John M. Hollerbach

John Matthew Hollerbach
Born	Marktheidenfeld, Germany
Occupation(s)	Computer science professor, research professor in mechanical engineering
Years active	1970s–present
Known for	Robotics research, editor of The International Journal of Robotics Research, Senior Editor for Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments

John Matthew Hollerbach holds the position of computer science professor and research professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. He is the editor of The International Journal of Robotics Research, serves as Senior Editor for Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, and is a member of the Governing Board for the electronic publication Haptics-e.

Early life and education

Hollerbach was born in Marktheidenfeld, Germany, to parents who were Hungarian refugees. After residing in a displacement camp, his family relocated to Detroit. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1968, complementing his studies with computer science courses that led to a Master of Science in mathematics.

He initially worked as a chemist at IBM and engaged in artificial intelligence studies through a program affiliated with Syracuse University. Subsequently, he joined the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, collaborating with Patrick Winston on solid object modeling, earning an SM degree in computer vision in 1975. Continuing his academic journey at MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, he completed a PhD in 1978 under the mentorship of David Marr, concentrating on the acquisition of fine motor skills for robotic applications.

Career

After earning his doctorate, Hollerbach remained at MIT as a research scientist within both the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where his research centered on human motor control theories and their robotic implementations. He joined MIT’s faculty officially in 1982.

Year of the Robot

In 1981, Hollerbach co-established the Year of the Robot initiative at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, supported by funding from the System Development Corporation and the Office of Naval Research. This five-year project aimed to enhance robotics research at MIT by producing a comprehensive sourcebook on robotic manipulation, initiating an annual international conference and journal, developing an educational curriculum, and creating a dexterous robotic hand. In 1982, he collaborated with J. Michael Brady, Matthew T. Mason, Tomas Lozano-Perez, and Timothy Johnson to co-author a robot motion sourcebook addressing topics such as dynamics, trajectory planning, compliance and force control, feedback mechanisms, and spatial planning. The publication included tutorials and contributions from prominent robotics figures including Marc Raibert, Robin Popplestone, and Pat Ambler. An updated edition was released in 1989 under Brady’s editorship. Additionally, in 1983 Hollerbach played a key role in founding both the International Journal of Robotics Research and the International Symposium on Robotics Research.

Utah/MIT Dexterous Hand

Within the framework of the Year of the Robot program, Hollerbach partnered with Stephen Jacobsen and John Wood from the University of Utah to design and construct a multi-fingered robotic hand. Developed between 1981 and 1987, the Utah/MIT Dexterous Hand comprised a four-finger manipulator with sixteen joints actuated by thirty-two artificial tendons equipped with Hall effect sensors. A total of twelve units were manufactured for various research purposes. Institutions such as the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, and the University of Rochester acquired these devices to advance research in simulation software, multi-agent robotic control, teleoperation techniques, and apprenticeship learning methodologies.

Medical robotics

In 1989, Hollerbach transitioned from MIT to take on an NSERC/CIFAR Industrial Chair position at McGill University, where he recruited Martin Buehler and collaborated with Ian Hunter on the development of actuators. By 1994, Hunter had relocated to MIT to establish a bioinstrumentation research group, while Hollerbach joined the faculty at the University of Utah to further progress in medical robotics. During his tenure there, he created the TreadPort Active Wind Tunnel, a virtual reality system designed to replicate the tactile sensations of walking, aimed at enhancing rehabilitation techniques.

Awards

• 1984 National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award
• 1988 Elected Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
• 1996 Named Fellow of the IEEE
• 2012 Honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

Selected publications

• Hierarchical Shape Descriptions of Objects by Selection and Modification of Prototypes (MIT AI Lab thesis, 1976) – presented foundational concepts on block-world representations and generalized cylinder modeling.