Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Matt Schmittle is a robotics researcher whose work spans autonomous systems, robot-assisted feeding, and multi-robot coordination. He is best known for developing open-source robotic platforms that democratize access to cutting-edge research. His most cited work, "OpenUAV" (62 citations), introduced a versatile UAV testbed that overcame the cost and time constraints of physical drone testing, enabling broader participation in cyber-physical systems research. He also co-created MuSHR (45 citations), a low-cost robotic racecar platform that has become a staple in robotics education and multi-agent research at the University of Washington. In the domain of assistive robotics, Schmittle's contributions to robot-assisted feeding are particularly notable. His papers on generalizing skewering strategies across diverse food items (19 and 13 citations) address the critical challenge of adapting robotic manipulation to real-world variability, with implications for healthcare and accessibility. More recently, his work on long-range path planning for off-road autonomous driving and multi-robot nonprehensile rearrangement (PuSHR) demonstrates his continued impact on practical, deployable autonomy. Through these contributions, Schmittle has advanced both the theoretical foundations and accessible tools for robotics research.