Mertcan Kaya

Doctoral Researcher developing human-aware motion planning, prediction, and control methods for safe and efficient human-robot collaboration.
Human-Robot Interaction • Human-Aware Motion Planning • Motor Interference • Robot Control • Human Task Prediction
Open to Postdoctoral Research and Robotics R&D positions beginning December 2026.
Headshot of Mertcan Kaya

Research Vision

My research aims to enable robots to anticipate, understand, and adapt to human behavior during collaborative tasks. I investigate how humans perceive robot motion, how human actions can be predicted from observed behavior, and how these predictions can be integrated into motion planning and control systems to improve safety and operational efficiency.

Current Research Focus My doctoral research investigates how robot embodiment, trajectory kinematics, and human action prediction influence spatial adaptation during collaborative tasks. This work contributes to human-aware motion planning by quantifying how humans physically negotiate shared workspace constraints around robots.

Recent Updates

  • Jun 2026: Submitted major manuscript revision on Distractor-Aligned Variance (DAV) in HRI.
  • May 2026: Deployed highly structured HRI Motion Analysis architecture in MATLAB.
  • Early 2026: Published findings on elbow configuration motor interference in Interaction Studies.
  • Nov 2025: Successfully completed the German integration course and attained B1 Language Certification.

Research Impact

Synthesizing theoretical behavior models with physical hardware validation.

Human-Robot Interaction

5 peer-reviewed publications investigating motor interference and objective behavioral markers of perceived robot human-likeness through synchronized movement experiments.

Human-Aware Planning

Current doctoral research quantifying how humans adapt trajectories and workspace occupancy during interactions. Developing predictive planning methods incorporating task uncertainty.

Robotics Systems

Algorithm integration, recursive controller design, and experimental validation deployed successfully across UR3, Stäubli RX160, TurtleBot 4, and AgileX Scout Mini.

Featured Publications

View Google Scholar Profile

Hardware Projects & Deployments

Direct empirical validation tracing the engineering stack from low-level embedded microcontrollers up to high-level system behaviors.

Stäubli RX160 demonstrating physical human-robot compliance tracking
Two Stäubli robots executing collaborative force optimization

1. Compliant Physical HRI & Force Control

Implemented hybrid position/force control loops for physical human-robot interaction. Ensured stable industrial trajectories while allowing safe kinetic adaptation during direct human contact.

Contributions: Designed control architecture, implemented inverse kinematics and impedance algorithms in C/C++, and executed hardware experiments via LLI.
Outcome: Demonstrated stable force-regulated manipulation under physical human interaction.
  • Hardware: Stäubli RX160, Stäubli RX160L.
  • Software: Low Level Interface (LLI), C/C++.
Stäubli RX160Physical HRIForce ControlLLI

2. Teleoperation & Predictive Human Tracking

Developed real-time teleoperation and predictive manipulator tracking loops. Tracked human spatial vectors actively using marker-based optical tracking to control manipulator behavior.

Contributions: Lead experimental designer; engineered the OptiTrack-to-UR3 data bridge via Python RTDE and conducted multi-participant user studies.
Outcome: Human tracking and teleoperation experiments supporting peer-reviewed HRI studies.
  • Hardware: Universal Robots (UR3), OptiTrack Motion Capture System.
  • Software: Universal Robots RTDE, Python, C++.
UR3OptiTrackRTDETeleoperation
UR3 robot teleoperation experiment using OptiTrack motion capture
Manipulator executing real-time task-space hand following
Timorous mobile robot executing custom crawler locomotion
Multi-axis servo array commanded via ROS

3. Embedded Actuation & Firmware

Implemented embedded control architectures linking microcontrollers, NVIDIA Jetson, and ROS-based robotic systems.

Contributions: Full-stack development; wrote FreeRTOS firmware, configured I2C/PWM outputs, and developed custom ROS hardware nodes.
Outcome: Validated full-stack robotics competence enabling custom hardware actuation from high-level ROS commands.
  • Hardware: NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi Pico, Multi-Axis Servos.
  • Software: ROS, FreeRTOS, C/C++, UART/I2C/SPI.
Embedded CNVIDIA JetsonROSRaspberry Pi Pico

4. Autonomous Mobile Navigation & SLAM

Configured and validated autonomous navigation systems using Nav2, Cartographer SLAM, and LiDAR-based perception on TurtleBot 4 and AgileX Scout Mini platforms.

Contributions: Lab deployment lead; performed algorithm integration and Cartographer parameter tuning to establish reliable baseline architectures for student academic projects.
Outcome: Real-time autonomous navigation mapped and deployed on TurtleBot 4 and AgileX Scout Mini platforms.
  • Hardware: TurtleBot 4, AgileX Scout Mini, 2D/3D LiDAR, OAK-D.
  • Software: ROS 2 (Humble/Iron), Nav2 Framework, Cartographer SLAM, Python, C++.
ROS 2Nav2SLAMAgileXTurtleBot 4
TurtleBot 4 autonomous navigation experiment executing SLAM mapping
AgileX Scout Mini executing indoor LiDAR mapping

Simulation & Algorithmic Frameworks

Computational implementations and algorithm simulations validating kinematic solvers, probabilistic mapping, and force-control loops prior to hardware deployment.

