Vita
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Patrick Wolf is a junior professor at the Department of Computer Science at RPTU Kaiserslautern, heads the Chair of Adaptive Autonomy and Off-road Robotics (AOR) and is an expert in autonomics at Fraunhofer IESE. His research focuses on AI-based robotics, adaptive autonomy, reliable autonomous systems and autonomy. One objective is the reliable, holistically conceived use of autonomous robots in complex, changing and challenging fields of application. Examples include disaster control and the fire department, forestry, construction and care.
Prof. Wolf studied applied computer science with a focus on embedded systems and robotics at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (2010-2016) and then worked as a research assistant and doctoral student at the Chair of Robotic Systems at RPTU (2016-2023). During this time, he conducted research on quality-adaptive and context-sensitive perception concepts and architectures for autonomous robots and commercial vehicles. In 2022, he completed his dissertation entitled "Cognitive Processing in Behavior-Based Perception of Autonomous Off-Road Vehicles" with distinction. In 2023, he joined Fraunhofer IESE as a Senior Safety Engineer and Project Manager, where he researched new approaches to the safety of autonomous systems and situational risk management. He was also active in teaching as a lecturer in the computer science department at RPTU and AKAD University Stuttgart and the RPTU lecture "Off-road Robotics" was awarded the VLU prize for special commitment to teaching several times. Since July 2025, he has been a junior professor at RPTU's Department of Computer Science and continues to work as an expert in "Autonomics" at Fraunhofer IESE.
Prof. Wolf is involved in the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG) in the clusters Field Robotics and Safety and Resilience of AI-based Robots. He is Supporting Expert of the VDI for the topic "Connected Off-Highway Machinery". He is a member of the German Society for Robotics and the IEEE and the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society. He is a faculty council member of the Department of Computer Science at RPTU and a delegate of the RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers (REaCh).
Awards
- VLU prize for special commitment to teaching (WS 2024)
Prize for the performance as a lecturer of the lecture Off-road Robotics in the winter semester 2024/25.
- VLU prize for special commitment to teaching (WS 2023)
Prize for the performance as a lecturer of the lecture Off-road Robotics in the winter semester 2023/24.
- Best Poster Award
Best Poster Award of the 10th International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH 2020) for the paper "Evolution of Robotic Simulators: Using UE 4 to Enable Real-World Quality Testing of Complex Autonomous Robots in Unstructured Environments"
Publications
2026
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- Adaptive Safety-Constrained Behavior for Cooperative Autonomous Robot Systems.
10th International Workshop on Critical Automotive Applications, (2026)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/401205017 - Autonome Vegetationsräumung für die Sicherstellung von Versorgungs- und Bewegungswegen.
(2026)
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33587.90407 - Memory-Aware Environmental Knowledge Sharing for Cooperative Autonomous Robot Systems.
2nd German Robotics Conference, (2026)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400075854 - Risk Awareness and Management for Autonomous Robots. Assessing Non-Perceivable Hazards through Context-Aware Safety Adaptation.
2nd German Robotics Conference, (2026)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400075834
2025
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- A Dependable Trajectory Prediction Pipeline for Autonomous Driving. Integrating Computer Vision and Bayesian Networks for Highway Safety.
5th international Workshop on Safe Autonomous Systems, (2025)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11144859 - Autonomik – Skizze einer neuen Disziplin.
, S. 1 - 21. (2025)
https://autonomik.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/Autonomik_Kurzprofil.pdf - Enhancing Safety and Performance of Autonomous Systems in Open Contexts Through the Layers of Protection Architecture (LOPAAS).
5th international Workshop on Safe Autonomous Systems, (2025)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11144853 - Navigating the landscape of operational design domains. A comprehensive mapping study.
Next Research, Vol. 2, Nr. 4, S. 101036. (2025)
DOI: 10.1016/j.nexres.2025.101036 - Roboter Risiken erfolgreich managen. Wie Dynamisches Risikomanagement autonome Systeme sicherer und leistungsfähiger macht.
(2025)
https://www.iese.fraunhofer.de/blog/roboter-risiken-einschaetzen-durch-dynamisches-risikomanagement/ - Situational Risk Awareness for Autonomous Robots. Maximizing Safety and Operational Availability Across Domains.
1st German Robotics Conference, (2025)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389166968
2024
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- Ensuring Safe Autonomy. Navigating the Future of Autonomous Vehicles.
