Hello! My name is Antun and I am a mechatronics (control theory) engineer with a PhD on the subject of human-robot interaction.

My scientific journey started with the master’s degree in the field of mechatronics and control theory from the Faculty of the electrical engineering and computing (FER) in Zagreb, Croatia. Along the way, I had an opportunity to spend some time abroad, as an intern at the research centers of Siemens (Princeton, USA) and Bosch (Stuttgart, Germany). And just before starting my PhD, I’ve had an opportunity to work as a research associate at the Mechatronics lab of the University of Zagreb, on a project with professors Jadranko Matusko and Sandor Iles.

I’ve had the opportunity to do my PhD thesis within the AUCTUS team a part of INRIA Bordeaux, where my supervisors were Vincent Padois and David Daney. The focus of the thesis was to quantify and better understand the physical abilities of the human and the robot in the context of the human-robot interaction. The goal was to develop more human-centered robot control strategies that would exploit the physical abilities of robots while adapting to the human’s physical abilities in real-time. The work was done in the context of the industrial robotics, where the robot and the human are working together in the shared workspace. However, the developed methods are also applicable in the context of the assistive and rehabilitation robotics, where the robot is helping the human to maintain or recover their physical abilities. I would love to explore and contribute to these fields in the future.

Recently, I’m shifting my interests towards understanding different impacts of technology (and particularly robotics) on our environment. I am particularly interested in the questions of developing tools and methods that would enable us to better understand and quantify this impact and to develop more sustainable technologies in the future. And I’m hoping to be able to contribute to this field in the future.

On a more practical note:
My favorite way of learning is by hands-on experimenting and creating educational projects which enable me to test and improve my knowledge (embedded systems, mechanics, electronics, control theory, user interaction, …) at the same time. When they go well, I really enjoy documenting and sharing them in a form of the open-source projects, making them available to the wider community. Even making an occasional Youtube video 😃.

One of these projects that I am particularly proud of is the SimpleFOClibrary, which aims to demystify the Field oriented control for the Arduino community. The project has exceeded all my expectations both in terms of community interest (more than 1000 members) and involvement (30+ contributors). Find out more

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or share some of the same interests. I’d be happy to hear from you!