Papers
52
Total Citations
1,105
H-Index
16
About
Matthew Travers is a pioneering roboticist whose research sits at the intersection of bio-inspired locomotion, modular robotics, and autonomous systems. Drawing deeply from biological principles, Travers has made foundational contributions to understanding how snake-like robots can navigate complex and unstructured terrain. His landmark 2014 collaboration on sidewinder rattlesnake locomotion (287 citations) revealed how desert snakes conquer sandy inclines with minimal slipping — insights that directly informed more capable limbless robots. Subsequent work on multiplane body undulations and kinematic gait synthesis further advanced the theoretical and practical foundations of snake robot motion, earning over 100 and 60 citations respectively. Travers has also pushed the frontier of modular robotics, developing deep reinforcement learning approaches to automated robot design synthesis and control policy learning — work that promises robots capable of reconfiguring themselves for diverse tasks. His contributions extend to subterranean exploration, including participation in resilient multi-robot teams for underground navigation and the ambitious NASA-affiliated EELS project, a snake-like autonomous robot designed to explore ice worlds like Saturn's moon Enceladus. Through more than 700 cumulative citations across his most influential work, Travers has established himself as a leading voice in adaptive, bio-inspired robotic systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Sidewinding with minimal slip: Snake and robot ascent of sandy slopes287 citations · 2014
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- 4Kinematic gait synthesis for snake robots61 citations · 2015
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- 6Learning Modular Robot Control Policies44 citations · 2023
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- 8Modular Robot Design Synthesis with Deep Reinforcement Learning37 citations · 2020
- 9Locomotive reduction for snake robots35 citations · 2015
- 10Locomotion of a multi-link non-holonomic snake robot with passive joints26 citations · 2020