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Pierre Y. Willems is a pioneering figure in multibody dynamics and robot identification, whose work has fundamentally shaped how mechanical systems are modeled and analyzed. His key research areas include the development of symbolic computation tools for deriving equations of motion and the experimental identification of robot inertial parameters. Willems’s most significant contribution is the creation of AUTODYN and ROBOTRAN—innovative computer programmes based on d’Alembert’s Potential Power Principle that automatically generate the equations of motion for complex rigid-body systems. This framework, detailed in his 1990 and 1993 papers (7 and 4 citations respectively), has become a cornerstone for researchers in robotics and vehicle dynamics. His landmark 1992 paper (46 citations) introduced an original procedure for estimating the barycentric parameters of robot manipulators using only external measurements of reaction forces and kinematic data—a method that eliminated the need for disassembling robots and enabled practical calibration. Willems also applied multibody formalism to non-conventional railway systems (1986, 4 citations), demonstrating the versatility of his approach. His work remains essential reading for anyone developing simulation tools or identification techniques in robotics and mechanical engineering.