Bruno Depraetere

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About

Bruno Depraetere is a robotics researcher whose work lies at the intersection of control theory, mechatronics, and high-speed manipulation. His primary research areas include time-optimal control, model-based and model-free control strategies, and the design of agile robotic systems. Depraetere is best known for his pioneering work on a badminton-playing robot, where he systematically compared model-free and model-based methods to achieve time-optimal hit control. This work, published in 2014 and garnering 26 citations, demonstrated how to compute the fastest possible racket trajectory from a stationary start to a target state with non-zero velocity—a challenging problem in dynamic robotics. He also contributed to the design and control of a fast pick-and-place prototype robot, which uses vision to identify and grasp randomly scattered objects. With 11 citations, this work highlights his ability to build complete, high-performance systems from the ground up. Depraetere’s research is notable for its practical focus on real-time performance and its clear bridging of theoretical optimal control with experimental validation, making his contributions valuable for students and engineers working on high-speed automation and sports robotics.