Skip to content
Tolga-Can Çallar

Available for collaborations

Tolga-Can Çallar

Research Associate & Doctoral Candidate in Medical Robotics.

Trajectory planning, motion control, and autonomous ultrasound robotics.

Institute of Robotics and Cognitive Systems, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany

View Research Download CV
01

About

Tolga-Can Çallar has been a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute of Robotics and Cognitive Systems since 2022, supervised by Prof. Floris Ernst. He completed his M.Sc. in Medical Engineering Science at the Universität zu Lübeck in 2021. His research focuses on trajectory planning and motion control using proprioceptive and image-based models for medical robotics, with a particular emphasis on the development of autonomous methods for robot-assisted ultrasound imaging.

  • Medical Robotics

    Force-sensitive assistance systems, RCM mechanisms, and robot-assisted ultrasound for clinical workflows.

  • Learning-based Control

    Inverse dynamics models, image-based motion generation, and trajectory planning with proprioceptive feedback.

  • Ultrasound Imaging

    Surface-based ray-tracing simulation, acoustic parameter estimation from CT, and multimodal sensing for autonomous acquisition.

02

Research

Selected projects across medical robotics, autonomous ultrasound, and learning-based control.

Selected work
2025 — present

ConSensUS — Contextual Sensing in Robotic Ultrasound Imaging

Institute of Robotics and Cognitive Systems, Universität zu Lübeck

  • Multimodal sensing concept for context-dependent acquisition of robotic ultrasound data.
  • Fusion of visual, spatial, and haptic information for robust perception and control.
  • Improving autonomy, adaptivity, and clinical applicability of robotic ultrasound systems.
Multimodal SensingUltrasoundPerceptionControl
Jan 2022 — present

Force-sensitive Assistance System for Automated Ultrasound Imaging

Doctoral research, IRCS Lübeck

  • Design and implementation of a force-sensitive assistance system for stable and adaptive guidance of ultrasound probes.
  • Integration of proprioceptive and image-based information for robust control of probe contact.
  • Evaluation of the system with regard to reproducibility, stability, and clinical applicability.
Force ControlUltrasoundProprioceptionDoctoral Research
2023 — 2025

Simulation of Ultrasound Imaging Using Surface-based Ray Tracing

Institute of Robotics and Cognitive Systems, Universität zu Lübeck

  • Physics-based simulation environment for robot-assisted ultrasound imaging using surface-based ray-tracing methods.
  • Automated estimation of acoustic material parameters from CT data by mapping Hounsfield units to speed of sound and density.
  • Integration into planning and control frameworks for realistic generation and evaluation of ultrasound signals.
SimulationRay TracingCTUltrasound
03

Publications

Peer-reviewed research and software outputs. See ORCID for the full record.

Year
Topic
View on ORCID
  1. 2025

    ConSensUS: Contextual Sensing in Robotic Ultrasound Imaging Using Visual, Spatial, and Haptic Data

    T.-C. Çallar, R. Golwalkar, F. Ernst

    1st German Robotics Conference, Nuremberg, Germany (Mar 13–15, 2025)

    Multimodal SensingUltrasoundRobotics
  2. 2022

    Hybrid Learning of Time-Series Inverse Dynamics Models for Locally Isotropic Robot Motion

    T.-C. Çallar, S. Böttger

    IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)

    DOI
    Inverse DynamicsTime SeriesLearning Control
  3. 2021

    Learning of Inverse Dynamics for Proprioceptive Force Estimation during Irregular Fine-Scale Robot Motion

    T.-C. Çallar

    Master’s thesis, Montanuniversität Leoben

    Abstract
    Inverse DynamicsForce Estimation
  4. 2020

    Efficient Body Registration Using Single-View Range Imaging and Generic Shape Templates

    T.-C. Çallar, E. Rueckert, S. Böttger

    Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, 6(3), 119–122

    DOI
    RegistrationRange Imaging
  5. 2020

    Generation of 3D Body Models from Single-View Range Images for Robotic Applications in Medicine

    T.-C. Çallar, S. Böttger, E. Rueckert

    Student Conference Proceedings, Universität zu Lübeck

    Body ModelsRange Imaging
  6. 2019

    Medical Robotics Simulation Framework for Application-Specific Optimal Kinematics

    S. Böttger, T.-C. Çallar, A. Schweikard, E. Rueckert

    Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, 5(1), 145–148

    DOI
    SimulationKinematics
  7. 2018

    Entwicklung eines Simulationssystems zur Exploration geeigneter Kinematiken für die robotisierte Ultraschallbildgebung

    T.-C. Çallar

    Bachelor’s thesis, Universität zu Lübeck

    PDF
    SimulationUltrasound

Software & Datasets

  • 2023

    limodyn — Learned Inverse Dynamics Toolkit

    Open-source toolkit for identifying and learning inverse dynamics models of serial manipulators.

