Date: March 18, 2026
Speaker: Tony Chen, Assistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Title: Mechanical Intelligence Design for Robotic Manipulation and Locomotion
Abstract: Mechanical intelligence allows us to develop mechanisms and robotic platforms that make challenges for perception, control, and autonomy easier or more robust for natural, unstructured, and often unpredictable environments by virtue of their physical designs. In this talk, I will showcase this principle through two different projects: one about aerial grasping with a drone, and the other about a rock-climbing robot designed for exploring underground lava tubes on Mars. The goal is to illustrate the importance and effectiveness of having good physical hardware and how it can help solve tough challenges and work synergistically well with other areas of robotics.
Bio: Tony G. Chen is an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 2023 and did his postdoctoral training at Harvard University. His research focuses on designing mechanical intelligent mechanisms for manipulation and locomotion spaces, with application areas in bio-inspired robotics and field robotics. His research has been recognized by multiple IEEE ICRA/IROS best paper awards.