Papers
7
Total Citations
125
H-Index
5
About
Martin Kornfeld is an Austrian robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of assistive technology, medical robotics, and human-robot interaction. He is perhaps best known for his development of PlayROB, a pioneering robot-assisted play system designed to give children with severe physical disabilities meaningful access to toys and play experiences that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Recognizing play as a fundamental vehicle for cognitive and social development, Kornfeld's PlayROB project demonstrated that robotics could serve as a powerful equalizer for physically handicapped children — a contribution that has accumulated over 75 citations across multiple publications and undergone rigorous user trials validating its real-world effectiveness. Beyond assistive play, Kornfeld has made significant contributions to medical and surgical robotics, particularly in the areas of safety assessment and clinical integration. His work on risk analysis in surgical robotics, including a detailed case study on a biopsy robot, addressed critical barriers to clinical adoption, while his research into neurosurgical robotic assistance and the IntraROB interventional radiology targeting device further established his expertise across multiple medical domains. Together, his publications reflect a career dedicated to making robotics technology genuinely useful, safe, and humane in the most sensitive of settings.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1PlayROB - Robot-Assisted Playing for Children with Severe Physical Handicaps43 citations · 2005
- 2
- 3Robot Assistance in Playful Environment - User Trials and Results17 citations · 2007
- 4Robot Assistant "PlayROB" - User Trials and Results16 citations · 2007
- 5Evaluation of robotic assistance in neurosurgical applications13 citations · 2011
- 6IntraROB—a programmable targeting device for interventional radiology5 citations · 2005
- 7Playing assistant for physical handicapped children3 citations · 2006