William R. Johnson

About

William R. Johnson is a robotics researcher whose work focuses on the sensing, control, and actuation of soft and tensegrity robots—deformable, cable-driven structures that offer exceptional strength and resilience. His major contributions include the development of highly stretchable capacitive sensor tendons using liquid metal and silicone, enabling proprioception and closed-loop control for tensegrity robots (21 citations). He also pioneered a "Real2Sim2Real" transfer framework using differentiable physics engines to control these complex, high-dimensional robots (15 citations). Notably, Johnson introduced an electromagnetically actuated soft robot that carries its own magnet, eliminating the need for external magnetic fields and enabling locomotion in uncontrolled environments (12 citations). His work extends to pose tracking, robotic skin modules with integrated sensing, and compliant electropermanent magnets for modular and climbing robots. With over 70 total citations across his most-cited papers, Johnson’s research is advancing the autonomy and practical deployment of soft robots in unstructured, remote settings.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Sensor Tendons for Soft Robot Shape Estimation

   21 citations · 2022
2. 2
   Real2Sim2Real Transfer for Control of Cable-Driven Robots Via a Differentiable Physics Engine

   15 citations · 2023
3. 3
   An Electromagnetic Soft Robot that Carries its Own Magnet

   12 citations · 2022
4. 4
   6N-DoF Pose Tracking for Tensegrity Robots

   9 citations · 2023
5. 5
   Integrated Sensing in Robotic Skin Modules

   5 citations · 2021
6. 6
   Live Demonstration: Tensegrity State Estimation

   4 citations · 2022
7. 7
   Compliant Electropermanent Magnets

   3 citations · 2024
8. 8
   Dynamic Hand Proprioception via a Wearable Glove with Fabric Sensors

   2 citations · 2023

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links