Arnaud Garnier

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Imperial College London

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Arnaud Garnier is a robotics researcher whose work bridges autonomous aerial navigation and neuroimaging-compatible haptic interfaces. His most-cited contribution, "Contact-based navigation for an autonomous flying robot" (2013, 43 citations), tackles the formidable challenge of autonomous flight in obstacle-dense indoor environments. Rather than avoiding all contact, Garnier pioneered a paradigm where flying robots deliberately use physical contact with surfaces to navigate—a strategy that reduces reliance on fragile sensors and improves mission robustness in cluttered spaces. This work addresses a critical limitation in drone autonomy: the high risk of collision leading to mechanical failure. More recently, Garnier has ventured into the intersection of robotics and neuroscience with "Evaluation of a Portable fMRI Compatible Robotic Wrist Interface" (2022). This device, featuring a shielded DC motor positioned over two meters from the MRI bore, enables real-time study of brain activity during wrist motion—a tool with significant implications for understanding sensorimotor control and rehabilitation. While still early in its citation impact, this work demonstrates Garnier’s versatility in applying robotic principles to biomedical challenges, from autonomous flight to brain-machine interfaces.