Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Jacob Rodriguez is a pioneering roboticist whose research focuses on extreme-terrain mobility and autonomous infrastructure inspection. His most notable contribution is the WORMS (Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System) platform, developed for the 2022 NASA BIG Idea Challenge. WORMS introduces field-reconfigurable walking robots that can be tailored to traverse the Moon’s rugged, uncharted landscapes—a radical departure from traditional wheeled designs, directly addressing NASA’s call for novel lunar mobility. This work has garnered 10 citations and positions Rodriguez at the forefront of space robotics. He is also the lead author of the AERIAL-CORE project (2024, 4 citations), which develops AI-powered aerial robots for inspecting and maintaining large-scale electrical power infrastructures. By integrating autonomous navigation and machine learning, these drones detect structural deterioration before it leads to public safety hazards. Rodriguez’s dual focus on extraterrestrial and terrestrial robotics demonstrates a rare versatility, bridging the gap between space exploration and critical civil infrastructure. His achievements reflect a commitment to solving real-world challenges through innovative, reconfigurable robotic systems.