Salil Apte

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Salil Apte is a leading researcher at the intersection of compliant actuation and physical human-robot interaction, with a focus on advancing rehabilitation robotics and wearable assistive technologies. His work addresses a critical gap in the development of next-generation autonomous systems, prosthetic devices, and exoskeletons. In his highly cited 2016 paper (29 citations), Apte identified compliant actuation as the missing ingredient for energy-efficient impedance modulation, proposing a framework that enables robots to achieve the wide range of dynamic behaviors necessary for safe and effective human interaction. Building on this foundation, his 2021 study (23 citations) tackled a persistent challenge in gait neurorehabilitation, demonstrating that neglected factors in physical human-robot interaction—particularly the transparency and support force vector of body-weight support devices—may explain variable clinical outcomes. This work has significant implications for designing robotic systems that better facilitate motor recovery in patients with neurological disorders. Apte’s contributions are shaping how researchers and engineers approach the design of compliant, transparent robotic systems for rehabilitation and assistive applications.