Reinhard M. Grassmann

About

Reinhard M. Grassmann is a leading researcher in continuum robotics, with a primary focus on concentric tube and tendon-driven continuum robots. His major contributions lie at the intersection of robotics and machine learning, where he has pioneered learning-based approaches for forward and inverse kinematics of these flexible, highly nonlinear systems. Notably, his work "Learning the Forward and Inverse Kinematics of a 6-DOF Concentric Tube Continuum Robot in SE(3)" (72 citations) established a data-driven foundation for modeling complex robot poses in three-dimensional space. Grassmann has also advanced practical robotics through the design of the Fully Actuated Segment (FAS) for tendon-driven robots and the Open Continuum Robotics platform, which aims to standardize experimental hardware across the field. His research consistently addresses fundamental challenges in trajectory planning, including smooth interpolation in SE(3) with collision avoidance, and he has introduced novel representations like the Clarke transform for arbitrary joint configurations. With over 180 total citations and a growing portfolio of high-impact publications, Grassmann is shaping the future of continuum robot control and design.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Learning the Forward and Inverse Kinematics of a 6-DOF Concentric Tube Continuum Robot in SE(3)

   72 citations · 2018
2. 2
   On the Merits of Joint Space and Orientation Representations in Learning the Forward Kinematics in SE(3)

   25 citations · 2019
3. 3
   Learning-based Inverse Kinematics from Shape as Input for Concentric Tube Continuum Robots

   17 citations · 2021
4. 4
   Open continuum robotics–one actuation module to create them all

   16 citations · 2024
5. 5
   FAS—A Fully Actuated Segment for Tendon-Driven Continuum Robots

   15 citations · 2022
6. 6
   A Dataset and Benchmark for Learning the Kinematics of Concentric Tube Continuum Robots

   15 citations · 2022
7. 7
   Quaternion-Based Smooth Trajectory Generator for Via Poses in $\boldsymbol{S\;E(3)}$ Considering Kinematic Limits in Cartesian Space

   12 citations · 2019
8. 8
   Smooth Point-to-Point Trajectory Planning in $SE$ (3)with Self-Collision and Joint Constraints Avoidance

   9 citations · 2018
9. 9
   Clarke Transform and Encoder-Decoder Architecture for Arbitrary Joints Locations in Displacement-Actuated Continuum Robots

   3 citations · 2025

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links