Jorge Dias

About

Jorge Dias is a distinguished robotics researcher whose work spans soft robotics, autonomous systems, multi-sensor perception, and agricultural and service robotics. He is perhaps best known for his foundational contributions to soft robot modeling, particularly his development of discrete Cosserat approaches for multisection soft manipulator dynamics — a landmark 2018 paper that has garnered over 319 citations and has become a key reference for researchers moving beyond the limitations of piecewise constant curvature models. His complementary 2016 work on piece-wise constant strain modeling further cemented his role in shaping the theoretical backbone of soft robotics. Dias has also made significant contributions to multi-sensor perception, authoring a widely cited 2007 tutorial on inertial and visual sensing (285 citations) and pioneering vision-inertial fusion techniques as early as 2003. His research spans practical applications including agricultural robotics — notably deep learning-based tomato detection in greenhouses — service robots in elderly care, structural inspection, cooperative multi-robot systems, and novel spherical mobile robot platforms. With publications consistently attracting hundreds of citations across diverse domains, Dias exemplifies the rare researcher who bridges rigorous theoretical modeling with impactful real-world robotic applications, making his work essential reading for students and practitioners alike.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Discrete Cosserat Approach for Multisection Soft Manipulator Dynamics

   319 citations · 2018
2. 2
   An Introduction to Inertial and Visual Sensing

   285 citations · 2007
3. 3
   Evaluating the Single-Shot MultiBox Detector and YOLO Deep Learning Models for the Detection of Tomatoes in a Greenhouse

   177 citations · 2021
4. 4
   Vision and inertial sensor cooperation using gravity as a vertical reference

   137 citations · 2003
5. 5
   A Study on the Deployment of a Service Robot in an Elderly Care Center

   132 citations · 2018
6. 6
   A survey on inspecting structures using robotic systems

   108 citations · 2016
7. 7
   Cooperative multi-robot systems:

   102 citations · 2005
8. 8
   Design and control of a spherical mobile robot

   96 citations · 2003
9. 9
   Discrete Cosserat approach for soft robot dynamics: A new piece-wise constant strain model with torsion and shears

   94 citations · 2016
10. 10
    A unified multi-soft-body dynamic model for underwater soft robots

    80 citations · 2018

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links