Esmaeil Najafi

About

Esmaeil Najafi is a robotics researcher whose work spans autonomous navigation, manipulation planning, industrial automation, and human-robot collaboration. His research bridges theoretical control design with practical implementation, making meaningful contributions across several interconnected domains within modern robotics. Najafi's early work established strong foundations in control theory, with his 2014 study on balancing legged robots using State-Dependent Riccati Equation control (21 citations) and his 2015 exploration of complex behavior learning through passivity-based control (15 citations). He subsequently advanced robotic manipulation by introducing a contact-based language framework for manipulation planning (2018, 16 citations), elegantly connecting high-level decision-making with low-level controllers. His contributions to Industry 4.0 are particularly notable, with multiple papers applying AutomationML and model-based design to real-world robotic systems (2019, totaling 36 citations). His 2020 work on ROS-based SLAM for autonomous quadrotors (24 citations) and UAV-driven wheat disease detection (2022, 13 citations) demonstrate a growing focus on autonomous aerial systems with agricultural applications. Most recently, Najafi has addressed critical safety challenges in collaborative robotics, publishing research grounded in ISO/TS 15066 standards for safe human-robot interaction (2023–2024). Across his career, his work consistently reflects a commitment to translating rigorous theoretical insights into deployable, safety-conscious robotic solutions.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   ROS-based SLAM and Navigation for a Gazebo-Simulated Autonomous Quadrotor

   24 citations · 2020
2. 2
   Model-Based Design Approach for an Industry 4.0 Case Study: A Pick and Place Robot

   23 citations · 2019
3. 3
   Balancing a Legged Robot Using State-Dependent Riccati Equation Control

   21 citations · 2014
4. 4
   Robot Contact Language for Manipulation Planning

   16 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Learning Complex Behaviors via Sequential Composition and Passivity-Based Control

   15 citations · 2015
6. 6
   Design of a Genetic based Optimized Fuzzy Logic Controller for Enhanced Trajectory Tracking Accuracy of a 3P Robot

   13 citations · 2022
7. 7
   An Implementation of AutomationML for an Industry 4.0 Case Study: RoboCup@Work

   13 citations · 2019
8. 8
   Automated Wheat Disease Detection Using A ROS-Based Autonomous Guided UAV

   13 citations · 2022
9. 9
   Control Design for Safe Human-Robot Collaboration based on ISO/TS 15066 with Power and Force Limit

   9 citations · 2023
10. 10
    Safe physical human–robot interaction through variable impedance control based on ISO/TS 15066

    8 citations · 2024

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links