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About

Samuel Bustamante is a robotics researcher specializing in assistive robotics, shared control, and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on restoring independence for people living with motor impairments and neuromuscular diseases. His most influential contribution, "Shared Control Templates for Assistive Robotics" (2020, 54 citations), introduced a framework enabling users with low-bandwidth control interfaces — such as EMG signals — to operate robotic manipulators effectively in everyday environments. Complementing this work, his EDAN system (46 citations) demonstrated how EMG-controlled robotic assistants can meaningfully support people with severely reduced muscle function in daily tasks. Bustamante has progressively advanced the sophistication of shared control, exploring seamless transitions between human-guided and autonomous operation, interactive learning of control templates, and variable-autonomy task planning. His development of ArmSym, a virtual human-robot interaction laboratory, reflects a commitment to lowering experimental barriers in the field. More recently, his work has expanded into explainability through vision-language models and constraint refinement for safer, more empowering robotic assistance. With over 150 cumulative citations and a growing body of work spanning simulation, planning, and real-world deployment, Bustamante stands as a meaningful contributor to the future of assistive robotic technology.