Sascha Fleer

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Sascha Fleer is a leading researcher in **robotic haptics and tactile perception**, with a focus on enabling machines to learn the complex, active sense of touch. His work bridges the gap between human sensory-motor capabilities and artificial intelligence, tackling the challenge of how robots can efficiently explore and understand their physical environment through touch. Fleer’s major contribution lies in developing **learning-based frameworks for active haptic exploration**. His most-cited paper (2020, 23 citations) introduces a method for learning efficient haptic shape exploration using a rigid tactile sensor array, drawing inspiration from the sophisticated exploratory strategies humans develop from early childhood. This work is foundational for enabling robots to discriminate and handle unknown objects autonomously. He further advanced the field by proposing an **attention-based robot learning model for haptic interaction** (2020), addressing the computationally unmodelled nature of physical interaction. By integrating attention mechanisms, his research allows robots to focus on salient haptic features during manipulation, moving beyond brute-force sensing. Through these contributions, Fleer is pushing the boundaries of how robots can seamlessly interact with the world, making tactile intelligence a practical reality for future autonomous systems.