Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Michael Broxton is a leading figure in planetary robotics and autonomous exploration, with a career dedicated to advancing the technologies that enable humanity to operate on other worlds. His foundational work on the ATHLETE rover—a revolutionary six-limbed vehicle designed for lunar surface operations—led to the development of the "FootFall" toolset, which provided critical situational awareness and stability analysis for walking robots. Broxton’s research also pioneered field-tested utility robots for NASA’s lunar outpost objectives, demonstrating autonomous inspection and infrastructure-building capabilities that are essential for long-duration missions beyond Apollo. His most cited paper (24 citations) on lunar robot field testing, alongside related works on autonomous inspection (13 citations), established key principles for extraterrestrial mobility. Beyond hardware, Broxton co-created the NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (NeoGeographyToolkit), a widely used open-source suite for processing planetary stereo imagery from orbiters and landers. With over 50 combined citations across his top works, his contributions bridge the gap between robotic locomotion and planetary science, directly supporting NASA’s Artemis program and future Mars exploration.