J.N. Herndon

About

J.N. Herndon is a robotics and teleoperation engineer whose career has been defined by pioneering contributions to remote manipulation systems for hazardous and space environments, primarily through work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Spanning nearly two decades of research, Herndon's work addresses the critical challenge of extending human dexterity into environments where direct presence is dangerous or impossible — from nuclear facilities to the microgravity of space. Among Herndon's most significant contributions is the development and advancement of the NASA Laboratory Telerobotic Manipulator (LTM), a dexterous dual-arm force-reflective system designed to support NASA's Space Station Program. His work on computationally efficient control schemes for seven-degree-of-freedom manipulators, including strategies to avoid joint limits and singularities, represents an important technical milestone in space robotics. His 2002 paper on telerobotic joint torque sensor-based control further refined the field's understanding of practical manipulator design. Herndon also documented ORNL's broader institutional legacy in teleoperation, including the landmark M2 servomanipulator — the world's first digitally controlled teleoperator. Collectively accumulating nearly 40 citations, his body of work remains a valuable reference for researchers developing robotic systems for remote, unstructured, and extraterrestrial environments.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Design of a telerobotic controller with joint torque sensors

   8 citations · 2002
2. 2
   The evolution of teleoperated manipulators at ORNL

   6 citations · 1996
3. 3
   Telerobotic manipulator developments for ground-based space research

   6 citations · 1988
4. 4
   NASA laboratory telerobotic manipulator control system architecture

   5 citations · 1992
5. 5
   The laboratory telerobotic manipulator program

   4 citations · 1989
6. 6
   Robotic control of the seven-degree-of-freedom NASA laboratory telerobotic manipulator

   4 citations · 1989
7. 7
   Traction-drive telerobot for space manipulation

   2 citations · 2005
8. 8
   Manipulation hardware for microgravity research

   2 citations · 1990
9. 9
   Robotic systems for Nasa ground-based research

   2 citations · 1988

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links