PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Robert Katzschmann

Robert Katzschmann is a robotics researcher whose work connects soft robotics, biohybrid systems and machine learning for dexterous manipulation. He studied mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, completed a master's thesis at Stanford, earned a PhD at MIT, and led the 2018 paper on SoFi, a soft robotic fish for observing marine life. He joined ETH Zurich in 2020 and founded its Soft Robotics Lab, became a TED Fellow in 2022, co-founded Mimic Robotics in 2024, and received the IEEE RAS Early Academic Career Award in 2026. He is an Assistant Professor of Robotics in ETH Zurich's Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, where his group develops adaptive robotic systems.

Born
1986
Works
180
Citations
5,971
h-index
31
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2007–2018

    KIT, Stanford and MIT

    In 2012, he completes a master's thesis at Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Lab with advisors Torsten Kröger and Oussama Khatib. He earns a Diplom-Ingenieur in mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2013 and completes a Mechanical Engineering PhD at MIT in 2018 after researching soft robotics in CSAIL's Distributed Robotics Laboratory.

  2. 2012–2020

    Auris, Amazon and Dexai

    From 2012 to 2013, he works as a systems and controls engineer at Auris Health on an FDA-approved robot for endoscopy and microsurgery. Before founding his Soft Robotics Lab in July 2020, he develops robotic manipulation at Amazon Robotics as an Applied Scientist and serves as CTO of Dexai Robotics.

  3. 2018

    SoFi, a soft robotic fish

    In 2018, he is lead author of a Science Robotics paper introducing SoFi, a soft robotic fish that swims alongside real fish. During Fiji test dives, SoFi swims deeper than 50 feet for up to 40 minutes and takes high-resolution photos and videos.

  4. July 2020

    Joining ETH Zurich's robotics faculty

    In July 2020, he joins ETH Zurich as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Robotics in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering and joins its Center for Robotics and Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems. He starts the Soft Robotics Lab in July 2020.

  5. 2022

    A TED Fellowship

    He becomes a TED Fellow in 2022 for developing adaptive robots made from soft and living materials for tasks from chores to biomedicine.

  6. 2024

    Co-founding Mimic Robotics

    In 2024, his research gives rise to Mimic Robotics, an ETH spin-off he sets up with four former doctoral and master’s students. The company aims to bring AI-controlled robotic hands to manufacturing and logistics.

  7. June 2026

    IEEE RAS Early Academic Career Award

    In June 2026, he receives the IEEE RAS Early Academic Career Award in Robotics and Automation for work in bioinspired musculoskeletal and biohybrid robotic systems.

  8. June 2026

    Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich

    In June 2026, he is an Assistant Professor of Robotics in ETH Zurich's Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. His group at the Soft Robotics Lab develops adaptive and intelligent robotic systems.

Career

  1. Since 2020ETH ZurichAssistant Professor of Robotics, Founder
  2. From 2024Mimic RoboticsCo-founder
  3. Until 2020AmazonApplied Scientist
  4. Until 2020Dexai RoboticsCTO
  5. 2014–2018MIT CSAILResearcher
  6. 2014–2020Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  7. 2012–2013Auris HealthSystems and Controls Engineer

Education

  1. 2013Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyDiplom-Ingenieur in mechanical engineering
  2. 2012Stanford UniversityMaster's thesis

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Exploration of underwater life with an acoustically controlled soft robotic fish2018 · Science Robotics · 869 citationsWith Daniela Rus
  2. A Recipe for Soft Fluidic Elastomer Robots2015 · Soft Robotics · 649 citationsWith Daniela Rus
  3. Model-based dynamic feedback control of a planar soft robot: trajectory tracking and interaction with the environment2020 · The International Journal of Robotics Research · 296 citationsWith Antonio Bicchi and Daniela Rus
  4. An Overview of Soft Robotics2022 · Annual Review of Control Robotics and Autonomous Systems · 291 citations
  5. Haptic identification of objects using a modular soft robotic gripper2015 · IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) · 287 citationsWith Daniela Rus

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a companyIncludes Robert Katzschmann. We estimate that 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a company; 29% of moves starting at a university went to a company, and 76% ended the university role.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes ETH Zurich. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes ETH Zurich. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes ETH Zurich. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Robert Katzschmann, PhD people.csail.mit.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. The Soft Revolution: Designing the Next Generation of Robots ethambassadors.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. The Case for Biomimetic Machines ethambassadors.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Soft robotic fish swims alongside real ones in coral reefs news.mit.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Rethinking Robotics srl.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Robert Katzschmann elected TED Fellow ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Robert Katzschmann | Speaker | TED ted.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Getting a grip: AI and robotics ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Two robotics professors receive IEEE Awards ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.