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About

Mark Rijnen is a researcher at the forefront of hybrid control systems for robotic locomotion, specializing in the stabilization and analysis of motions involving hard impacts. His work addresses a fundamental challenge in robotics: enabling robots to perform dynamic tasks—like walking, hopping, or running—where feet or limbs make and break contact with the ground at significant speeds. Rijnen’s major contribution is the development and application of **reference spreading control**, a novel hybrid control law that effectively manages the time mismatch between nominal and actual impact events. This approach allows for robust trajectory tracking even in the presence of chaotic impact dynamics, as demonstrated in his simulation work on humanoid robots and hopping robotic legs. His most cited paper (2017, 30 citations) provides numerical experiments validating this method for humanoid motions with impacts. Additionally, his research on sensitivity analysis for nonsmooth mechanical systems (2019, 10 citations) offers critical tools for understanding how state-triggered jumps affect system trajectories, paving the way for more reliable control design. Through these contributions, Rijnen is advancing the practical realization of agile, impact-rich robotic behaviors.