About

Thiago Boaventura is a leading roboticist whose work centers on the control of dynamic, torque-controlled legged robots, with a particular focus on hydraulic actuation and impedance control. His major contributions lie in developing the theoretical and practical frameworks that enable highly dynamic and versatile locomotion in platforms like the quadruped robot HyQ. Boaventura pioneered model-based hydraulic impedance control, demonstrating how to precisely manage the interaction forces between a robot and its environment—a critical capability for traversing unstructured terrain. His seminal 2015 paper on this topic has garnered over 175 citations, while his foundational 2012 work on dynamic torque control for hydraulic quadrupeds has been cited more than 157 times. By addressing the stability and performance of compliance controllers, and analyzing the passivity of nested control loops, he has provided essential tools for building robots that are both fast and safe. Boaventura’s research has also extended into wearable robotics, where he introduced an acceleration-based transparency control framework. His work is instrumental in bridging the gap between theoretical control and robust, real-world robotic performance.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

13
H-Index
34
Papers
1,005
Total Citations
30
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Towards versatile legged robots through active impedance control
175 citations · 2015
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2016 (9 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 58
🏛 Institutions: ETH Zurich, Italian Institute of Technology, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Instituto de Psicologia Comportamental de São Carlos

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 13 days ago