Scott Askew

Papers

Total Citations

238

H-Index

About

Scott Askew is a pioneering roboticist whose work has fundamentally shaped the design of humanoid robots for extreme environments. His primary research areas include space robotics, human-robot collaboration, and tactile sensing for dexterous manipulation. Askew’s most impactful contribution is his work on Robonaut, a humanoid robot designed to work alongside astronauts in space. The seminal 2003 paper, "Robonaut: A Robot Designed to Work with Humans in Space," has garnered 212 citations, establishing the foundational principles for robots that can perform assembly, maintenance, and diagnostic tasks in the zero-gravity environment of the International Space Station. This work demonstrated that a human-like form, chosen for its functional versatility rather than aesthetics, is optimal for operating in spaces and with tools designed for people. Askew also advanced the critical field of tactile sensing, as shown in his 2011 paper on a miniature load cell for robot fingers (9 citations), which enables robots to perceive texture, stiffness, and shape—information essential for robust manipulation. By bridging the gap between human capability and robotic endurance, Askew’s research remains a cornerstone for engineers developing the next generation of collaborative spacefaring robots.