World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Robert W. Sumner

Robert W. Sumner

D-Index & Metrics

Computer Science

D-Index
39
Citations
7721
World Ranking
9649
National Ranking
172

Overview

Robert W. Sumner is a researcher affiliated with ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Their work spans multiple subfields within computer science and engineering, with a focus on areas related to human-computer interaction, electronic engineering, and control systems. The scientific contributions cover both theoretical and applied aspects of these domains.

Sumner's recent papers illustrate a diverse research portfolio. Notable publications include:

  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to Fused Twins: A Review of Access to Digital Twins In Situ in Smart Cities, 2022, Remote Sensing
  • Dense Indoor Sensor Networks: Towards passively sensing human presence with LoRaWAN, 2022, Pervasive and Mobile Computing
  • Grasping Derivatives: Teaching Mathematics through Embodied Interactions using Tablets and Virtual Reality, 2022, Interaction Design and Children
  • Virtual Reality Human-Human Interface to Deliver Psychotherapy to People Experiencing Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: Development and Usability Study, 2021, JMIR Serious Games
  • SKEL-Betweener: a Neural Motion Rig for Interactive Motion Authoring, 2024, ACM Transactions on Graphics

The researcher frequently collaborates with several coauthors, including Jascha Grübel, Christoph Hölscher, Tyler Thrash, Victor R. Schinazi, and Leonel Aguilar. These partnerships reflect an interdisciplinary approach, integrating expertise from varied research communities.

Sumner's work has been published repeatedly in venues such as arXiv (Cornell University), Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Remote Sensing, Pervasive and Mobile Computing, and Interaction Design and Children. These outlets indicate active engagement with both preprint and peer-reviewed dissemination channels.

The main fields of study for Robert W. Sumner are Computer Science and Engineering. Subfields include Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Control and Systems Engineering, Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, and Computer Networks and Communications.

The central research topics explored encompass:

  • IoT Networks and Protocols
  • Human Motion and Animation
  • IoT and Edge/Fog Computing
  • Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
  • Human Pose and Action Recognition
  • Mobile Crowdsensing and Crowdsourcing
  • Smart Cities and Technologies

These topics reflect a focus on pervasive sensing, interactive technologies, and computational methods applicable to both urban environments and human-centered computing. The diversity of research interests indicates a comprehensive engagement with emerging technologies and their practical implementations in digital and smart environments.

Best Publications

  • Deformation transfer for triangle meshes

    Robert W. Sumner;Jovan Popović

  • Embedded deformation for shape manipulation

    Robert W. Sumner;Johannes Schmid;Mark Pauly

  • Global correspondence optimization for non-rigid registration of depth scans

    Hao Li;Robert W. Sumner;Mark Pauly

  • Mesh-based inverse kinematics

    Robert W. Sumner;Matthias Zwicker;Craig Gotsman;Jovan Popović

  • High-quality passive facial performance capture using anchor frames

    Thabo Beeler;Fabian Hahn;Derek Bradley;Bernd Bickel

  • Computational design of mechanical characters

    Stelian Coros;Bernhard Thomaszewski;Gioacchino Noris;Shinjiro Sueda

  • Crowd behaviour during high-stress evacuations in an immersive virtual environment.

    Mehdi Moussaïd;Mubbasir Kapadia;Tyler Thrash;Robert W. Sumner

  • Animating Sand, Mud, and Snow

    Robert W. Sumner;James F. O'Brien;Jessica K. Hodgins

  • Automatic generation of tourist maps

    Floraine Grabler;Maneesh Agrawala;Robert W. Sumner;Mark Pauly

  • Inverse kinematics for reduced deformable models

    Kevin G. Der;Robert W. Sumner;Jovan Popović

  • Rig-space physics

    Fabian Hahn;Sebastian Martin;Bernhard Thomaszewski;Robert Sumner

  • Visibility transition planning for dynamic camera control

    Thomas Oskam;Robert W. Sumner;Nils Thuerey;Markus Gross

  • Design and fabrication of flexible rod meshes

    Jesús Pérez;Bernhard Thomaszewski;Stelian Coros;Bernd Bickel

  • Deformation Transfer for Detail-Preserving Surface Editing

    Mario Botsch;Robert Sumner;Mark Pauly;Markus Gross

  • Topology-driven vectorization of clean line drawings

    Gioacchino Noris;Alexander Hornung;Robert W. Sumner;Maryann Simmons

  • Subspace clothing simulation using adaptive bases

    Fabian Hahn;Bernhard Thomaszewski;Stelian Coros;Robert W. Sumner

  • BetweenIT: An Interactive Tool for Tight Inbetweening

    Brian Whited;Brian Whited;Gioacchino Noris;Maryann Simmons;Robert W. Sumner

  • Coupled 3D reconstruction of sparse facial hair and skin

    Thabo Beeler;Bernd Bickel;Gioacchino Noris;Paul Beardsley

  • Deformable objects alive

    Stelian Coros;Sebastian Martin;Bernhard Thomaszewski;Christian Schumacher

  • OverCoat: an implicit canvas for 3D painting

    Johannes Schmid;Martin Sebastian Senn;Markus Gross;Robert W. Sumner

  • The ACM SIGGRAPH / Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation

    J Chai;Y Yu;T Kim;RW Sumner

Frequent Co-Authors

Markus Gross
Markus Gross ETH Zurich
Stelian Coros
Stelian Coros ETH Zurich
Bernd Bickel
Bernd Bickel ETH Zurich
Paul Beardsley
Paul Beardsley Weta Digital
Dirk Helbing
Dirk Helbing ETH Zurich
Mark Pauly
Mark Pauly École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Jovan Popović
Jovan Popović Adobe Systems (United States)
Wojciech Jarosz
Wojciech Jarosz Dartmouth College
Paul Lukowicz
Paul Lukowicz German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring computer science in the USA opens up a variety of online degree options and career pathways. Many prospective students are concerned about GPA requirements, but there are online colleges that accept 2.0 gpa, making advanced education accessible for those with unique academic backgrounds.

Earning a computer science degree online is a flexible and efficient way to gain in-demand skills while balancing other commitments. Accelerated programs can help you enter the workforce sooner, while still providing a thorough foundation in programming, algorithms, and system design.

If your interests branch into the environment, you might also consider environmental engineering schools online. These programs focus on sustainable technology and applied science to tackle critical environmental challenges.

Wondering about careers outside of computer science? Discover what can you do with an environmental science degree—from policy analysis to field research—showing how STEM degrees open diverse professional doors.

Best Scientists Citing Robert W. Sumner

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles