D.P. Martin

Boston University, Scientific Systems (United States)

Papers

Total Citations

156

H-Index

About

D.P. Martin is a robotics researcher whose work has made significant contributions to the field of kinematically redundant robot manipulators (KRRMs) — robotic systems possessing more degrees of freedom than strictly necessary to complete a given task. Active during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Martin helped lay foundational groundwork for understanding how to control, design, and program these sophisticated mechanical systems. His most influential contribution, "Resolution of kinematic redundancy using optimization techniques" (1989), has garnered 141 citations and remains a landmark study in path planning, developing elegant mathematical frameworks — specifically systems of first-order differential equations — to optimize integral cost criteria for redundant manipulators. His earlier survey of KRRMs (1987) provided the research community with a comprehensive overview of the state of the field, while his 1990 work sought to unify motion planning principles across diverse robotic platforms, including manipulator arms, multifingered hands, and mobile robots. Martin's research was particularly valuable in demonstrating how optimization theory could be systematically applied to resolve the inherent ambiguities of kinematic redundancy, influencing generations of robotics engineers and motion planning researchers who followed.