John Feddema

About

John Feddema is a pioneering roboticist whose research spans manipulation, control, and distributed autonomous systems. His most influential work addresses the challenge of **slosh-free motion** for robots carrying open liquid containers—a critical problem in industrial and hazardous material handling. By comparing maneuver optimization with input shaping filters, Feddema demonstrated how to suppress fluid oscillation using the fundamental mode predicted by boundary element models, a contribution that has garnered nearly 50 citations across his two seminal papers on the topic. He also made foundational contributions to **self-reconfigurable robotics**, envisioning swarms of homogeneous micro-robots that autonomously reorganize into mission-specific shapes—a concept that has shaped modular robotics research. His work on **vision-based intelligent control** for automated assembly and **microassembly of MEMS** using visual servoing bridges perception and precision manipulation. Feddema’s research on **distributed cooperative systems** and **cooperative sentry vehicles** advanced the coordination of tens to thousands of autonomous agents for defense and DOE applications. With a career that integrates theory and practice—from static grasp algorithms to advanced robot locomotion—Feddema’s work remains a touchstone for researchers in fluid-aware manipulation, reconfigurable systems, and multi-robot coordination.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   A comparison of maneuver optimization and input shaping filters for robotically controlled slosh-free motion of an open container of liquid

   29 citations · 1997
2. 2
   Robotically controlled slosh-free motion of an open container of liquid

   19 citations · 2002
3. 3
   Vision-based intelligent control for automated assembly

   14 citations · 1989
4. 4
   Self-Reconfigurable Robots

   11 citations · 2002
5. 5
   Microassembly of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) using visual servoing

   7 citations · 2007
6. 6
   Cooperative Sentry Vehicles And Differential GPS Leapfrog

   5 citations · 2000
7. 7
   Determining a static robot grasp for automated assembly

   5 citations · 1986
8. 8
   Analysis and control of distributed cooperative systems.

   3 citations · 2004
9. 9
   Mobile robotics activities in DOE laboratories

   2 citations · 2005
10. 10
    Advanced robot locomotion.

    2 citations · 2007

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links