PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

André Guignard

André Guignard is a robotics engineer whose small machines help researchers study movement, interaction, and cooperation. After training as a watchmaker, he moved into electrical engineering and joined EPFL in 1976. He designed a mouse encoder for EPFL, helped turn the Dépraz mouse into Logitech’s first mouse, redesigned Khepera, and built Robota’s mechanics and s-bots that could grip each other. His later work included mechanics for AmphiBot and Salamandra robotica and a 2026 neural-control study of fishlike swimming. As of October 2026, he is a technical specialist at EPFL’s Processor Architecture Laboratory and a scientific adviser to two EPFL groups.

Now at
EPFL
Works
11
Citations
1,360
h-index
6
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1976

    Joining EPFL's computer lab

    After training as a watchmaker, he moves into electrical engineering and joins EPFL in 1976.

  2. 1977

    A mouse encoder

    In 1977, he designs a reliable optical-encoder mechanism to measure mouse-ball movement.

  3. 1980–1983

    Industrializing the Dépraz mouse

    From 1980 to 1983, the hemispherical mouse he designs is manufactured by Dépraz and sold by Logitech as its first mouse.

  4. 1993

    Redesigning Khepera

    In 1993, he, Francesco Mondada and Edo Franzi redesign a five-centimetre student robot as Khepera.

  5. 1999–2005

    Building Robota's mechanics

    In 1999, Aude Billard needs a Robota doll with moving legs and a head; he builds its mechanics and adds moving eyes in 2005.

  6. 2001–2005

    Building the s-bots

    During the European SWARM-BOTS project of 2001–2005, he builds 35 s-bots that grip one another to pass obstacles.

  7. 2005

    AmphiBot and salamander robots

    He develops the mechanics for AmphiBot and Salamandra robotica. In 2005, he coauthors a paper on swimming and crawling with an amphibious snake robot.

  8. As of October 2026

    Neural control at EPFL

    In 2026, he coauthors a Science Robotics study in which ZBot uses a model inspired by neural circuits to reproduce larval zebrafish swimming gaits. As of October 2026, he is a technical specialist at EPFL’s Processor Architecture Laboratory and a scientific adviser to two EPFL groups.

Most-cited works

  1. Swarm-Bot: A New Distributed Robotic Concept2004 · Autonomous Robots · 354 citationsWith Dario Floreano and Marco Dorigo
  2. AmphiBot I: an amphibious snake-like robot2004 · Robotics and Autonomous Systems · 337 citations
  3. A miniature 7g jumping robot2008 · IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation · 328 citationsWith Dario Floreano
  4. Salamandra Robotica II: An Amphibious Robot to Study Salamander-Like Swimming and Walking Gaits2013 · IEEE Transactions on Robotics · 270 citations
  5. Superlinear Physical Performances in a SWARM-BOT2005 · Lecture notes in computer science · 36 citationsWith Dario Floreano

From OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

  1. The median h-index is 54 at universities and 20 at frontier AI labsIncludes EPFL. The median h-index is 54 at universities and 20 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, citations and moves to estimate how universities and frontier labs contribute to AI research.
  2. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes EPFL. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.
  3. Stanford University trained or employed 27 of the 111 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes EPFL. Stanford University trained or employed 27 of the 111 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and employment links for major-prize and best-paper winners.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes EPFL. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. André Guignard - La souris, l’interface homme-machine par excellence! museebolo.ch. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. André Guignard en.wikipedia.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. André Guignard – Un virtuose de la micromécanique museebolo.ch. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. AmphiBot epfl.ch. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. Energy efficiency and neural control of continuous versus intermittent swimming in a fishlike robot researchportal.ulisboa.pt. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. EPFL - André Guignard people.epfl.ch. Checked 18 October 2026.