Biography
Marc Killpack completed his Ph.D. in Robotics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and joined BYU as an Assistant Professor in December of 2013. His areas of expertise include soft robotics, human-robot interaction, controls, mechanics and perception for robotics and other automated systems. His current research interests relate to improving modeling and control for robot manipulation in unstructured and difficult environments. This includes applications related to search and rescue, disaster response and human robot interaction. While at Georgia Tech in the Healthcare Robotics Lab (HRL), Marc worked on projects including sensing and control for mobile robot bases, automating learning from robot grasping, manipulation around and interacting with human subjects, and control of a robot arm in cluttered and unmodeled environments. Prior to joining HRL, he completed Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from both Georgia Tech and AM Paris Tech (formerly ENSAM) in Metz, France. In 2007, Marc graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University.
Office Hours:
Fall 2024
Monday: 11am - 12pm
Wednesday: 11am - 12pm
Thursday: 1pm - 2pm
Graduate Students
Publications
Courses
Research
Graduate students:
- Levi Rupert (Ph.D. Student)
- Philip Hyatt (Ph.D. Student)
- Mat Haskell (Ph.D. Student)
- Devin Wheelwright (MS/MBA Student)
- Seth Freeman (MS Student)
- Tyler Quackenbush (MS Student)
Graduated:
- Charles Best (MS Student) - Raytheon
- Morgan Gillespie (MS Student) - L3
- Joshua Wilson (MS Student) - Ford
- Eric Townsend (MS Student) - SkyTech Robotics
- Daniel Bodily (MS Student) - 3M Research Engineer
- Dustan Kraus (MS Student) - Raytheon
- Nathan Day (MS Student) - AUBO robotics
- Vallan Sherrod (MS Student) - SISU Robotics
- Erich Mielke (MS Student) - 3M Research Engineer
- Jon Terry (MS Student) - SISU Robotics
Refereed Journal Articles:
- Jain*, A., Killpack*, M., Edsinger, A., and Kemp, C.C., “Reaching in Clutter with Whole-Arm Tactile Sensing”, International Journal of Robotics Research, 2013, Sage.* - equally contributing authors
- Killpack, M., Abed-Meraim F., “Limit-point buckling analysis using the assumed strain continuum shell element SHB8PS”, Journal of mechanical science and technology, 2011, Springer.
Refereed Conference Articles:
- Killpack, M., and Kemp, C.C., “Fast Reaching in Clutter While Regulating Forces Using Model Predictive Control”, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2013. (Nominated for best paper)
- Bhattacharjee, T., Jain, A., Vaish, S., Killpack, M. D., and Kemp, C. C., “Tactile sensing over articulated joints with stretchable sensors,” IEEE World Haptics Conference, 2013.
- Grice, P., Killpack, M., Jain, A., Vaish, S., Hawke, J., and Kemp, C.C., “Whole-arm tactile sensing for beneficial and acceptable contact during robotic assistance,” International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, 2013.
- Killpack, M., Deyle, T., Anderson, C., Kemp, C.C., ""Visual Odometry and Control for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot with a Downward-Facing Camera,"" IROS 2010.
- Book, W.J., Winck, R., Killpack, M., Huggins, J., Dickerson, S., Collins, T., Prado, R., and Jayaraman, S., “Automated garment manufacturing system using novel sensing and actuation,” Proceedings of 2010 ISFA 2010 International Symposium on Flexible Automation, 2010.
- King, C.-H., Killpack, M., and Kemp, C.C., “Effects of force feedback and arm compliance on teleoperation of an assistive robot for hygiene,” Proceedings of Eurohaptics, 2010.
Technical Reports:
- Killpack, M., ""Automated Tracking and Control of Non-rigid Cloth,"" 2012.
In Preparation:
- Killpack, M., Mathews, J., Hawkins, K., and Kemp, C.C., “Design of System for High-Throughput Data Capture of Autonomous Robot Manipulation,” 2013.
- Killpack, M., Kapusta, A., and Kemp C.C., ""Improvements in Time Efficiency for Reaching in Clutter While Controlling Forces Using Model Predictive Control"".
Me En 335 Dynamic System Modeling
Me En 363 Instrumentation
Me En 362 Engineering Measurements
Me En 537 Robotics
Soft Robots, Human-Robot Interaction, Controls, Robot Manipulation, Computer vision and 3D Sensing, Haptic Sensing
Research Interests
soft robot control; model predictive, optimal, and adaptive control; optimal and adaptive estimation for soft robot platforms; human-robot interaction, shared control and teleoperation; tactile and force sensing; 2D and 3D perception for manipulation; robot dynamics and mechanics; mechanical robot design and optimizationTeaching Interests
introductory and advanced robot kinematics and dynamics; classical, linear, nonlinear, and optimal control; system dynamics; computer vision and perception; numerical methods and programming; instrumentation, and mechatronicsEducation
- Doctor of Philosophy in Robotics, Mechanics, Controls, Perception , Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology (2013)
- Master Professionnel, Manufacturing , Arts et Métiers ParisTech (formerly Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et de Métiers) (2008)
- Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Controls and Dynamics , Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech Lorraine) (2008)
- Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering, , Brigham Young University (2007)
Honors and Awards
- Early Career Teaching Award, BYU (2023 - 2023)
- Excellence in Research Award, BYU Department of Mechanical Engineering (2021 - 2021)
- Most Influential Faculty Award, BYU Department of Mechanical Engineering (2020 - 2020)
- Outstanding Teaching Award, BYU Department of Mechanical Engineering (2019 - 2019)
- Early Career Faculty Award, NASA (2014 - 2017)
- Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, BYU Department of Mechanical Engineering (2016 - 2016)
Memberships
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2019 - Present)
- IEEE Control Systems Society (2014 - Present)
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (2014 - Present)
Professional Citizenship
- Editor, Associate Editor, International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR) (2023 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Control Systems Magazine (2022 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Control Systems Technology (2022 - Present)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, National Science Foundation (2017 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Soft Robotics (2015 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Conferences (2010 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2020 - 2021)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (2020 - 2021)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, International Journal or Robotics Research (2019 - 2021)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Robotics: Science and Systems Conference (2019 - 2021)
- Editor, Associate Editor, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (2017 - 2021)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2017 - 2021)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2010 - 2021)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, German Research Foundation (DFE)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) Workshop Reviewer
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Haptics (2020 - 2020)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, PLOS ONE (2020 - 2020)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Mechatronics (2019 - 2019)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics (2019 - 2019)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (2019 - 2019)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (2012 - 2018)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Applied Mathematical Modeling (2017 - 2017)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics (2017 - 2017)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Frontiers in Neurorobotics (2016 - 2016)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering (2015 - 2016)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Field Robotics (2015 - 2016)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (2014 - 2014)