Jarkko Kotaniemi

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

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About

Jarkko Kotaniemi is a robotics researcher focused on advancing automation for extreme environments and precision agriculture. His work centers on developing intelligent robotic systems capable of autonomous operation in high-stakes settings, particularly for nuclear fusion maintenance and flexible manufacturing. Kotaniemi’s major contributions include pioneering automated maintenance feasibility testing on the EU DEMO Automated Inspection and Maintenance Test Unit (AIM-TU), a critical step toward achieving commercially viable fusion power plants by minimizing radiation-exposed shutdowns. He also introduced a data-driven approach to input shaping for vibration suppression in flexible robot arms, offering an adaptive, workspace-interpolated method that enhances precision without complex modeling. In agriculture, Kotaniemi developed a weeding robot for mechanical Rumex seedling removal in open pastures, addressing the growing need for sustainable weed control in livestock farming. His research on manufacturing operations as services using reconfigurable robotic skills supports ultra-flexible production for lot sizes of one. With a growing citation footprint across fusion, manufacturing, and agricultural robotics, Kotaniemi’s work demonstrates a clear trajectory toward practical, autonomous systems that operate reliably under physical constraints—from radioactive environments to uneven fields.