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About

Matin Macktoobian is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics and astrophysics, whose work has fundamentally shaped how autonomous systems support large-scale astronomical surveys. His primary research areas span astrobotics, multi-robot coordination, and power-optimized motion planning for space applications. Macktoobian’s most impactful contribution is his development of robotic fiber positioners for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V), a landmark project mapping over six million celestial objects to decode the Milky Way’s history and track supermassive black holes. His 2020 paper on the robotic Focal Plane System for SDSS-V, with 23 citations, stands as his most cited work, demonstrating the practical significance of his designs. He also introduced the Time-Variant Artificial Potential Field (TAPF) method, a breakthrough in energy-efficient navigation for autonomous space robots, which has garnered 12 citations and established a new paradigm for power-saving strategies in planetary missions. Beyond these, Macktoobian has advanced supervisory coordination of robotic positioners using discrete-event systems and proposed the emerging field of astrobotics—swarm robotics for astrophysical studies. His work on optimal distributed interconnectivity and learning topology for ad-hoc robot networks further showcases his versatility. With over 80 total citations across his top papers, Macktoobian’s research continues to inspire students and researchers at the nexus of robotics and observational astronomy.