About
Prof. Stefano Mintchev is an Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich's Department of Environmental Systems Science, leading the Environmental Robotics Lab since 2020. His research focuses on developing robots to explore complex natural environments, particularly forest canopies for ecological data collection. He holds a Ph.D. in Biorobotics from Italy’s BioRobotics Institute and has extensive postdoctoral experience in aerial robotics at EPFL. His work bridges robotics engineering and environmental science, emphasizing multimodal locomotion, perception, and soft manipulation for ecosystem assessment.
Education: B.Sc./M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pisa/Sant'Anna School (2005–2010), Ph.D. in Biorobotics (2014). Professional roles include CTO of Foldaway Haptics (2017–2020) and contributions to projects like Mercedes-Benz’s VISION AVTR concept car. Research collaborations span international initiatives like FP6/FP7 EU projects and Switzerland’s NCCR Robotics.
Research interests include arboreal robot development, environmental DNA sampling via drones, and biodegradable robotic components. His articles highlight innovations in aerial-tethered robots, tactile sensing systems, and user-centric agricultural drone applications. Lab affiliations include ETH Zurich and WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research).
