Dr. Robin Chhabra
"My mission is to unite biologically inspired systems with human-like intelligence."
A leading expert in geometrics mechanics, control systems, and artificial general intelligence, Robin Chhabra is helping to make space exploration safer and more reliable by advancing robotics. Drawing inspiration from nature, he develops soft robotics equipped with brain-inspired intelligence. In Chhabra’s Embodied Learning and Intelligence for eXploration and Innovative soft Robotics (ELIXIR) Lab, his team develops neuromorphic prototypes, such as a silicone-based inchworm robot with 3D motion and a space manipulation system capable of navigating in off-nominal scenarios in orbit.
A dust storm sweeps over a rover. A multi-legged robot loses function in two legs. To evolve robotics disaster recovery behaviour, Chhabra embraces philosophy and neuroscience. “Robotics need the ability to define concepts and build their own dictionary, so they can creatively problem solve,” he says. At Toronto Metropolitan University, he motivates his graduate students to think abstractly about machine learning as they create self-aware robotics with the ability to self-assess, imagine, and respond.
Areas of Research
Previous Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Soft Space Robotics (Tier 2).
From 2018 to 2024, Chhabra served as the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Soft Space Robotics, advancing research in soft robotics, intelligent systems, and control technologies.
Released first-of-its-kind meta-package for legged robot morphologies.
As part of the conference paper, Singularity-Free Whole-Body Dynamical Equations of Legged Robots for Damage Simulation (external link) Chhabra and his colleagues published a meta-package to allow researchers to experiment with different morphologies for multi-legged robots.
Founded the Embodied Learning and Intelligence for eXploration and Innovative soft Robotics (ELIXIR) Lab.
Chhabra founded and is the director of the ELIXIR Lab, where he develops the next generation of soft robots and space robotic systems. Spanning the fields of biology, neuroscience, and artificial general intelligence, Chhabra and his lab researchers seek to achieve long-term robot autonomy for space exploration.
Specializations
- Robotics
- Mechatronics
- Artificial General Intelligence
- Soft Robotics
- Space Robotics
- Multi-Robot Systems
- Guidance, Navigation, and Control
- Geometric Mechanics and Control
Selected Highlights
- Gzenda, V., Chhabra, R. Affine connection approach to the realization of nonholonomic constraints by strong friction forces. Nonlinear Dyn (2024).
- Recursive Input-Output Linearization of Nonholonomic Hamiltonian Control Systems Realized on Slow-Fast Manifolds," IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, in press, 2024.
- M. Zarei and R. Chhabra, "Consistent Fusion of Correlated Pose Estimates on Matrix Lie Groups," in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 6584-6591, July 2024, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2024.3405795.
- M. Zarei, M. R. Mottaghi, and R. Chhabra, “Sequential Track Fusion in Multi-Sensor Networks of Unscented Kalman Filters: A Case of Slip Estimation in Planetary Mobile Robots," Acta Astronautica, vol. 219, pp. 555-568, 2024.
- H. Samei and R. Chhabra, “SuRFR: A Fast Recursive Simulator for Soft Manipulators with Discrete Joints on SE(3)," Mechanism and Machine Theory, vol. 194, 2024.
- B. M. Moghaddam and R. Chhabra, "Singularity-Free Lagrange-Poincaré Equations on Lie Groups for Vehicle-Manipulator Systems," in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 40, pp. 1393-1409, 2024, doi: 10.1109/TRO.2023.3347136.
- M. Pham, A. D’Angiulli*, M. M. Dehnavi*, and R. Chhabra, “From Brain Models to Neurorobotic Embodied Cognition: A Spiking Tour of Biologically Plausible Neural Processes," Brain Sciences, vol. 13, no. 9, 2023.
- P. Rousso, R. Chhabra, “Singularity-Robust Full-PoseWorkspace Control of Space Manipulators with Non-Zero Momentum,” Acta Astronautica, vol. 208, pp. 322-342, 2023.
- M. Golestani, R. Chhabra and M. Esmailzadeh, “Finite-time Nonlinear H1 Control of Robot Manipulators with Guaranteed Prescribed Performance," IEEE Control Systems Letters, vol. 7, pp. 1363 - 1368, 2023.
- S. Samsam and R. Chhabra, “Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of J2-Perturbed Impulsive Transfer Trajectories in Long-Range Rendezvous Missions”, Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 132, 2023.
- M. R. Mottaghi, R. Chhabra, “Robust Optimal Output-tracking Control of Constrained Mechanical Systems with Application to Autonomous Rovers,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 83-98, 2023.
- M. Zarei and R. Chhabra, “Advancements in Autonomous Mobility of Planetary Wheeled Mobile Robots: A Review," Frontiers in Space Technologies, vol. 3, 2022.
- S. Samsam and R. Chhabra, “Multi-impulse Smooth Trajectory Design for Long-range Rendezvous with an Orbiting Target using Multi-objective Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm,” Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 120, 2022.
- B. M. Moghaddam and R. Chhabra, “On the Guidance, Navigation and Control of In-orbit Space Robotic Missions: A Survey and Prospective Vision,” Acta Astronautica, vol. 174, pp. 70-100, 2021.
- M. Zarei and R. Chhabra, “An Explicit Sub-Optimal Track-to-Track Fusion for Nonlinear Kalman Filter-Based Multi-Sensor Systems,” IEEE Control Systems Letters, vol. 6, pp. 253-258, 2021.
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- IEEE Young Professionals
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Society & IEEE Systems Council 2018/01
- IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
- Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
- Canada Research Chair in Autonomous Space Robotics and Mechatronics
- Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Soft Space Robotics
- Recipient of Early Career Discovery Launch Supplement
Education
Year |
University |
Degree |
|---|---|---|
2013 |
University of Toronto |
Doctor of Philosophy |
2008 |
University of Toronto |
Master of Applied Science |
2006 |
Sharif University of Technology |
Bachelor of Applied Science, Honours |
