Hossein Rastgoftar

University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Drexel University, University of Arizona, Shiraz University

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Hossein Rastgoftar is a robotics and control systems researcher whose work bridges aerial robotics, distributed formation control, and flexible manipulator dynamics. His research focuses on enabling multi-agent systems—particularly quadcopter teams—to perform complex collaborative tasks under human supervision. In a standout 2018 paper (12 citations), Rastgoftar introduced a framework for cooperative aerial payload transport guided by an onsite human supervisor, where multiple small quadcopters share the payload’s weight while a human provides haptic motion cues to direct the team. This work addresses critical challenges in human-robot interaction and load distribution. Earlier, in 2014 (8 citations), he developed a distributed control strategy for tracking Lagrangian coherent structures in geophysical flows, offering a novel approach for autonomous vehicles to navigate dynamic ocean environments. More recently (2023, 5 citations), he proposed an Euler-angle-free flatness-based control method for quadcopter trajectory tracking, eliminating singularities inherent in traditional rotation representations. His foundational work on flexible manipulators (2008, 2 citations) applied boundary control and Timoshenko beam theory to stabilize two-link systems. Rastgoftar’s contributions advance practical deployment of aerial robots in logistics, environmental monitoring, and human-collaborative tasks.