Patrick Pirim
Papers
9
Total Citations
129
H-Index
5
About
Patrick Pirim is a pioneer in biomimetic robotics, best known for his foundational work on the Psikharpax project—an ambitious effort to build an autonomous, adaptive artificial rat. His research bridges neuroscience, robotics, and materials science, focusing on tactile sensing, sensorimotor control, and neural architectures for autonomous behavior. Pirim’s major contributions include developing a whisker-based tactile system for texture discrimination, which he successfully implemented on the Psikharpax robot, demonstrating robust performance in both fixed and mobile contexts. His work on electroactive polymer whiskers advanced the integration of actuation and sensing in soft robotics, while his neuromimetic model of saccadic eye movements brought biological plausibility to robotic vision. The Psikharpax project, with its most-cited paper garnering 79 citations, stands as his signature achievement, showcasing a holistic approach to endowing robots with the adaptive capacities of real rats. Pirim’s research has influenced fields from tactile sensing to neural control, and his interdisciplinary methods continue to inspire students and researchers exploring the frontier of autonomous, biologically-inspired machines.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1The Psikharpax project: towards building an artificial rat79 citations · 2004
- 2Using Coloured Snapshots For Short-Range Guidance In Mobile Robots12 citations · 2002
- 3Actuation and Sensing properties of Electroactive Polymer Whiskers11 citations · 2011
- 4TACTILE TEXTURE DISCRIMINATION IN THE ROBOT-RAT PSIKHARPAX10 citations · 2010
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- 7Conducting IPN actuator/sensor for biomimetic vibrissa system3 citations · 2014
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- 9Psikharpax: An autonomous and adaptive artificial rat2 citations · 2014