The impact-aware robotics database



We interviewed Maarten Jongeneel (Eindhoven University of Technology) – one of the winners of the FAIR DATA Fund 2023 editionand winner of the Dutch Data Prize 2024. Full team: Maarten Jongeneel, Sander Dingemans, Alessandro Saccon.


In this project, the team presented a new database supporting the development of impact-aware robotics, an emerging field of research focused on enabling robots to exploit physical impacts with objects and environments to allow for dynamic manipulation and locomotion. The database can store a wide variety of datasets containing recorded impact experiments where robots, objects, and environments experience intentional collisions while performing dynamic robotic tasks. Examples are object tossing with robotic arms to speed up throughput or grabbing swiftly a heavy object. This open database based on FAIR principles provides access to data that supports research related to, e.g., modeling, control, parameter identification, and object tracking.

The FAIR Data Fund helped the team to maintain and further develop the database. More specifically, it allowed them to focus on storing additional datasets, both from within the Impact Aware Manipulation (I.AM.) project and outside this project, updating the website front-end, and the backend interaction with the 4TU.ResearchData servers. Moreover, the fund provided the team with many possibilities to present their work to a wide audience, further increasing its visibility and the benefits of FAIR and open data.