PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Tamim Asfour

Tamim Asfour is a humanoid robotics researcher whose work connects AI with robots that learn from and assist people in human environments. He earned a diploma in electrical engineering in 1994 and a PhD in computer science in 2003 at the University of Karlsruhe, and received an FZI prize for his doctoral thesis. Starting in 1998, he developed the ARMAR family; ARMAR III demonstrated household tasks in a KIT kitchen in 2006, and ARMAR IIIb followed in 2008. He led KIT’s H²T group from 2012, presented the Robotics Institute Germany’s AI-based robotics concept in 2024 as its spokesperson, and became an IEEE Fellow in 2026. As of October 2026, he is a full professor at KIT and directs H²T, serves as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters and spokesperson of the Robotics Institute Germany, and is an ELLIS Fellow and Program Director for Robot Learning: Closing the Reality Gap!

Now at
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Robotics Institute Germany
Works
620
Citations
13,360
h-index
60
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1994–2003

    Diploma and PhD at Karlsruhe

    He earns a diploma in electrical engineering in 1994 and a PhD in computer science in 2003, both from the University of Karlsruhe.

  2. 1998–2008

    Developing the ARMAR family

    He begins developing the ARMAR family in 1998. ARMAR III is completed in 2006 and demonstrates household tasks such as loading a dishwasher in a KIT kitchen; ARMAR IIIb follows in 2008.

  3. 2003

    An FZI doctoral award

    He receives the Research Center for Information Technology (FZI) prize for his 2003 doctoral thesis on sensorimotor control in humanoid robotics and the development of ARMAR.

  4. Since 2012

    Heading the H²T group

    Since 2012, he heads the High-Performance Humanoid Technologies (H²T) research group at KIT’s Faculty of Computer Science and holds the chair of Humanoid Robotics Systems at its Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics.

  5. 2020

    ARMAR-6 and SecondHands

    In May 2020, the Horizon 2020 SecondHands consortium announces the completed ARMAR-6, a humanoid developed at KIT for maintenance work that can infer when a person needs help and offer assistance. Asfour says robots with its manipulation, interaction and learning abilities can give people a second pair of hands at home and at work.

  6. 2024

    Presenting the RIG concept

    In 2024, as spokesperson for the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG), he presents its concept for AI-based robotics in Berlin, with KIT’s ARMAR-7 on show. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research funds the institute for four years from July 2024.

  7. 2026

    IEEE Fellow in 2026

    The IEEE inducts him into its Fellow Class of 2026 for contributions to humanoid mechatronics and cognitive humanoid robotics.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor of humanoid robotics

    He is a full professor of humanoid robotics at KIT and directs its High Performance Humanoid Technologies Lab (H²T), where his group engineers humanoid systems that integrate artificial intelligence, informatics and mechatronics. He is Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, spokesperson of the Robotics Institute Germany and an ELLIS Fellow and Program Director for Robot Learning: Closing the Reality Gap!

Career

  1. Since 2012Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyFull Professor of Humanoid Robotics
  2. NowRobotics Institute GermanySpokesperson
  3. 2005–2007FZI Research Center for Information Technology

Education

  1. 2003University of KarlsruhePhD in computer science
  2. 1994University of KarlsruheDiploma in electrical engineering

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

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. 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.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. 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.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Tamim Asfour yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Workshop on Humanoid 2015 cs.stanford.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. International recognition for KIT robotics informatik.kit.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. 082 - Humanoid Robot 100objekte.kit.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. ShanghAI Lectures: Tamim Asfour “Robots think with their hands” - Robohub robohub.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Prof. Dr. Tamim Asfour at automatica automatica-munich.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Horizon2020 SecondHands Consortium Develops a Collaborative Robot Which Can Proactively Assist Humans in Maintenance Tasks ocadogroup.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Robotics Institute Germany established - TUM tum.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Tamim Asfour: Humanoid Robotics - Creating General-Purpose Functional Intelligence — Neuroscience and Neurotechnology in Freiburg neuro.uni-freiburg.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Tamim Asfour | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 21 October 2026.