Paul Nadan

Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Research (United States)

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Paul Nadan is a robotics researcher whose work focuses on extreme-terrain mobility, with a particular emphasis on microspine gripper technology and lightweight climbing robots. His most significant contribution is the development of LORIS, a Lightweight Free-Climbing Robot designed for exploring steep, rocky environments that are inaccessible to traditional rovers. This work, published in 2024 and already garnering 18 citations, demonstrates how robots equipped with microspine grippers can ascend vertical cliff faces to investigate scientifically valuable geological strata. Nadan has also advanced the manufacturing of these grippers themselves, addressing the historical reliance on Shape Deposition Manufacturing (SDM) by exploring additive manufacturing techniques for microspine design. His 2022 paper on this topic, while still early in its citation life, lays critical groundwork for more scalable and robust climbing robot hardware. By enabling access to previously unreachable terrain on Earth and other planetary bodies, Nadan’s research directly supports astrobiology, geology, and planetary science missions. His work represents a key step toward making autonomous exploration of extreme environments—from Martian canyons to terrestrial cliff faces—both practical and efficient.