Marko Mihalec

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Marko Mihalec is a robotics researcher whose work centers on bipedal locomotion, balance control, and robust robot dynamics under challenging real-world conditions. His research has made significant strides in addressing one of the most persistent problems in legged robotics: maintaining stability and recovering balance when a robot's foot unexpectedly slips on low-friction surfaces. Mihalec's most notable contributions include the development of motion and gait control frameworks specifically designed for bipedal walkers experiencing foot slip — a scenario that invalidates the non-slip contact assumptions underlying most conventional locomotion controllers. His 2021 paper on balance recoverability under foot slip conditions (11 citations) established foundational theoretical groundwork, which he subsequently extended into integrated whole-body control strategies in 2022 (6 citations) and a practical balance gait controller in 2023 (12 citations). Together, these works form a cohesive and progressively refined research program that bridges theoretical stability analysis with implementable engineering solutions. With nearly 30 citations across just three closely related publications, Mihalec has quickly established himself as a focused and impactful voice in humanoid robotics research, offering tools that bring bipedal robots meaningfully closer to reliable operation in unpredictable, real-world environments.