Iraklis Varlamis

About

Iraklis Varlamis is a researcher whose work sits at the compelling intersection of educational robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction. His most recognized contribution is the development of FOSSBot, an open-source, open-design educational robot conceived to democratize access to STEM education by eliminating the prohibitive costs and proprietary constraints of commercial alternatives. This pioneering work, cited 22 times since 2022, has sparked considerable interest in scalable, accessible robotics for K-12 and beyond. Varlamis has consistently advanced this vision through holistic frameworks for integrating educational robots into computer science curricula and exploring their role in Internet of Things education, collectively accumulating dozens of citations in just a few years. Beyond educational technology, Varlamis investigates cutting-edge AI applications in robotics, including deep reinforcement learning for autonomous underwater vehicle navigation, multi-agent maze exploration strategies, and large language model-driven robotic task execution. His survey on hand gesture recognition from visual input, already accumulating 16 citations in 2025, underscores his growing influence in human-computer interaction research. Across his portfolio, Varlamis demonstrates a rare ability to bridge theoretical rigor with practical, real-world impact, making his work essential reading for students and researchers navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of intelligent systems and technology-enhanced education.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   FOSSBot: An Open Source and Open Design Educational Robot

   22 citations · 2022
2. 2
   A Holistic Approach to Use Educational Robots for Supporting Computer Science Courses

   20 citations · 2024
3. 3
   Survey on Hand Gesture Recognition From Visual Input

   16 citations · 2025
4. 4
   Development of an Educational Robot for Exploring the Internet of Things

   6 citations · 2024
5. 5
   Distributed Maze Exploration Using Multiple Agents and Optimal Goal Assignment

   6 citations · 2024
6. 6
   Survey on Hand Gesture Recognition from Visual Input

   4 citations · 2025
7. 7
   A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Navigation and Control of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in Complex Environments

   3 citations · 2024
8. 8
   From Perception to Action: Leveraging LLMs and Scene Graphs for Intuitive Robotic Task Execution

   3 citations · 2024
9. 9
   Multi-robot maze exploration using an efficient cost-utility method

   2 citations · 2024
10. 10
    An Open-Source and Open-Design Robot for STEM Education in K-12

    1 citations · 2025

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links