Alin Albu-Schäffer

Prof. Alin Albu-Schäffer is a Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Director of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics. He holds the Chair of Sensor-Based Robot Systems and Intelligent Assistance Systems. His research focuses on robot design, control, and human-robot interaction, emphasizing safe and adaptive systems for diverse applications like space exploration, healthcare, and industrial automation.

Education:

• MS in Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Timisoara, Romania (1993)
• PhD in Automatic Control, TUM (2002)

Key Research Areas:

• Robot design and control
• Nonlinear control systems
• Bio-inspired robotics
• Medical and surgical robotics (e.g., MIRO system)
• Planetary exploration robotics

Awards:

• ERC Advanced Grant (2019) for the M-Runners project
• IEEE Fellow (2018)
• IEEE King-Sun Fu Best Paper Award (2012, 2014)

Grants & Leadership:

Leads the DLR Institute and a robotics research group at TUM. Pioneered the DLR Lightweight Robot and its industrial transfer to KUKA, revolutionizing lightweight robotics. Co-developed the MIRO surgical robot commercialized via Medtronic.

Labs/Teams:

• DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics
• MIRO Innovation Lab