Carlos M. S. Figueiredo

About

Carlos M. S. Figueiredo is a leading researcher in swarm and field robotics, with a career dedicated to creating affordable, biologically inspired robotic systems. His work centers on developing low-cost platforms and algorithms that enable collective intelligence, particularly for applications in search-and-rescue, elderly care, and environmental monitoring. Figueiredo’s most significant contribution is the Robotic Darwinian Particle Swarm Optimization (RDPSO) algorithm, which applies natural selection principles to multi-robot foraging, demonstrating how "survival of the fittest" can optimize task allocation under communication constraints. His highly cited 2012 paper on a low-cost educational swarm platform (44 citations) has become a foundational resource for democratizing robotics research. Beyond ground robots, Figueiredo has advanced biologically inspired flying robots, modeling bird flight dynamics for agile aerial platforms. His work on the NAO humanoid robot for elderly care (27 citations) addresses critical societal challenges by using social robotics to combat isolation and depression. With over 170 total citations, Figueiredo’s research bridges theoretical innovation and practical deployment, notably through the TraxBot mobile platform and RSSI-based navigation algorithms. His hierarchical deployment strategies for robotic teams under communication constraints have proven vital for real-world disaster response scenarios.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   A Low-Cost Educational Platform for Swarm Robotics

   44 citations · 2012
2. 2
   Darwinian swarm exploration under communication constraints: Initial deployment and fault-tolerance assessment

   33 citations · 2014
3. 3
   Fostering the NAO platform as an elderly care robot

   27 citations · 2013
4. 4
   Modeling and control of biologically inspired flying robots

   24 citations · 2011
5. 5
   TraxBot - Assembling and Programming of a Mobile Robotic Platform

   17 citations · 2012
6. 6
   Multi-robot foraging based on Darwin's survival of the fittest

   10 citations · 2012
7. 7
   Initial deployment of a robotic team - a hierarchical approach under communication constraints verified on low-cost platforms

   9 citations · 2012
8. 8
   Biological Inspired Flying Robot

   6 citations · 2009
9. 9
   An RSSI-based navigation algorithm for a mobile robot in Wireless Sensor Networks

   5 citations · 2012
10. 10
    The Dynamic Modeling of a Bird Robot

    4 citations · 2009

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links