Leaderboards/Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence

Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence

Last updated July 7, 2026

Rising Stars

New and hot

Rising Stars Researchers

1
Dylan Drotman
University of California San Diego
2
Hidenobu Matsuki
Dyson (United Kingdom)
3
Aamir Ahmed
University of Jammu
4
Xiang Yu Zhang
Hebei University of Technology
5
Julio A. Placed
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
6
Costanza Armanini
Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
7
Trevor J. Jones
Princeton University
8
Tzer Han Tan
Harvard University
9
Zhongda Sun
National University of Singapore
10
Pierre–Yves Lajoie
Polytechnique Montréal

Rising Stars Papers

1
Gaussian Splatting SLAM
Unknown Journal|2024
349 cit.
2
Moving Toward Human‐Like Perception and Sensation Systems—From Integrated Intelligent Systems to Decentralized Smart Devices
SmartSys|2025
39 cit.
3
Soft robotics for farm to fork: applications in agriculture & farming
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics|2024
20 cit.
4
NEWTON: Neural View-Centric Mapping for On-the-Fly Large-Scale SLAM
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters|2024
15 cit.
5
Synthesis and characterization of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bubble wrap-derived reduced graphene oxide for triboelectric nanogenerator electrodes
Materials Science and Engineering B|2024
15 cit.
6
Emergent chirality in active solid rotation of pancreas spheres
PRX Life|2024
14 cit.
7
Synthesis, characterization, and the electrochemical performance of black NiO nanoflakes over a conductive fabric substrate
Ionics|2025
12 cit.
8
PEOPLEx: PEdestrian Opportunistic Positioning LEveraging IMU, UWB, BLE and WiFi
Unknown Journal|2024
9 cit.
9
Multirobot Decentralized Collaborative SLAM in Planetary Analogue Environments: Dataset, Challenges, and Lessons Learned
IEEE transactions on field robotics.|2025
3 cit.
10
4DTAM: Non-Rigid Tracking and Mapping via Dynamic Surface Gaussians
Unknown Journal|2025
2 cit.

Emerging Leaders

Gaining momentum

Emerging Leaders Researchers

1
Rebecca Kramer‐Bottiglio
Yale University
2
Justin Dirrenberger
Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
3
Lining Yao
University of California, Berkeley
4
Mengmeng Sun
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
5
Junwen Zhong
University of Macau
6
Shirley Park
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center
7
Juliane Simmchen
University of Strathclyde
8
Changjian Zhang
Columbia University
9
Corinna C. Maass
University of Twente
10
Lukas Schwarz
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Emerging Leaders Papers

1
Multi-environment robotic transitions through adaptive morphogenesis
Nature|2022
290 cit.
2
Reconfigurable Magnetic Slime Robot: Deformation, Adaptability, and Multifunction
Advanced Functional Materials|2022
188 cit.
3
Magnetic Microswarm and Fluoroscopy‐Guided Platform for Biofilm Eradication in Biliary Stents
Advanced Materials|2022
155 cit.
4
Autonomous self-burying seed carriers for aerial seeding
Nature|2023
148 cit.
5
Recent advances in wearable electromechanical sensors—Moving towards machine learning-assisted wearable sensing systems
Nano Energy|2022
107 cit.
6
Liquid metal/CNTs hydrogel-based transparent strain sensor for wireless health monitoring of aquatic animals
Chemical Engineering Journal|2022
91 cit.
7
Exploiting ferrofluidic wetting for miniature soft machines
Nature Communications|2022
83 cit.
8
Chemotactic self-caging in active emulsions
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|2022
74 cit.
9
ReCompFig: Designing Dynamically Reconfigurable Kinematic Devices Using Compliant Mechanisms and Tensioning Cables
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems|2022
69 cit.
10
Stretchable Arduinos embedded in soft robots
Science Robotics|2024
69 cit.

Current Senior Leaders

Established & currently active

Current Senior Leaders Researchers

1
Metin Sitti
Koç University
2
Daniela Rus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3
Robert J. Wood
Harvard University
4
Bartosz A. Grzybowski
Institute for Basic Science
5
Bradley J. Nelson
ETH Zurich
6
Chang‐Jin Kim
California NanoSystems Institute
7
George M. Whitesides
Harvard University
8
Vijay Kumar
Graphic Era University
9
Jennifer A. Lewis
Harvard University
10
Li Zhang
Chongqing University of Technology

Current Senior Leaders Papers

1
Self-Assembly at All Scales
Science|2002
7.4k cit.
2
Rapid Prototyping of Microfluidic Systems in Poly(dimethylsiloxane)
Analytical Chemistry|1998
5.3k cit.
3
SOFT LITHOGRAPHY
Annual Review of Materials Science|1998
4.6k cit.
4
Chaotic Mixer for Microchannels
Science|2002
3.4k cit.
5
Biomimetic 4D printing
Nature Materials|2016
2.9k cit.
6
Patterned Paper as a Platform for Inexpensive, Low‐Volume, Portable Bioassays
Angewandte Chemie International Edition|2007
2.8k cit.
7
Solvent Compatibility of Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-Based Microfluidic Devices
Analytical Chemistry|2003
2.6k cit.
8
Small-scale soft-bodied robot with multimodal locomotion
Nature|2018
2.3k cit.
9
Soft lithography for micro- and nanoscale patterning
Nature Protocols|2010
2.3k cit.
10
Spontaneous formation of ordered structures in thin films of metals supported on an elastomeric polymer
Nature|1998
2.3k cit.

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