Kevin McDonald
Papers
7
Total Citations
195
H-Index
7
About
Kevin McDonald is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of soft robotics, fluidic actuation, and smart materials. His research has primarily focused on advancing the control and functionality of fluidic soft robots—devices celebrated for their dexterity and safe interaction with delicate environments—by solving one of their most persistent challenges: precise, onboard control without bulky external hardware. McDonald's most significant contributions center on harnessing magnetorheological (MR) fluids and electropermanent magnets to enable proportional and binary flow control in soft actuators. His 2022 paper on modulating MR fluid flow using electropermanent magnets (48 citations) and his foundational 2020 work on MR fluid-based flow control (43 citations) together established a compelling framework for compact, electronically driven actuation. His 2023 investigation into magnetically induced stiffening (36 citations) further extended these principles toward tunable mechanical properties—a key frontier in adaptive robotics. Beyond magnetic control, McDonald has contributed to hardware methods for onboard pneumatic control (30 citations) and soft ionic sensing for simultaneous pressure and strain measurement. With over 195 cumulative citations, his body of work represents meaningful progress toward truly autonomous, self-contained soft robotic systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Magnetorheological Fluid‐Based Flow Control for Soft Robots43 citations · 2020
- 3Magnetically induced stiffening for soft robotics36 citations · 2023
- 4Hardware Methods for Onboard Control of Fluidically Actuated Soft Robots30 citations · 2021
- 5
- 6Magnetorheological Fluid‐Based Flow Control for Soft Robots15 citations · 2020
- 7A Soft Ionic Sensor for Simultaneous Pressure and Strain Measurements7 citations · 2020