Date and time: Tuesday 28 April 2026, 12:00-13:00 CEST (incl. FREE LUNCH*)
Speaker: Kristin Y. Pettersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Title: From Bio-Inspired Motion to All-Terrain AUVs: The Evolution of Articulated Marine Robots
Where: Digital Futures hub, Osquars Backe 5, floor 2 at KTH main campus OR Zoom
Directions: https://www.digitalfutures.kth.se/contact/how-to-get-here/
OR
Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/69560887455
*To get a FREE LUNCH, you need to register — first come, first served. Maximum 50 participants.
The hub will be open 30 minutes before and after the event for those who wish to stay longer.
Host: Karl Henrik Johansson kallej@kth.se
Bio: Kristin Y. Pettersen is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Cybernetics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where she has been a faculty member since 1996. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment.
She co-founded the subsea robotics company Eelume AS, where she served as CEO from 2015 to 2016 and currently serves as a board member. She received the IEEE CSS Hendrik W. Bode Lecture Prize in 2020 and was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant in 2021. She is a Fellow of the IEEE and IFAC, and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and the Academy of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.
Her main research interests are in the development of methodologies for the analysis and control of autonomous robots, with an emphasis on marine robotics and snake robotics.
Abstract: This lecture traces the evolution of articulated marine robots – a line of research inspired by nature and driven by the quest for unprecedented underwater mobility.
The research began with a fundamental question: How can we learn from nature to enhance robotic mobility in challenging environments? I will show how this question led from fundamental research in nonlinear control and bio-inspired motion to technological innovation and full-scale robotic systems.
Finally, I will present the latest class of articulated marine robots: All-Terrain AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles). Designed for high hydrodynamic efficiency, superior maneuverability, and ultra-high-quality data acquisition, these systems are poised to transform how we explore and interact with the subsea environment – pushing the boundaries of what underwater robotics can achieve.
