I am a researcher specializing in robot dynamics and related areas. I am regarded as a leading expert in my field, and my publications have been cited thousands of times. My most famous invention is the Articulated-Body Algorithm, which calculates the acceleration of a rigid-body system in response to the forces acting on it. I am also a Fellow of the IEEE and a member of its Robotics and Automation Society. You can find more information about my work, software and teaching materials on my home page.
Here is a short biography (plain text file) suitable for seminars and invited talks.
Here is a short biography (plain text file) suitable for seminars and invited talks.
Employment History
My most recent employment (which ended in 2022) was at the Italian Institute of Technology, where I worked on the Skippy Project and invented the ring screw mechanism. Before that I worked for many years at the Australian National University; and before that I was a lecturer in computer science at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow in the Department of Engineering Science (Robotics Group) at Oxford University. And before that, I spent 6.5 years in industry, working first for a small UK start-up called Cambridge Control, and then for Philips Research Laboratories in Briarcliff Manor, New York State.Education
I obtained my Ph.D. on Robot Dynamics Algorithms in 1984 at Edinburgh University's Department of Artificial Intelligence (link to thesis), and my first degree at Southampton University.Achievements
In addition to the articulated-body algorithm, I invented the spatial (6D) vector algebra and the divide-and-conquer version of the articulated-body algorithm; and I explored the phenomenon of branch-induced sparsity, and invented methods to exploit it. In my early career I made contributions to robot kinematics, and later to hybrid force/motion control and operational-space dynamics. More recently, I found a simpler way to describe and control the physical activity of balancing on a narrow support. On the practical side, I made large improvements to the feedback control of actuators using shape-memory alloys, and I invented the ring screw transmission mechanism.Current Status
I now live in Oxford, and I am retired in the sense of having reached retirement age and drawing a pension. However, I am still active in my area of specialty, and I remain available to give seminars, master classes and the like. I am currently writing a new software package to replace spatial_v2, and I am planning to write a second edition of Rigid Body Dynamics Algorithms.