Publications

Updated list at:

Google Scholar

Legend: Lab students italicized, all lab members in Bold

Journal and Peer reviewed conference Papers

• Interacting with Obstacles using a Bio-Inspired, Flexible, Underactuated Multilink Manipulator.
  Amit Prigozin and Amir Degani, Biomimetics, 9(86), doi: 10.3390/biomimetics9020086, 2024.

• OS-BREEZE: Oil Spills Boundary Red Emission Zone Estimation Using Unmanned Surface Vehicle.
  Oren Elmakis, Semion Polinov, Tom Shaked, Gabi Gordon, and Amir Degani, Sensors, 24(2), doi: 10.3390/s240207039, 2024.

• USV Port Oil Spill Cleanup using Hybrid Multi-Destination RL-CPP.
  Oren Elmakis and Amir Degani, IEEE Access, 11, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3327559, 2023.

• Aggregate-Forming Planner for Autonomous Earth-moving.
  Tom Shaked, Karen Li Bar-Sinal, Ari Meles-Braverman, Oren Elmakis and Amir Degani, IEEE Access, 11, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3327112, 2023.

• Synthetic image data generation using BIM and computer graphics for building scene understanding.
  Huaquan Ying, Rafael Sacks and Amir Degani, Automation in Construction, 154, doi: 110.1016/j.autcon.2023.105016, 2023.

• Modeling of rigid-link and compliant joint manipulator using the discrete body dynamics method.
  Yaron Franco and Amir Degani, Multibody System Dynamics, doi: 10.1007/s11044-023-09897-6, 2023.

• Optimizing and designing a leg shape to increase robustness of a running robot on rough terrain.
  Adar Gaathon and Amir Degani, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 17(6) doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac9cb1, 2022.

• Design of a Minimalistic Torque Actuated Variable Rolling SLIP Leg for Robust Locomotion.
  Noah Paul, Adar Gaathon and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 25th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR 2022), Ponta Delgada, PT, Sep., 2022.

• BREEZE — Boundary Red Emission Zone Estimation Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  Oren Elmakis, Tom Shaked, Barak Fishbain, Amir Degani, Sensors, https://doi.org/10.3390/s22145460, 22, 5460, 2022.

• Vision-Based UAV-UGV Collaboration for Autonomous Construction Site Preparation.
  Oren Elmakis, Tom Shaked, Amir Degani, IEEE ACCESS, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3170408, 2022.

• Mathematical Estimation of Particulate Air Pollution Levels by Aerosols Tomography.
  Or Vernik, Amir Degani, Barak Fishbain, IEEE Sensors Journal, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2022.3158890, 2022.

• A Two‐Stage Recursive Ray Tracing Algorithm to Automatically Identify External Building Objects in Building Information Models.
  Huaquan Ying, Hui Zhou, Amir Degani, Rafael Sacks, Computer‐Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.12776, 2021.

• ARCSnake: Reconfigurable Snakelike Robot With Archimedean Screw Propulsion for Multidomain Mobility.
  Florian Richter, Peter V. Gavrilov, Hoi Man Lam, Amir Degani, Michael C. Yip, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2021.3104968, 2021.

• Shepherd: A fabrication-oriented tool for simulation and control of mobile robotic platforms for collaborative earthworks.
  Tom Shaked and Amir Degani, Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), 2021

• Reactive Control for Bipedal Running Over Random Discrete Terrain Under Uncertainty.
  Omer Nir and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS51168.2021.9636809, Oct., 2021.

• Tactile-Based Gripper Localization on 1-D Deformable Objects.
  Amit Prigozin and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2021 IEEE 17th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), https://doi.org/10.1109/CASE49439.2021.9551534, Aug., 2021.

• Deep Reinforcement Learning for Safe Local Planning of a Ground Vehicle in Unknown Rough Terrain.
  Shirel Josef and Amir Degani, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) – Joint presentation at IEEE IROS 2020, https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2020.3011912, 2020.

• Construction Operation Assessment and Correction Using Laser Scanning and Projection Feedback.
  Alex Pevzner, Saed Hasan, Rafael Sacks, and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2020), Oct., 2020.

• A Minimalistic Hyper-Flexible Manipulator: Modeling and Control.
  Amit Prigozin and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS45743.2020.9341628, Oct., 2020.

• A Variable Rolling SLIP Model for a Conceptual Leg Shape to Increase Robustness of Uncertain Velocity on Unknown Terrain.
  Adar Gaathon and Amir Degani, Robotics Science and Systems (RSS), Aug., 2020. PDF

• Steerable Burrowing Robot: Design, Modeling and Experiments.
  Moran Barenboim and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA40945.2020.9196648, May, 2020.

