Papers
16
Total Citations
409
H-Index
10
About
Pierre Fernbach is a leading researcher in legged robotics, specializing in motion planning, whole-body control, and multi-contact locomotion. His major contributions center on developing computationally efficient algorithms that enable bipedal and quadrupedal robots to navigate complex, cluttered environments. Fernbach pioneered the open-source **HPP** software (61 citations), a standard framework for constrained motion planning across diverse problems like manipulation and elastic rod navigation. He introduced the **CROC** and **C-CROC** methods (53 and 54 citations, respectively), which use convex optimization to resolve centroidal dynamics trajectories—providing a critical feasibility criterion for multi-contact planning. Notably, Fernbach led the first successful experiment of whole-body model predictive control with state feedback on a torque-controlled humanoid robot, **Talos** (47 citations), demonstrating robust balance under strong perturbations. His work on contact planning for the **ANYmal** quadruped (25 citations) and kinodynamic steering for dynamic motions like jumping and push recovery (24 citations) further underscores his impact. With over 380 total citations, Fernbach’s algorithms bridge the gap between theoretical optimization and real-world robotic agility, making him a pivotal figure in advancing legged locomotion.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1HPP: A new software for constrained motion planning61 citations · 2016
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8A kinodynamic steering-method for legged multi-contact locomotion24 citations · 2017
- 9
- 10