Benjamin Goldberg
Harvard University, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Papers
11
Total Citations
939
H-Index
11
About
Benjamin Goldberg is a pioneering roboticist whose research sits at the intersection of microrobotics, biologically inspired locomotion, and advanced manufacturing. Working primarily within the Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR) platform, Goldberg has made foundational contributions to insect-scale legged robots capable of navigating complex real-world environments. His most cited work (237 citations) demonstrated that gram-scale robots could achieve reliable inverted and vertical surface climbing through electroadhesion — a breakthrough that dramatically expands the operational range of miniature robots in inspection and exploration contexts. Equally influential is his research on autonomous power and control systems, enabling untethered high-speed locomotion at speeds approaching four body lengths per second in robots weighing under three grams (187 citations). Goldberg has also tackled multimodal locomotion challenges, developing hybrid robots capable of transitioning between terrestrial, aquatic, and underwater environments (156 citations). His contributions extend to foundational manufacturing frameworks for laminate-based microrobots and rigorous motion-capture methodologies for performance analysis. Collectively, his body of work — accumulating over 700 citations — has helped define the state of the art in millimeter-scale robotics, offering transformative insights for researchers building the next generation of autonomous micro-systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Inverted and vertical climbing of a quadrupedal microrobot using electroadhesion237 citations · 2018
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- 3High speed locomotion for a quadrupedal microrobot172 citations · 2014
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- 7A wirelessly powered, biologically inspired ambulatory microrobot30 citations · 2014
- 8Feedback control of a legged microrobot with on-board sensing26 citations · 2015
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