• Canopy-Based Monte Carlo Localization in Orchards Using Top-View Imagery, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) – Joint presentation at IEEE ICRA 2020.
  Omer Shalev, Amir Degani, https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2020.2970975, 2020

• Minimalistic Control for Reaching Absolute State of a One-Legged Dynamic Robot on Uncertain Terrain.
  Adar Gaathon and Amir Degani, ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4046403, 2020.

• Minimum Voltage Tri-layer Design for Electro Thermal Actuators,
  Gal Tibi, Ela Sachyani Keneth, Michael Layani, Shlomo Magdassi and Amir Degani, Soft Robotics, https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2018.0160, 2020.

• Pre-programed tri-layer electro-thermal actuators composed of shape memory polymer and CNTs.
  Ela Sachyani Keneth, Giulia Scalet, Michael Layani, Gal Tibi, Amir Degani, Ferdinando Auricchio, and Shlomo Magdassi, Soft Robotics, https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2018.0159, 2019.

• A Conceptual Framework and Optimization for a Task-based Modular Harvesting Manipulator.
  Mark Levin and Amir Degani, , Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2019.104987, 2019.

• An Automated System for Projection of Interior Construction Layouts.
  Amir Degani, Wen Bo Li, Rafael Sacks, and Ling MA, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering,doi:10.1109/TASE.2019.2897135, 2019, (online early access).

• A Methodology of Orchard Architecture Design for an Optimal Harvesting Robot.
  Victor Bloch, Amir Degani, and Avital Bechar, Biosystems Engineering, 166:126-137, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2017.11.006, 2018 (link).

• Sensor Data Fusion of a Redundant Dual-Platform Robot for Elevation Mapping.
  Avi Turgeman, Shraga Shoval, and Amir Degani,  Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 30(1):106-116, doi:10.20965/jrm.2018.p0106, 2018 (link, pdf).

• A Single-Actuated Swimming Robot: Design, Modelling, and Experiments.
  Gilad Refael and Amir Degani,  Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, doi:10.1007/s10846-018-0776-x, 2018 (link).

• Decision Making Algorithms for Safe Robotic Disassembling of Randomly Piled Objects.
  Sharon Temtsin and Amir Degani,  Special Issue on Advanced Manipulation, Advanced Robotics, doi:10.1080/01691864.2017.1352537, 2017. (link).

• Enhanced movement of CNT-based actuators by a three layer structure with Controlled Resistivity.
  Ela Sachyani, Michael Layani, Gal Tibi , Tal Avidan, Amir Degani,  and Shlomo Magdassi, Sensors and Actuators B, 252: 1071 – 1077, doi: 10.1016/j.snb.2017.06.104, 2017 (link).

• A flight-phase terrain following control strategy for stable and robust hopping of a one-legged robot under large terrain variations.
  Natan Shemer and Amir Degani, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/aa741f, 2017 (link).

• Swing Leg Retraction Using Virtual Apex Method for the ParkourBot Climbing Robot.
  Omer Nir, Adar Gaathon, and Amir Degani, to appear at the Proc. of the 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Vancouver, Canada, 2017.

• Analytic Modeling and Experiments of Tri-Layer, Electro-thermal Actuators for Thin and Soft Robotics.
  Gal Tibi, Ella Sachyani, Michael Layani, Shlomo Magdassi, and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Singapore, May, 2017.

• Automatic Herding Reduces Labour and Increases Milking Frequency in Robotic Milking.
  Uri Drach, Ilan Halachmi, Tal Pnini, Ido Izhaki, and Amir Degani,  Biosystems Engineering, 155:134-141, doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.12.010, 2017 (link).

• Development of an Environment Characterization Methodology for Optimal Design of an Agricultural Robot.
  Victor Bloch, Avital Bechar, and Amir Degani,  Industrial Robot, 44(1), doi: 10.1108/IR-03-2016-0113, 2017 (link).

• Stable and robust vehicle steering control using an overhead guide in greenhouse tasks.
  Gilad Gat, Samuel Gan-Mor, Amir Degani, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 121:234 – 244, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2015.12.019, 2016 (link).

• Momentum-Driven Single-Actuated Swimming Robot (JTCF Novel Technology Paper Award).
  Gilad Refael and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Hamburg, Germany, 2015.

• Task characterization and classification for robotic manipulator optimal design in precision agriculture.
  Victor Bloch (Chernishev), Avital Bechar, and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 10th European Conference on Precision Agriculture (ECPA), Bet Dagan, Israel, July 2015.

• Dynamic Single Actuator Robot Climbing a Chute. Period Doubling Bifurcations: Analysis and Experiments.
  Amir Degani, , Meccanica, 51(5): 1227–1243, doi:10.1007/s11012-015-0286-x, 2016. (link)

• Adaptive Swing Leg Retraction Control for Robust Dynamic Locomotion under Large Terrain Variations.
  Adar Gaathon and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 19th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR 2016), London, UK, Sep., 2016.

