Jonathon E. Slightam

About

Jonathon E. Slightam is a leading researcher in fluid-powered actuation, soft robotics, and MRI-compatible medical devices. His work centers on the design, modeling, and control of novel pneumatic and hydraulic artificial muscles, with a focus on creating high-force, lightweight actuators for wearable robots and medical interventions. Slightam’s most cited paper, “Design, Additive Manufacture, and Control of a Pneumatic MR-Compatible Needle Driver” (67 citations), demonstrates his pioneering contributions to MRI-guided interventions, where he developed a two-degree-of-freedom actuation unit using bellows for precise needle steering within the confined MRI bore. He has also advanced the theoretical understanding of braided pneumatic artificial muscles, with his 2019 paper (12 citations) providing validated dynamic models critical for human-scale robotics. Slightam’s work on sliding mode impedance control for hydraulic artificial muscles (11 citations) and untethered fluidic engines for soft wearable robots (7 citations) addresses key challenges in autonomy and portability. His achievements include developing methods for additive manufacturing of functional fluid-power components and contributing to autonomous security systems. With over 120 total citations, Slightam’s research bridges fundamental actuator theory and practical, application-driven designs, making him a key figure in the future of soft robotics and medical devices.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Design, Additive Manufacture, and Control of a Pneumatic MR-Compatible Needle Driver

   67 citations · 2016
2. 2
   Design and Precision Control of an MR-Compatible Flexible Fluidic Actuator

   13 citations · 2013
3. 3
   Theoretical Dynamic Modeling and Validation of Braided Pneumatic Artificial Muscles

   12 citations · 2019
4. 4
   Sliding Mode Impedance Control of a Hydraulic Artificial Muscle

   11 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Novel Integrated Fluid-Power Actuators for Functional End-Use Components and Systems via Selective Laser Sintering Nylon 12

   10 citations · 2012
6. 6
   Untethered Fluidic Engine for High‐Force Soft Wearable Robots

   7 citations · 2024
7. 7
   PID Sliding Mode Control of Prolate Flexible Pneumatic Actuators

   5 citations · 2016
8. 8
   Autonomous Detection and Assessment with Moving Sensors

   4 citations · 2020
9. 9
   An Approach to Realize Generalized Optimal Motion Primitives Using Physics Informed Neural Networks

   3 citations · 2024
10. 10
    MRI–Compatible Fluid-Powered Medical Devices

    3 citations · 2013

Key Collaborators

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