Spencer W. Jensen

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About

Spencer W. Jensen is a robotics researcher whose work bridges the critical gap between human-robot interaction and soft robotic control. His primary research areas include haptic communication, collaborative manipulation, and the dynamic modeling of soft robotic systems. In his highly cited 2021 paper, "Trends in Haptic Communication of Human-Human Dyads: Toward Natural Human-Robot Co-manipulation" (17 citations), Jensen conducted a groundbreaking analysis of interaction forces and torques in human pairs performing co-manipulation tasks with extended objects. This work provides a foundational framework for designing robots that can intuitively collaborate with humans, moving beyond rigid, pre-programmed behaviors toward more natural, force-responsive interaction. Building on this, his 2022 work, "Tractable and Intuitive Dynamic Model for Soft Robots via the Recursive Newton-Euler Algorithm" (6 citations), tackles the notoriously difficult challenge of soft robot modeling. By introducing a recursive Newton-Euler approach, Jensen developed a dynamic model that is both computationally efficient and sufficiently accurate for real-time simulation and control—a significant step toward making soft robots practical for real-world applications. His contributions are shaping the future of collaborative and compliant robotics.