• Design of a Task-Based Modular Re-Configurable Agricultural Robot.
  Mark Levinand Amir Degani, Proc. of the 5th IFAC Conference on Sensing, Control and Automation for Agriculture (AgriControl 2016), Seattle, WA, Aug., 2016

• Design and Open-Loop Control of the ParkourBot, a Dynamic Climbing Robot.
  Amir Degani, Andrew W. Long, Siyuan Feng, H. Ben Brown, Robert D. Gregg, Howie Choset, Matthew T. Mason, and Kevin M. Lynch, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 30(3), 705 – 718, 2014 (IEEE PDF).

• Analytical Control Parameters of the Swing Leg Retraction Method using an Instantaneous SLIP Model.
  Natan Shemer and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2014 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Chicago,  2014.

• Toward Autonomous Disassembling of Randomly Piled Objects with Minimal Perturbation.
  Oni Ornan and Amir Degani, Proc. of the 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Japan,  2013. (IEEE PDF)

• On the Mechanics of Functional Asymmetry in Bipedal Walking.
  Robert D. Gregg, Yasin Dhaher, Amir Degani, and Kevin M. Lynch, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 59(5): 1310 – 1318, 2012. (PDF)

• Feedback Control Experiments with the ParkourBot.
  Andrew Long, Amir Degani, and Kevin M. Lynch, in International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR), Baltimore, MD, 2012.

• Over-tube Apparatus for Increasing the Capabilities of an Articulated Robotic Probe – Video Submission (Best Video Award Finalist).
  Amir Degani, Stephen Tully, Brett Zubiate and Howie Choset, Proc. of the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), St. Paul, MN, 2012. Link to Video

• DTAR – a Dynamic, Tube Ascending Robot.
  Amir Degani, Howie Choset and Matthew T. Mason, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 27(2): 360–364, 2011

• The Basic Mechanics of Bipedal Walking Lead to Asymmetric Behavior.
  Robert D. Gregg, Amir Degani, Yasin Dhaher, and Kevin M. Lynch, Proc. of the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR). IEEE LINK

• The ParkourBot – A Dynamic BowLeg Climbing Robot.
  Amir Degani, Siyuan Feng, H. Benjamin Brown, Kevin M. Lynch, Howie Choset and Matthew T. Mason, Proc. of the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2011). IEEE LINK

• DSAC – Dynamic, Single Actuated Climber. Local Stability and Bifurcations.
  Amir Degani, Howie Choset and Matthew T. Mason, Proc. of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Anchorage, AK, 2010 – PDF

• Minimalistic, Dynamic, Tube Climbing Robot – Video Submission (Best Video Award) .
  Amir Degani, Siyuan Feng, Howie Choset and Matthew T. Mason, Proc. of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Anchorage, AK, 2010 – see video page

• A Highly Articulated Robotic Surgical System for Minimally Invasive Surgery.
  Takeyoshi Ota, Amir Degani, David Schwartzman, Brett Zubiate, Jeremy McGarvey, Howie Choset and Marco A. Zenati, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 2009;87: 1253-1256

• A Novel Highly Articulated Robotic Surgical System For Epicardial Ablation.
  Takeyoshi Ota, Amir Degani, David Schwartzman, Brett Zubiate, Jeremy McGarvey, Howie Choset and Marco A. Zenati, Proc. IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2008; 1: 250–253.

• Recognizing knee pathologies by classifying instantaneous screws of the six degrees-of-freedom knee motion.
  Alon Wolf and Amir Degani, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, 2007

• A Dynamic Single Actuator Vertical Climbing Robot.
  Amir Degani, Amir Shapiro, Howie Choset and Matthew T. Mason, Proc. 2007 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Oct 29 – Nov 2, 2007, Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, CA, USA – PDF

• Epicardial Atrial Ablation using a Novel Articulated Robotic Medical Probe via a Percutaneous Subxiphoid Approach.
  Takeyoshi Ota, Amir Degani, Brett Zubiate, Alon Wolf, Howie Choset, David Schwartzman, Marco A. Zenati, Innovations: Technology and Techniques in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Vol. 1 No. 6, 2006

• Percutaneous Intrapericardial Interventions Using a Highly Articulated Robotic Probe (Best Conference Paper Award) 
  Amir Degani, Howie Choset, Alon Wolf, Takeyoshi Ota and Marco Zenati, Proc. 2006 IEEE / RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, Pisa, Italy, Feb. 2006 –PDF

