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About

Tilo Wuesthoff is a robotics researcher at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) whose work focuses on advancing human-robot interaction and collaborative autonomy for space exploration and medical applications. His research spans physical human-robot interaction (pHRI), multi-robot systems, and scalable autonomy teleoperation, with a particular emphasis on making robots more intuitive and capable partners for humans in complex environments. Wuesthoff's major contributions include the development of integrated user interfaces for the DLR MIRO surgical robot, where he designed a system incorporating six structural buttons and RGB-LED arrays to enhance physical interaction and provide clear visual feedback about the robot's operational state. This work, published in 2018, has garnered 8 citations and demonstrates his commitment to improving the usability and safety of medical robotics. More recently, Wuesthoff played a key role in the groundbreaking Surface Avatar ISS technology demonstration mission—the first-ever ISS-to-surface multi-robot collaboration. His 2024 paper on this mission, which has already accumulated 6 citations, showcases how teams of robots can work together with scalable autonomy to assist astronauts and explore planetary surfaces. This work represents a significant step toward future crewed and uncrewed space missions where robotic teammates will be essential.