David Alan Hjelle

Papers

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About

David Alan Hjelle is a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of robotics, structural engineering, and algorithmic design, with a primary focus on the autonomous reconfiguration of modular truss structures. His major contributions center on developing both the hardware and the planning algorithms needed to enable robots to physically disassemble, move, and reassemble truss elements to morph a structure from one geometry to another. In his most cited work, "Planning the reconfiguration of grounded truss structures with truss climbing robots that carry truss elements" (24 citations), Hjelle introduced an optimal reconfiguration planning algorithm that generates a sequence of paths for robots to relocate truss members, effectively allowing a static structure to "reshape" itself. Complementing this, his paper "A robotically reconfigurable truss" (20 citations) advanced the design of passive truss elements that can be inserted and removed in random access, reducing assembly constraints. Together, these contributions—spanning algorithmic search, hardware design, and motion planning—lay foundational groundwork for self-assembling and adaptive infrastructure, with potential applications in space construction, disaster response, and reconfigurable architecture.