    GitHub
  • 2023

    Force-sensitive Ultrasound Motion Dataset

    Recorded force/torque, joint, and image data from autonomous robot-assisted ultrasound experiments on a serial manipulator.

04

Teaching

Lectures, supervision, community leadership, and reviewing for top venues in robotics.

Teaching

  1. 2022 — 2026

    Medical Robotics

    Master’s module — Prof. Dr. Achim Schweikard & Prof. Dr. Floris Ernst

    • Teaching contributions in medical robotics and control engineering.
    • Supervision of exercises and project work, including programming, robotics, and simulation.
    • Support in the conception and implementation of courses.
  2. 2023 — 2025

    Learning Inverse Dynamics Models

    Annual guest lecture — Master’s module Advanced Topics in Robotics, Prof. Dr. Ngoc Thinh Nguyen

    • Teaching learning-based approaches for modeling inverse dynamics of robotic systems.
  3. 2022 — 2024

    Head of the Student Community

    Organization of a monthly lecture series for student research projects

    • Conceptualization and coordination of a regular lecture series for presenting student research work.
    • Promotion of scientific exchange and interdisciplinary networking between students and researchers.
    • Organization, moderation, and content-related support of the events.

Supervised Theses & Projects

Master’s Theses

  • 2026Friction modelling for compliant manipulationBhadani

Bachelor’s Theses

  • 2025Variable stiffness actuation for ultrasound roboticsÜnal
  • 2024RCM-constrained trajectory planningKaluza

Internships

  • 2025RCM mechanism implementationPatel
  • 2025Cannula insertion controlPatel
  • 2025Inverse kinematics for medical manipulatorsGonzález Villa
  • 2025Joint friction characterisationBhadani

Seminar Projects

  • 2026Variable stiffness actuationLascano
  • 2026Inverse kinematics solverUrbini
  • 2024Ultrasound probe contact analysisKabour
  • 2024Inverse kinematics studyBrauer
  • 2024pHRI control approachesMartensen
  • 2023Path planning for medical robotsAhmi

Reviewer

  • IROS 2027Florence, Italy — 1 review
  • IROS 2026Pittsburgh, USA — 2 reviews
  • ICRA 2026Vienna, Austria — 1 review
  • IROS 2025Hangzhou, China — 1 review
  • ICRA 2025Atlanta, USA — 1 review
  • ICRA 2024Yokohama, Japan — 1 review
  • Humanoids 2023Austin, USA — 1 review
  • IEEE RA-L3 reviews

Memberships

  • IEEE Member
  • IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
  • Technical Committee, German Society for Biomedical Engineering
  • Commission for the Ethics of Security-relevant Research (KEsF), University of Lübeck
05

Skills

Programming, robotics, learning, control, medical imaging, and languages.

Programming Languages

C++PythonJavaLua

Control Methods

Impedance ControlAdmittance ControlVisual ServoingMPCTrajectory Planning

Machine Learning

Deep LearningTime-series ModelsSystem IdentificationPyTorchTensorFlow

Perception & Computer Vision

OpenCVRGB-D ProcessingPoint-cloud ProcessingRegistration

Optimization

Nonlinear OptimizationGradient-based MethodsTrajectory Optimization

Robotics & Simulation

ROSMoveItCoppeliaSimGazeboIsaac Sim

Medical Imaging

3D SlicerPLUS ToolkitDICOMHL7Ultrasound Processing

Physics-based Simulation

Ray TracingUltrasound SimulationContact Modeling

Data Processing

NumPySciPyPandasMatplotlib

Systems & Infrastructure

LinuxDockerGitSSHHPC / Parallelization

Languages

  • Germannative
  • Englishfluent (LCCI Level 3)
  • Turkishnative
  • Latinadvanced Latin certificate
  • Spanishbasic
06

Education

  1. Oct 2018 — Dec 2021

    M.Sc. Medical Engineering Science

    University of Lübeck

    • Thesis: Autonomous force-sensitive motion control for robotised applications in medicine.
    • Supervision: Prof. Dr. Elmar Rückert.
  2. Oct 2015 — Nov 2018

    B.Sc. Medical Engineering Science

    University of Lübeck

    • Thesis: Simulation system for exploring suitable kinematics for robot-assisted ultrasound imaging.
    • Supervision: Prof. Dr. Elmar Rückert.
  3. Jun 2006 — Jun 2015

    Abitur

    Leibniz-Gymnasium Bad Schwartau

07

Contact

Open to research collaborations, student supervision inquiries, and reviewing requests.

Let’s talk about robots that see, feel & heal.

Lübeck, Germany

Get in touch