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About

Katharina Hertkorn is a leading researcher in robotic manipulation, haptics, and virtual reality for telerobotic systems, with a focus on enabling intuitive human-robot interaction in complex, real-world environments. Her most impactful work includes the development of depth-based tracking algorithms that integrate physical constraints for real-time articulated object tracking, a key contribution to robotic manipulation that has garnered 69 citations. She also co-designed the DLR bimanual haptic device, a dual-arm system with human-like kinematics and high-fidelity torque control, cited 66 times for its optimized workspace and 1 kHz update rate. Hertkorn’s research extends to space robotics, where she created VR-OOS, a virtual reality simulator for on-orbit servicing with haptic feedback, addressing the critical issue of space debris mitigation. Her work on Time Domain Passivity Control for multi-degree-of-freedom haptic devices with time delay (26 citations) has advanced stable teleoperation over long distances. Additionally, she has pioneered semi-autonomous grasping for assistive robotics, combining online grasp planning with visual servoing to reduce operator workload. With over 250 total citations, Hertkorn’s contributions bridge the gap between virtual simulation and physical robotic control, making her a key figure in the fields of telerobotics and human-robot collaboration.