Georg Stillfried

About

Georg Stillfried is a leading researcher in hand biomechanics and human-robot interaction, whose work bridges the gap between biological dexterity and robotic design. His primary research areas include kinematic modeling of the human hand, grasp synergy analysis, and variable-stiffness robotic grasping. Stillfried’s major contribution is the development of a data-driven kinematic hand model reconstructed from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is fully parameterized and adaptable across subjects—a foundational tool for understanding hand movement and designing anthropomorphic robotic grippers. His most cited paper (51 citations) introduces a soft-tissue artifact compensation mechanism for accurate finger posture recording, while another key study (40 citations) provides a comprehensive MRI-based movement model. Notably, his 2017 work (22 citations) demonstrates that human grip stiffness can be decoupled from force via cocontraction, offering critical insights for variable-stiffness actuators. Stillfried also contributed to the Exodex Adam (2022), a reconfigurable haptic interface for whole-hand interaction in teleoperation and virtual reality. With over 200 total citations, his research has profoundly influenced biomechanics, rehabilitation, and robotics, enabling more natural and adaptive robotic hands.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   A data-driven kinematic model of the human hand with soft-tissue artifact compensation mechanism for grasp synergy analysis

   51 citations · 2013
2. 2
   Movement model of a human hand based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

   40 citations · 2010
3. 3
   Robotics of human movements

   36 citations · 2009
4. 4
   MRI-Based Skeletal Hand Movement Model

   27 citations · 2014
5. 5
   Key Insights into Hand Biomechanics: Human Grip Stiffness Can Be Decoupled from Force by Cocontraction and Predicted from Electromyography

   22 citations · 2017
6. 6
   Multi-body simulation of a human thumb joint by sliding surfaces

   11 citations · 2012
7. 7
   Human-Robotic Variable-Stiffness Grasps of Small-Fruit Containers Are Successful Even Under Severely Impaired Sensory Feedback

   10 citations · 2018
8. 8
   Using MRT data to compute a hand kinematic model

   5 citations · 2008
9. 9
   Exodex Adam—A Reconfigurable Dexterous Haptic User Interface for the Whole Hand

   4 citations · 2022
10. 10
    Kinematic Modelling of the Human Hand for Robotics

    3 citations · 2015

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links