EKF-SLAM Demonstration in MATLAB mapping environments

EKF-SLAM Mapping & Navigation

Implementation of Extended Kalman Filter Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for probabilistic environment modeling.

  • MATLAB
  • EKF-SLAM
  • Navigation
FastSLAM Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter simulation

FastSLAM (Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter)

Advanced SLAM framework leveraging particle filters to estimate complex non-linear trajectories and grid maps.

  • MATLAB
  • Particle Filter
  • FastSLAM
Dual-Arm Robot Interaction in Simulink simulating force control

Dual-Arm Compliance Control

Simulink-based architecture for multi-agent interaction, demonstrating stable force regulation in a closed kinematic chain.

  • Simulink
  • Force Control
  • Dual-Arm
Robot compliance control simulation adjusting to surface tilt

Multi-Axis Surface Tilt Compliance

Simulated physical compliance loop adapting real-time tool trajectories against shifting planar constraints.

  • MATLAB
  • Compliance
  • Kinematics
Simulating Stäubli RX160 rigid-body dynamics for control tuning

Stäubli RX160 Dynamics & Tuning

Mathematical modeling of Stäubli RX160 rigid-body dynamics to facilitate real-time PID and adaptive controller tuning.

  • MATLAB
  • Dynamics
  • Control Theory
Controlling a UR3 robot arm using Python and MATLAB RTDE

UR3 Control via Python/MATLAB RTDE

Cross-platform trajectory execution linking MATLAB path planning arrays with Universal Robots' RTDE stream.

  • Python
  • MATLAB
  • RTDE
UR3 inverse kinematics simulation with minimum-jerk trajectory tracking

Minimum-Jerk Inverse Kinematics

Generation of smooth, biologically-inspired minimum-jerk trajectories mapped through UR3 joint limits.

  • MATLAB
  • Inverse Kinematics
  • Optimization
Task-space robot control simulated within a custom MATLAB GUI

Task-Space Robot Control Interface

A custom application interface allowing direct Cartesian manipulation and inverse kinematic solving.

  • MATLAB GUI
  • Task-Space
  • Robotics
Interactive 6-axis joint control app built in MATLAB

Interactive 6-Axis Joint Control App

Standalone MATLAB executable enabling real-time 6-DoF forward kinematic state visualization.

  • MATLAB GUI
  • Forward Kinematics

Research Areas & Methodologies

Human-Robot Interaction

Designing safe, intuitive, and collaborative behaviors for robotic systems operating in shared physical environments.

Human-Aware Motion Planning

Developing motion planning methods that adapt robot trajectories according to predicted human actions during tasks.

Spatial Negotiation

Investigating how humans adapt their positions and spatial movement profiles when interacting in shared workspaces.

Motor Interference

Investigating motor interference as an objective measure of perceived human-likeness in robot motion.

Human Intention Prediction

Employing stochastic modeling to infer human intentions and handle timing uncertainty in joint assembly tasks.

Robot Control Systems

Formulating and implementing decoupled optimization targets, hybrid force control, and adaptive tracking algorithms.

Technical Competencies

Robotics Software

  • ROS / ROS 2
  • Nav2 Framework
  • MoveIt API
  • Cartographer SLAM

Control & Planning

  • Adaptive Control
  • Impedance Control
  • Motion Planning
  • Trajectory Optimization

Perception & Tracking

  • LiDAR Processing
  • OptiTrack MoCap
  • OAK-D Spatial Cameras
  • OpenCV

Languages & Simulation

  • C / C++
  • Python
  • MATLAB / Simulink
  • Gazebo / CoppeliaSim

Funding, Teaching & Service

Research Funding

2025 – Present
DFG Project: CoSMoC
Congruency-Sensitive Human-Robot Motion Coordination.
Role: Research Associate
2021 – 2025
DFG Project: Motor Interference
Motor Interference Models for Human-Robot Interaction.
Role: Research Associate

Awards & Recognition

Vehbi Koç Scholar Award
Awarded twice for exceptional academic standing (GPA ≥ 3.60/4.00).
Merit Scholarship (Top 5%)
Koç University Undergraduate Scholarship awarded for nationwide placement.

Academic Teaching

Summer Semester 2025
Guest Lecturer
Module: Control Engineering 2 (Regelungstechnik 2)
Coburg University of Applied Sciences

Academic Service & Reviewing

Associate Editor
IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts (ARSO 2026)
Peer Reviewer
• IEEE RO-MAN 2026
• IEEE ICSR (Social Robotics)
• International Journal of Social Robotics (Springer)

Education & Academic Appointments

2009–2014
BSc Mechanical Engineering
Koç University
2015–2019
MSc Control Engineering
Istanbul Technical University
2021–Present
Research Associate
Coburg University
2023–Present
Doctoral Candidate
Technical University of Munich

Open Research Opportunities

I am seeking postdoctoral and robotics R&D opportunities beginning December 2026. My interests include human-aware motion planning, collaborative robotics, robot learning from human behavior, and human-robot interaction.

Get in Touch