has established himself as a key figure in enabling aerial robots to safely and effectively interact with their environment—a critical step toward applications in infrastructure inspection, manufacturing, and beyond.