Evan Drumwright

About

Evan Drumwright is a robotics researcher whose work spans two deeply interconnected domains: physically realistic robotic simulation and humanoid robot control. His most significant contributions lie in advancing the fidelity and numerical robustness of rigid body contact modeling — a foundational challenge in simulating robots that interact with their environments. His 2010 extension of the Open Dynamics Engine (74 citations) and accompanying work on modeling contact and joint friction using the principle of maximum dissipation (55 citations) established widely-used frameworks for the robotics simulation community. His 2009 convex optimization-based contact model addressed longstanding gaps in handling simultaneous multi-point contact with Coulomb friction, while his 2012 extensive analysis of Linear Complementarity Problem solvers (25 citations) provided critical benchmarking insights that continue to guide simulation tool development. Earlier in his career, Drumwright made notable strides in humanoid robotics, developing exemplar-based motor primitives for movement classification and control (43 citations) and practical algorithms for reaching and motion planning. His 2019 examination of fundamental limitations in planar rigid-body contact models reflects a career-long commitment to honest, rigorous evaluation of the field's core assumptions — making his body of work essential reading for researchers building the next generation of robot simulators and controllers.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Extending Open Dynamics Engine for Robotics Simulation

   74 citations · 2010
2. 2
   Modeling Contact Friction and Joint Friction in Dynamic Robotic Simulation Using the Principle of Maximum Dissipation

   55 citations · 2010
3. 3
   Exemplar-based primitives for humanoid movement classification and control

   43 citations · 2004
4. 4
   Toward Interactive Reaching in Static Environments for Humanoid Robots

   34 citations · 2006
5. 5
   Extensive analysis of Linear Complementarity Problem (LCP) solver performance on randomly generated rigid body contact problems

   25 citations · 2012
6. 6
   Toward a Vocabulary of Primitive Task Programs for Humanoid Robots

   22 citations · 2006
7. 7
   Fundamental Limitations in Performance and Interpretability of Common Planar Rigid-Body Contact Models

   19 citations · 2019
8. 8
   A robust and tractable contact model for dynamic robotic simulation

   14 citations · 2009
9. 9
   Inverse dynamics with rigid contact and friction

   13 citations · 2016
10. 10
    Generating and recognizing free-space movements in humanoid robots

    13 citations · 2004

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links