Dr. Oussama Khatib is a world-renowned roboticist and leading authority in human-centered robotics, currently serving as Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Robotics Laboratory at Stanford University. After receiving his PhD from Sup'Aero in Toulouse, France in 1980, he joined the Stanford faculty where he has remained ever since, establishing himself as a foundational figure in the robotics community. Beyond his primary appointment, he holds courtesy appointments in Electrical Engineering and is a valued member of Bio-X, the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. His leadership extends across multiple interdisciplinary initiatives at Stanford including the Symbolic Systems Program and the Stanford SystemX Alliance, where he has been instrumental in fostering collaborative research across engineering and the life sciences.
Dr. Khatib's groundbreaking research on robot motion planning and control has fundamentally transformed the field, most notably through his seminal 1978 introduction of the artificial potential field method which avoids complex robot motion planning by projecting controlling robots with potential fields in task space. His work's emphasis has been to develop theories, algorithms, and technologies that control robot systems by using models of their physical dynamics, enabling complex robots to interact with the environment in real-time. This research has led to significant practical applications including the development of the Stanford Robotics Platforms Romeo and Juliet in the mid-1990s, which were the first fully integrated holonomic mobile manipulation platforms and later inspired commercial robots like the Nomad XR4000. With over 58,000 citations according to Google Scholar, his contributions have not only established foundational principles in robotics but have also influenced fields ranging from computer graphics to human animation.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Khatib has been pivotal in shaping the global robotics community through his leadership as President of the International Foundation of Robotics Research and his editorial roles with the Springer STAR and SPAR series and the Springer Handbook of Robotics. His exceptional contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards including the IEEE Robotics and Automation Pioneer Award, election to the National Academy of Engineering, and designation as an IEEE Fellow, as well as the George Saridis Leadership Award and Japan Robot Association Award. Currently, his laboratory continues to push boundaries in human-robot interaction, with research exploring applications in healthcare and wellness, industry and service, farms and smart cities, and dangerous environments including deep oceans, mines, and space. As both a mentor and thought leader, Dr. Khatib remains committed to advancing robotics that interacts cooperatively and safely with humans while transferring insights from human movement to enhance robot autonomy.
