David A. Haggerty
Papers
11
Total Citations
422
H-Index
8
About
David A. Haggerty is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of soft robotics, continuum robot design, and data-driven control. He has made particularly significant contributions to the development of "vine robots" — soft, tip-extending continuum robots inspired by plant growth — authoring and co-authoring foundational work on their design, modeling, and real-world application, including a widely cited 2020 review (112 citations) that has become a key reference in the field. His research addresses one of soft robotics' central challenges: controlling systems with highly nonlinear, infinite-degree-of-freedom dynamics. To tackle this, Haggerty has pioneered the application of Koopman operator theory to soft robotic modeling and control, enabling more tractable mathematical representations of complex behaviors. His 2023 paper on controlling soft robots with inertial dynamics has already garnered 118 citations, underscoring the field's appetite for principled control frameworks. Beyond vine robots, his portfolio spans modular soft cellular robots, gecko-inspired gear transmissions, and clinically motivated applications such as a soft robotic intubation device. Collectively, his work has accumulated over 400 citations, reflecting sustained impact across both theoretical and applied robotics communities.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Control of soft robots with inertial dynamics118 citations · 2023
- 2Design, Modeling, Control, and Application of Everting Vine Robots112 citations · 2020
- 3Characterizing Environmental Interactions for Soft Growing Robots54 citations · 2019
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- 5A Dexterous Tip-extending Robot with Variable-length Shape-locking35 citations · 2020
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- 10A soft robotic device for rapid and self-guided intubation6 citations · 2025