B.J. McCarragher

About

B.J. McCarragher is a pioneering researcher in robotic assembly, process modeling, and intelligent control systems, whose work has fundamentally shaped how robots learn, monitor, and execute complex assembly tasks. His research spans discrete event systems, hidden Markov models (HMMs), and human-robot integration, with a consistent focus on bridging the gap between high-level task reasoning and low-level motion control. McCarragher's most influential contribution — "Skill Acquisition from Human Demonstration Using a Hidden Markov Model" (2002, 153 citations) — introduced a landmark framework enabling robots to acquire assembly skills directly from human demonstrations, representing skills as hybrid dynamic systems combining discrete event control with continuous robot control. His complementary work on HMM-based process monitoring (98 citations) demonstrated how force and torque signals could be interpreted stochastically to supervise robotic assembly in real time. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, McCarragher developed a coherent body of work using Petri nets and discrete event dynamic systems to model, plan, and control assembly tasks, establishing foundational methods still referenced today. His later research exploring potential fields for human integration into robotic control reflects a forward-thinking concern for collaborative autonomy. With over 750 cumulative citations, his contributions remain essential reading for robotics researchers working at the intersection of sensing, learning, and intelligent assembly.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Skill acquisition from human demonstration using a hidden Markov model

   153 citations · 2002
2. 2
   Hidden Markov Models as a Process Monitor in Robotic Assembly

   98 citations · 1998
3. 3
   Qualitative Template Matching Using Dynamic Process Models for State Transition Recognition of Robotic Assembly

   94 citations · 1993
4. 4
   A discrete event approach to the control of robotic assembly tasks

   84 citations · 2002
5. 5
   The Discrete Event Modeling and Trajectory Planning of Robotic Assembly Tasks

   70 citations · 1995
6. 6
   Human integration into robot control utilising potential fields

   61 citations · 2002
7. 7
   Task primitives for the discrete event modeling and control of 6-DOF assembly tasks

   58 citations · 1996
8. 8
   The Discrete Event Control of Robotic Assembly Tasks

   48 citations · 1995
9. 9
   Petri net modelling for robotic assembly and trajectory planning

   46 citations · 1994
10. 10
    Dynamic sensor selection for robotic systems

    41 citations · 2002

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links