Welcome to my GitHub profile! I'm a Doctoral Candidate and Research Associate specializing in human-robot interaction, predictive coordination, and congruency-sensitive robot motion planning. I combine behavioral experimentation, computational modeling, and robotic motion generation to improve physical collaboration between humans and robots.

• 💻 My research centers on human movement adaptation, spatial negotiation, and motor interference during human-robot collaboration.
• 🔬 I am actively developing hierarchical motion-planning frameworks using inverse optimal control and dynamic state estimation.
• 🎓 I am pursuing a cooperative doctorate at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Coburg University.
• 📊 Research Output: 3 Journal Articles | 6 Conference Proceedings | 2 Active Manuscripts
• 🕺 Outside the lab, I enjoy dancing Salsa, Bachata, and Argentine Tango, playing the guitar, and weight training.
• 💬 Ask me about robotics, adaptive control algorithms, or tech trends!

• Robot Simulation MATLAB GUI - Real-time 3D kinematic trajectory updates via MATLAB App Designer.
• Adaptive Newton-Euler Algorithm - Computational simulation for adaptive robot controllers based on our published article.
• Probabilistic Mobile Robot Simulation - Algorithms for mobile robot localization, mapping, and planning.

• Email: mertcan.kaya@hs-coburg.de | mertcan.kaya@gmail.com | mertcan.kaya@tum.de
• Personal Website: mertcan-kaya.github.io
• ORCID: 0000-0002-3174-9394
• Scopus ID: 57198376675
• LinkedIn: mertcan-kaya
• ResearchGate: Mertcan-Kaya
• Google Scholar: Mertcan Kaya

Dec 2025 – Present
Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Research Associate (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter)

• Project: CoSMoC: Congruency-sensitive Human-Robot Motion Coordination (DFG Grant: KU 2486/9-1).
• Developing hierarchical motion-planning frameworks using inverse optimal control and dynamic state estimation.
• Implementing real-time trajectory generators on SE(3) to dynamically constrain robot kinematics based on predicted human task sequences.

Summer Semester 2025
Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Guest Lecturer

• Module: Control Engineering 2 (Regelungstechnik 2).
• Delivered academic instruction on advanced control theory methodologies and supervised technical laboratory sessions.

May 2021 – Apr 2025
Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Research Associate (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter)

• Project: Motor Interference Models for Human-Robot Interaction (DFG Grants: KU 2486/8-1, KU 2486/8-2).
• Designed and conducted human-subject experiments evaluating behavioral adjustments in shared workspaces.
• Programmed and integrated experimental paradigms using collaborative and social robotic platforms.

Apr 2023 – Present
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Doctoral Candidate in Electrical Engineering & Information Technology

• Cooperative Doctorate with Coburg University.
• Dissertation: Motor Interference Models for Human-Robot Interaction.

2019 – 2021
Istanbul Technical University
PhD Student in Mechatronics Engineering (Studies continued via cooperative doctoral program in Germany).

2015 – 2019
Istanbul Technical University
MSc in System Dynamics and Control Engineering

• Thesis: Compliance Control of Collaborating Robots.

2009 – 2014
Koc University
BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Graduated with Half-merit scholarship & Vehbi Koc Scholar Awards).

• Kaya, M., Becker, K., Greve, J., Keller, J., Meserle, M., Först, C., Siegel, R., Stelzer, J., & Kühnlenz, K. (2026). Motor interference of elbow configuration changes in human-robot interaction. Interaction Studies, 26(1), 130-149. doi:10.1075/is.25026.kay
• Kaya, M., & Kühnlenz, K. (2025). Subjective task-load influences anthropomorphism during cooperative human and robot hand movements. Automatisierungstechnik, 73(1), 22-28. doi:10.1515/auto-2024-0031
• Kaya, M., Akbulut, M. A., Bayraktaroglu, Z. Y., & Kühnlenz, K. (2024). A novel recursive algorithm for the implementation of adaptive robot controllers. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 110(3), 115. doi:10.1007/s10846-024-02135-x

• Kaya, M., & Kühnlenz, K. (2026). Disentangling Hardware Embodiment and Trajectory Kinematics During Human-Robot Spatial Negotiation. (Under Review at Advanced Robotics Research).
• Kaya, M., & Kühnlenz, K. (2026). The Geometry of Interference: Quantifying Spatial Leakage and Biomechanical Adaptation During Human-Robot Collaboration.

(For a full list of publications and conference proceedings, please visit my Google Scholar or Personal Website.)

• Associate Editor: IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts (ARSO 2026).
• Peer Reviewer: IEEE RO-MAN (2026), IEEE ARSO (2026), International Journal of Social Robotics (2025).

• Research Methods: Human-subject experimentation, Behavioral data analysis, Psychometric survey design, Parametric statistical tracking.
• Languages: Turkish (Native), English (Advanced C1), German (B1 Certified), Russian (A1).
• Programming: C/C++, Python (NumPy, SciPy), JAVA, R, MATLAB.
• Robotics Software & Middleware: ROS, ROS 2, Simulink, CoppeliaSim (V-REP), VxWorks RTOS.
• Robotic Platforms: Franka Emika Panda, Universal Robots (UR3), Stäubli RX160, Pepper, NAO, TurtleBot 4.
• CAD/CAM/CAE: Siemens NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, ANSYS, COMSOL Multiphysics.

Updated on 2026-06-29

Thanks for visiting my profile! Feel free to reach out if you want to collaborate on a project or just chat about tech. Have a great day! 😊