Sreekanth Kana

About

Sreekanth Kana is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of human-robot collaboration, impedance control, and robotic surface finishing. His most significant contributions focus on developing intelligent frameworks that enable robots and humans to work together seamlessly during demanding contact tasks such as edge chamfering, polishing, and grinding — processes traditionally reliant on skilled manual labor. Kana's most cited work, "Impedance Controlled Human–Robot Collaborative Tooling for Edge Chamfering and Polishing Applications" (2021, 63 citations), alongside his adaptive impedance control framework (2020, 54 citations), established foundational methodologies for safe, responsive force-controlled robotic tooling. His integration of haptic rendering and discrete geometry into collaborative manipulation frameworks further demonstrates his commitment to intuitive human-robot interaction in industrial environments. Beyond surface finishing, Kana has made notable contributions to kinematic calibration, joint friction identification, and learning from demonstration paradigms — broadening the practical deployability of robotic systems. His 2022 work on fast kinematic re-calibration (29 citations) addresses real-world manufacturing imperfections that undermine robot reliability. With over 200 cumulative citations, Kana's research meaningfully advances the automation of complex, contact-rich industrial tasks while keeping human operators safely and effectively in the loop.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Impedance controlled human–robot collaborative tooling for edge chamfering and polishing applications

   63 citations · 2021
2. 2
   An adaptive framework for robotic polishing based on impedance control

   54 citations · 2020
3. 3
   Human–Robot co-manipulation during surface tooling: A general framework based on impedance control, haptic rendering and discrete geometry

   38 citations · 2020
4. 4
   Fast Kinematic Re-Calibration for Industrial Robot Arms

   29 citations · 2022
5. 5
   Human-robot collaboration for tooling path guidance

   12 citations · 2016
6. 6
   Identification of Intrinsic Friction and Torque Ripple for a Robotic Joint with Integrated Torque Sensors with Application to Wheel-Bearing Characterization

   7 citations · 2024
7. 7
   Learning Compliant Box-in-Box Insertion through Haptic-Based Robotic Teleoperation

   5 citations · 2023
8. 8
   Manual guidance of a compliant manipulator during curve-following tasks: Basic framework and preliminary experimental tests

   5 citations · 2016
9. 9
   Robots in manufacturing: Programming, control, and safety standards

   4 citations · 2024
10. 10
    Instrumentation of a grinding tool for capturing dynamic interactions with the workpiece

    2 citations · 2017

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links