Rick Cory

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International

Papers

Total Citations

522

H-Index

About

Rick Cory is a leading researcher in robotic manipulation and motor control, whose work bridges the gap between biological principles and engineered systems. His primary research areas include task space control, redundancy resolution, and bio-inspired aerial robotics. Cory’s most influential contribution is his 2008 paper on operational space control, which provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical comparison of dexterous manipulation strategies for highly redundant systems—a foundational work cited over 380 times. He further advanced the field with comparative experiments on task space control (81 citations) and a unifying methodology for robotic system control (36 citations), demonstrating how Gauss’ principle of least constraint can reformulate control problems as optimal control. Notably, Cory’s 2010 work on “supermaneuverable perching” explores how birds execute aerobatic maneuvers, inspiring novel control strategies for agile aerial robots. His research has profound implications for humanoid robotics, where understanding human-like compliant control and redundancy is critical. With a career marked by rigorous experimentation and theoretical innovation, Cory’s work continues to shape how robots achieve fluid, adaptive, and highly coordinated movement in complex environments.