Papers
8
Total Citations
817
H-Index
5
About
John D. Yamokoski is a pioneering robotics engineer whose work has pushed the boundaries of humanoid robotics from Earth to the International Space Station. His primary research areas include whole-body operational space control, autonomous robot operation, and task-level programming frameworks for complex robotic systems. Yamokoski is best known for his instrumental role in developing Robonaut 2 (R2), the first humanoid robot in space—a landmark achievement with over 450 citations that demonstrated dexterous, anthropomorphic manipulation in zero gravity. He also led the development of Valkyrie, NASA's first bipedal humanoid robot, designed for the DARPA Robotics Challenge and cited nearly 300 times. Among his notable contributions is the Robot Task Commander framework, an integrated development environment that simplifies robot application deployment across platforms like R2 and Valkyrie. Additionally, his work on the ControlIt! software framework advanced whole-body operational space control, enabling highly redundant robots to achieve unified motion and force control while adhering to physical constraints. With a career spanning over a decade, Yamokoski's innovations continue to shape the future of human-centered robotics in both space exploration and disaster response.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Robonaut 2 - The first humanoid robot in space451 citations · 2011
- 2Valkyrie: NASA's First Bipedal Humanoid Robot298 citations · 2015
- 3Robot Task Commander: A framework and IDE for robot application development28 citations · 2014
- 4ControlIt! — A Software Framework for Whole-Body Operational Space Control21 citations · 2015
- 5Does close proximity robot motion tracking alter gait?7 citations · 2011
- 6
- 7Towards Autonomous Operation of Robonaut 24 citations · 2012
- 8Robonaut, Valkyrie, and NASA Robots3 citations · 2018