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About

Mikel Sagardia is a leading researcher in haptic robotics and virtual reality, with a focus on bimanual haptic interfaces and their application to on-orbit servicing (OOS). His most cited work, "The DLR bimanual haptic device with optimized workspace" (66 citations), introduces a system using two DLR/KUKA Lightweight Robot arms that replicate human-arm dimensions and force capabilities, enabling high-fidelity torque and position control at 1 kHz. This foundational contribution underpins his development of the VR-OOS simulator (39 citations), a virtual reality framework for training and simulating satellite maintenance and debris mitigation tasks, addressing the urgent issue of space debris. Sagardia’s research also advances haptic rendering with the "Six-DoF god object heuristic" (8 citations), a fast, robust algorithm for complex models with friction, and explores multimodal feedback in "Visual, Vibrotactile, and Force Feedback of Collisions" (22 citations), enhancing performance and spatial orientation in virtual environments. His work on narrow passage sampling for robotic assembly observation (20 citations) and collision avoidance for complex geometries further demonstrates his impact on real-time, human-scale interaction. With over 200 total citations, Sagardia’s innovations are pivotal for telerobotics, space operations, and immersive simulation, making him a key figure in haptic technology and its real-world applications.