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About

Tomas Olsson is a prominent researcher in industrial robotics, specializing in force control, sensor integration, and vision-guided robotic systems. His work sits at the intersection of precision manufacturing and advanced control theory, with a particular focus on making industrial robots more flexible, accurate, and cost-effective. Olsson's most influential contribution — "Cost-efficient drilling using industrial robots with high-bandwidth force feedback" (2009, 153 citations) — demonstrated that standard serial industrial robots could achieve high-quality drilling performance despite their inherent mechanical compliance, a breakthrough with significant practical implications for manufacturing automation. This work built upon earlier research into high-bandwidth force control applied to demanding tasks such as stub grinding and deburring, where he collaborated with industry partners to implement real-world solutions. A defining theme across his career is multi-sensor fusion: Olsson pioneered methods combining visual servoing and direct force control, enabling robots to interact intelligently with unknown environments using both camera and force feedback. His contributions to task-level programming with sensor integration further enhanced robotic flexibility and adaptability in unstructured settings. With cumulative citations exceeding 330, Olsson's research has meaningfully shaped how industrial robots perceive and respond to their physical environment, bridging the gap between academic control theory and practical manufacturing applications.