• Graphical Singularity Analysis of Planar Parallel Manipulators.
  Amir Degani and Alon Wolf, Proc. 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, Orlando, USA, May 2006 –PDF

• Highly Articulated Robotic Probe for Minimally Invasive Surgery.
  Amir Degani, Howie Choset, Alon Wolf and Marco Zenati, Proc. 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, Orlando, USA, May 2006 – PDF

• Knee Pathology Classification Using the Instantaneous Screws Parameters and Support Vector Machines Classifier.
  Alon Wolf and Amir Degani, the 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, 2006

• Assessing Knee Pathologies by Classifying the Instantaneous Screws of the Knee Motion.
  Alon Wolf and Amir Degani, Proc. 2006 IEEE / RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, Pisa, Italy, Feb. 2006

• Classifying Knee Pathologies using Instantaneous Screws of the Six Degrees-of-Freedom Knee Motion.
  Alon Wolf and Amir Degani, Proc. 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, Orlando, USA, May 2006

Refereed Book Chapters

• Enabling Medical Robotics for the Next Generation of Minimally Invasive Procedures: Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery with Single Port Access.
  Howie Choset, Marco A. Zenati, Takeyoshi Ota, Amir Degani, David Schwartzman, Brett Zubiate, Cornell Wright. Surgical Robotics – System Applications and Visions Edited by Jacob Rosen, Blake Hannaford, Richard M. Satava, Springer, pp. 257-270, 2010.

• Graphical Singularity Analysis of 3-DoF Planar Parallel Manipulator.
  Amir Degani and Alon Wolf, Advances in Robot Kinematics: Mechanisms and Motion (ARK 2006), Jadran Lenarcic (Editor), B. Roth (Editor) Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 2006 or here

Technical Reports and Thesis

• Planning and Control for Legged Dynamic Locomotion Over Extreme Terrain, Omer Nir, PhD, 2022

• Automated 3D Point Cloud Sensing and Real-Time Dynamic Projection for Operation Monitoring and Quality Assessment, Alexei Pevzner , MSc, 2021., Thesis Page

• Development of a Robotic Leg and Minimalistic Control Methods for Increased the Robustness of a Running Robot, Adar Gaathon, PhD, 2021., Thesis Page

• Obstacle-Aided Locomotion of a Robot Manipulator: Modeling, Path Planning, Simulation, and Experiments, Amit Ross (Co-advised by Prof. Yizhar Or, Mechanical Engineering), MSc, 2021., Thesis Page

• Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Vehicle Navigation in Unknown Rough Terrain, Shirel Josef, MSc, 2020., Thesis Page

• Steerable Burrowing Robot: Design, Modeling and Experiments, Moran Barenboim, MSc, 2020, Thesis Page

• Robot Navigation in Orchards Using Top-View Imagery, Omer Shalev, MSc, 2019., PDF, Thesis Page

• Design of thin, multi-layered, electrically driven, thermal expansion based actuators for soft robotic applications, Gal Tibi, MSc, 2018.Thesis Page

• Design of a Task-Based Modular Agriculture Robot, Mark Levin, MSc, 2017. Thesis Page

• Methods for Simultaneous Orchard and Harvesting Robot Design, Victor Bloch (Chernishev), PhD. Thesis, 2017. Thesis Page

• Autonomous ground vehicle navigation in orchards, Ron Ben Shaul, MSc. Final Project, 2017.

• Improving Stability and Reaching Absolute Destinations for the Conservative SLIP Model, Adar Gaathon, MSc. Thesis, 2016. Thesis Page

• Design and Modeling of a Minimalistic Robotic Swimmer, Gilad Refael  (Cum Laude), MSc. Thesis, 2016. Thesis Page

• A New Concept for Herding Dairy Cows to a Milking Robot, Uri Drach , MSc. Thesis, co-advised by Ilan Halachmi, 2016. Thesis Page

• Autonomous Pile Disassembly for Urban Search and Rescue Missions, Sharon Temtsin, MSc. Thesis, 2016. Thesis Page

• Stable and Robust Vehicle Steering Control Using an Overhead Guide in Greenhouse Tasks, Gilad Gat, MSc. Thesis, Co-advised by Samuel Gan-Mor, 2015. Thesis Page

• Sensor Data Fusion of a Redundant Dual Platform Robot for Terrain Mapping, Avraham Turgeman, MSc. Thesis, Co-advised by Shraga Shoval, 2015. Thesis Page, PDF

• Minimalistic Control Strategies for Damped and Undamped SLIP-Based Dynamic Running Robots, Natan Shemer, MSc. Thesis, 2015. Thesis Page , PDF

• Minimalistic Dynamic Climbing, Amir Degani, PhD Thesis, CMU-RI-TR-10-38, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, November, 2010. Thesis Page