Gerd Hirzinger received his Dipl.-Ing. degree and the

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

’s degree from the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

, in 1969 and 1974 respectively. In 1969 he joined DLR (the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...

) where he first worked on fast

digital control Digital control is a branch of control theory that uses Digital data, digital computers to act as system controllers. Depending on the requirements, a digital control system can take the form of a microcontroller to an Application-specific integr ...

systems. 1976 he became head of the

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

and

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

laboratory of DLR, where he and his co-workers soon got several awards for innovative

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

from robotics research to applications. In 1991 he received a joint

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

ship from the

, and in 2003 an honorary professorship at the

Harbin Institute of Technology The Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) is a public science and engineering university in Nan'gang, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. It is one of the top universities in China and now affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Techn ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He has been since 1992 director at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the DLR

which is one of the largest and most acknowledged institutes in the field worldwide, including not only robot development for space and terrestrial applications, but also aircraft control and optimization, vehicle technology ('' X-by-wire'' components and systems) and medical technology (artificial hearts and surgical robots). He has published more than 600 papers in robotics, mainly on robot sensing, sensory feedback,

mechatronics Mechatronics engineering, also called mechatronics, is the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems employing mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering and computer engineering, and also ...

, man-machine interfaces,

telerobotics Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using television, wireless networks (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the Deep Space Network) or tethered connections. It is a combinatio ...

and space robotics. He was prime investigator of the space robot technology experiment ROTEX, the first remotely controlled robot in space, which flew onboard shuttle COLUMBIA in April 93. For many years he has been chairman of the German council on robot control and administrative committee member of the IEEE Society on Robotics and Automation. He is now member of the IEEE fellow award committee.

Awards and honors

He received numerous national and international awards, e.g. in 1994 the Joseph F. Engelberger Award for achievements in robotic science and in 1995 the Leibniz-Award, the highest scientific award in Germany and the JARA (

Japan Robot Association The (JARA) is a trade association made up of companies in Japan that develop and manufacture robot technology. It was formed in 1971, as the Industrial Robot Conversazione and was the world's first robot association. The association was reorganiz ...

) Award. In 1996 he received the Karl Heinz Beckurts Award, Germany’s most important award for outstanding promotion of the partnership between science and industry, and in 1997 the IEEE-Fellow Award. In 2004 he got the

order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

and became member of the “wall of fame” of the

Heinz Nixdorf Heinz Nixdorf (April 9, 1925 – March 17, 1986) was a German computing pioneer, businessman and founder of Nixdorf Computer AG. Nixdorf was born in Paderborn, Germany. The 27-year-old Nixdorf, at the time a physics student at the Goethe Univ ...

Computer Museum. In 2005 he received the IEEE Pioneer Award of the Robotics and Automation Society and the “honorary citizenship” of Budapest Tech, and in 2007 the IEEE Field Award “Robotics and Automation”. In 2008 he received the Nichols medal, one of the two highest awards of the

International Federation of Automatic Control The International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), founded in September 1957 in France, is a multinational federation of 49 national member organizations (NMO), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with a ...

(IFAC) in the field of control. In 2014 he received the

Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art The Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art () was first established on 28 November 1853 by King Maximilian II von Bayern. It is awarded to acknowledge and reward excellent and outstanding achievements in the field of science and art. From ...

References

External links

Robotics and Mechatronics Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirzinger, Gerd German roboticists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Technical University of Munich alumni Living people 1945 births