J. Marius Zoellner

About

J. Marius Zoellner is a robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of robotic manipulation, grasp planning, and mobile service robotics. Best known for his extensive contributions to autonomous grasping systems, Zoellner has dedicated much of his career to solving one of robotics' most persistent challenges: enabling robots to intelligently interact with objects in unstructured, real-world environments. His 2009 paper on automatic grasp planning for service robots (62 citations) introduced a multimodal object modeling framework that integrates both physical and semantic object information — a foundational contribution to the field. Complementing this, his earlier work on contact-point-based grasp planning and regrasp operations established robust computational methods for dexterous robotic hands. Beyond manipulation, Zoellner has made notable contributions to legged locomotion, presenting reactive posture behaviors that allow multi-legged robots to navigate steep inclines and large obstacles (39 citations). His involvement in the HoLLiE bimanual mobile manipulation platform further demonstrates his breadth across hardware-software co-design. With a body of work accumulating nearly 300 citations, Zoellner represents a significant voice in advancing capable, autonomous service robots for everyday human environments.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   An automatic grasp planning system for service robots

   62 citations · 2009
2. 2
   Reactive posture behaviors for stable legged locomotion over steep inclines and large obstacles

   39 citations · 2014
3. 3
   Automatic optimal grasp planning based on found contact points

   36 citations · 2008
4. 4
   6D object localization and obstacle detection for collision-free manipulation with a mobile service robot

   36 citations · 2009
5. 5
   Grasp planning: Find the contact points

   28 citations · 2007
6. 6
   Planning regrasp operations for a multifingered robotic hand

   23 citations · 2008
7. 7
   Hardware and software architecture of the bimanual mobile manipulation robot HoLLiE and its actuated upper body

   21 citations · 2013
8. 8
   Grasping in Depth maps of time-of-flight cameras

   18 citations · 2008
9. 9
   Integration of 6D Object Localization and Obstacle Detection for Collision Free Robotic Manipulation

   18 citations · 2008
10. 10
    Efficient grasp planning using continuous collision detection

    8 citations · 2009

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links