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About

Eric Steimle is a pioneering robotics researcher whose work centers on unmanned marine systems, disaster response robotics, and heterogeneous multi-robot coordination. As a key contributor to the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) at the University of South Florida, Steimle has been instrumental in deploying cutting-edge robotic systems in some of the world's most challenging disaster environments, including Hurricanes Wilma and Ike, and the catastrophic 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. His most celebrated contribution — the cooperative deployment of unmanned sea surface and aerial vehicles at Hurricane Wilma — has garnered over 219 citations and demonstrated the real-world viability of autonomous multi-platform coordination in disaster scenarios. Steimle also pioneered the Sea-RAI marsupial robot system, the first known man-portable unmanned surface vehicle capable of hosting an aerial drone, advancing both bridge inspection and littoral environment monitoring. His underwater ROV work in Japan's Iwate Prefecture following the 2011 tsunami further cemented his reputation as a leader in applied disaster robotics. With a body of work accumulating hundreds of citations, Steimle's research has meaningfully shaped how robotic systems are integrated into emergency response and critical infrastructure inspection worldwide.