Biography
Wolfgang Merkt completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, where he focused on efficient trajectory optimisation formulations for online replanning in response to dynamic changes. In particular, he explored warmstart initialisation from experience to allow algorithms to scale to high-dimensional scenarios and real-world applications in complex, dynamic, and shared environments. After that, Wolfgang was a postdoc in the same research group working on the EU Horizon 2020 project Memory of Motion (MEMMO).
Wolfgang joined the Dynamic Robot Systems group (DRS) as a post-doctoral researcher in February 2020. He worked with Dr Ioannis Havoutis and lead the locomanipulation research theme focusing on planning and Model-Predictive Control for legged mobile manipulation systems. Wolfgang was a key contributor to the ESPRC/UKRI ORCA and EU Horizon 2020 MEMMO projects.
Recent Publications
A feasibility-driven approach to control-limited DDP
Mastalli C, Merkt W, Marti-Saumell J, Ferrolho H, Sola J et al. (2022), Autonomous Robots, 46(8), 985-1005
BibTeX
@article{afeasibilitydri-2022/9,
title={A feasibility-driven approach to control-limited DDP},
author={Mastalli C, Merkt W, Marti-Saumell J, Ferrolho H, Sola J et al.},
journal={Autonomous Robots},
volume={46},
pages={985-1005},
publisher={Springer},
year = "2022"
}
Next steps: learning a disentangled gait representation for versatile quadruped locomotion
Mitchell A, Merkt W, Geisert M, Gangapurwala S, Engelcke M et al. (2022), 2022 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 10564-10570
BibTeX
@inproceedings{nextstepslearni-2022/7,
title={Next steps: learning a disentangled gait representation for versatile quadruped locomotion},
author={Mitchell A, Merkt W, Geisert M, Gangapurwala S, Engelcke M et al.},
booktitle={International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2022)},
pages={10564-10570},
year = "2022"
}
Where should I look? Optimized gaze control for whole-body collision avoidance in dynamic environments
Finean MN, Merkt W & Havoutis I (2021), IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(2), 1095-1102
BibTeX
@article{whereshouldiloo-2021/12,
title={Where should I look? Optimized gaze control for whole-body collision avoidance in dynamic environments},
author={Finean MN, Merkt W & Havoutis I},
journal={IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters},
volume={7},
pages={1095-1102},
publisher={IEEE},
year = "2021"
}
Simultaneous scene reconstruction and whole-body motion planning for safe operation in dynamic environments
Finean MN, Merkt W & Havoutis I (2021), Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
BibTeX
@inproceedings{simultaneoussce-2021/12,
title={Simultaneous scene reconstruction and whole-body motion planning for safe operation in dynamic environments},
author={Finean MN, Merkt W & Havoutis I},
booktitle={2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)},
year = "2021"
}
Memory Clustering Using Persistent Homology for Multimodality- and Discontinuity-Sensitive Learning of Optimal Control Warm-Starts
Merkt WX, Ivan V, Dinev T, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S (2021), IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS, 37(5), 1649-1660
BibTeX
@article{memoryclusterin-2021/10,
title={Memory Clustering Using Persistent Homology for Multimodality- and Discontinuity-Sensitive Learning of Optimal Control Warm-Starts},
author={Merkt WX, Ivan V, Dinev T, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S},
journal={IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS},
volume={37},
pages={1649-1660},
year = "2021"
}
Inverse dynamics vs. Forward dynamics in direct transcription formulations for trajectory optimization
Ferrolho H, Ivan V, Merkt W, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S (2021), Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 12752-12758
BibTeX
@inproceedings{inversedynamics-2021/10,
title={Inverse dynamics vs. Forward dynamics in direct transcription formulations for trajectory optimization},
author={Ferrolho H, Ivan V, Merkt W, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S},
booktitle={2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)},
pages={12752-12758},
year = "2021"
}
A passive navigation planning algorithm for collision-free control of mobile robots
Tiseo C, Ivan V, Merkt W, Havoutis I, Mistry M et al. (2021), Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 8223-8229
BibTeX
@inproceedings{apassivenavigat-2021/10,
title={A passive navigation planning algorithm for collision-free control of mobile robots},
author={Tiseo C, Ivan V, Merkt W, Havoutis I, Mistry M et al.},
booktitle={2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)},
pages={8223-8229},
year = "2021"
}
Sparsity-inducing optimal control via differential dynamic programming
Dinev T, Merkt W, Ivan V, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S (2021), Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 8216-8222
BibTeX
@inproceedings{sparsityinducin-2021/10,
title={Sparsity-inducing optimal control via differential dynamic programming},
author={Dinev T, Merkt W, Ivan V, Havoutis I & Vijayakumar S},
booktitle={2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)},
pages={8216-8222},
year = "2021"
}
Predicted composite signed-distance fields for real-time motion planning in dynamic environments
Finean M, Merkt W & Havoutis I (2021), Proceedings of the Thirty-First International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling, 616-624
BibTeX
@inproceedings{predictedcompos-2021/8,
title={Predicted composite signed-distance fields for real-time motion planning in dynamic environments},
author={Finean M, Merkt W & Havoutis I},
booktitle={International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS 2021)},
pages={616-624},
year = "2021"
}
Residual force polytope: Admissible task-space forces of dynamic trajectories
Ferrolho H, Merkt W, Tiseo C & Vijayakumar S (2021), ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS, 142
BibTeX
@article{residualforcepo-2021/8,
title={Residual force polytope: Admissible task-space forces of dynamic trajectories},
author={Ferrolho H, Merkt W, Tiseo C & Vijayakumar S},
journal={ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS},
volume={142},
number={ARTN 103814},
year = "2021"
}
