Valentin Marcel

About

Valentin Marcel is a robotics and perception researcher whose work centers on sensorimotor paradigms, embodied cognition, and autonomous robotic adaptation. Drawing inspiration from sensorimotor contingencies (SMC) theory — the idea that perception emerges from active, exploratory interaction with an environment — Marcel has made meaningful contributions to how robotic systems can develop internal representations of both themselves and their surroundings without relying on pre-programmed knowledge. His most recognized work, "Building a Sensorimotor Representation of a Naive Agent's Tactile Space" (2016, 11 citations), introduced a novel framework enabling robots to autonomously construct tactile spatial representations, addressing the longstanding challenge of self-adaptation to bodily or environmental changes. This research is particularly significant for developing resilient, flexible robotic systems. His follow-up study from 2019 (4 citations) extended this sensorimotor approach to mobile robotics, exploring how topological representations of sensor positions can emerge naturally from the flow of sensorimotor interaction, advancing the field of interactive perception. Marcel's research sits at the intersection of robotics, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence, offering valuable insights for researchers working on adaptive autonomous systems, bio-inspired robotics, and self-organizing perception architectures.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Building a Sensorimotor Representation of a Naive Agent’s Tactile Space

   11 citations · 2016
2. 2
   Where Do I Move My Sensors? Emergence of a Topological Representation of Sensors Poses From the Sensorimotor Flow

   4 citations · 2019

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links