19th European Dependable Computing Conference (EDCC24), (2024)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.19006 - Evaluating Self-Adaptive Architectures for Automated Driving Systems.
2024 11th International Conference on Internet of Things, S. 212 - 217. (2024)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10710315 - MINTresse wecken. Frühkindliche Bildung mit Robotern.
(2024)
https://www.iese.fraunhofer.de/blog/mint-fruehkindliche-bildung-mit-robotern/ - Pioneering Situation-aware Autonomy and Safety for Off-Highway Machinery in Unpredictable Terrain.
(2024)
https://dx.doi.org/10.24406/publica-3516 - Tree-SLAM. Localization and Mapping in Dense Forest Environments for Autonomous Vehicles.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2024, S. 345 - 362. (2024)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-45699-3_20 - Utilizing sensory uncertainty detection for robot health monitoring and performing active perception adaptation.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2024, S. 363 - 376. (2024)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-45699-3_21 - Wie Normen und Standards die Zukunft von Künstlicher Intelligenz und Autonomen Systemen prägen.
(2024)
https://www.iese.fraunhofer.de/blog/ki-normen-und-standardisierung/
2023
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- Aktuelle Forschung im Bereich des autonomen Fahr- und Arbeitsbetriebs von Nutzfahrzeugen.
Jahresmagazin AUTOMATION + ROBOTIK, S. 48 - 53. (2023)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366158277 - Autonomes Fahren. Denken wie ein Mensch.
(2023)
https://www.iese.fraunhofer.de/blog/autonomes-fahren/ - Global map generation using local feature grid maps for autonomous vehicles in frequently changing off-road environments.
18th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS 2023), (2023)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-44851-5_2 - Navigating Off-roads. Using Deep neural Networks for Rock detection in off-road Autonomous Driving with Unimog.
20th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (UR 2023), (2023)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10202220 - Reverse-Engineering of Behavior-Based Robot Components.
18th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS 2023), (2023)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-44981-9_27
2022
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- A modular control architecture for safe and robust robot operation and inspection in steep slope vineyards.
Resilient Smart Farming Lab Workshop Informatik 2022 (RSF-Lab 2022), (2022)
https://dl.gi.de/items/a6a0df50-81f9-4bf3-9905-8946c6b0716b - Autonomous Off-Road Navigation Using Near-Feature-Based World Knowledge Incorporation on the Example of Forest Path Detection.
Intelligent Autonomous Systems 16 (IAS 2021), S. 165 - 182. (2022)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-95892-3_13 - Cognitive Processing in Behavior-Based Perception of Autonomous Off-Road Vehicles.
(2022)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364343585 - Disturbance and Particle Detection in LiDAR Data.
48th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2022), (2022)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9968972 - Human-inspired cognitive processing for robust autonomous off-road driving.
5th Young Reseachers Symposium 2022, S. 35. (2022)
https://doi.org/10.24406/publica-221 - Integration of human skeleton posture models into REACTiON for realizing dynamic risk management.
7th International Commercial Vehicle Technology Symposium Kaiserslautern – CVT 2022, (2022)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-40783-4_8 - Traction optimization for robust navigation in unstructured environments using deep neural networks on the example of the off-road truck Unimog.
17th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems – IAS-17, S. 191 - 208. (2022)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-22216-0_38 - Universelle Nutzfahrzeugkonzepte zum autonomen Arbeiten in herausfordernden Umgebungen. Ein Zwischenbericht zum Projekt »Autonome Arbeitsmaschine für den Einsatz in Anwendungen wie Katastrophenschutz/ Feuerwehr, Forstwirtschaft und Weinbau«..
CVC News, Vol. 2, S. 20 - 24. (2022)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366158350
2021
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- Autonome Navigation und Umfelderkennung eines Unimogs in unstrukturiertem Terrain.
Tagungsband DWT-SGW Forum Unmanned Systems VIII, S. 30. (2021)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379148241 - Autonomes Arbeiten mit dem Unimog. Umrüstung für Arbeitseinsätze im Katastrophenschutz, bei Feuerwehr, Forstwirtschaft, Weinbau und Deponie.
CVC News, Vol. 2, S. 8 - 10. (2021)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362231849 - Data-fusion for robust off-road perception considering data quality of uncertain sensors.
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), S. 6853 - 6860. (2021)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9636541 - Extending Skills of Autonomous Off-Road Robots on the Example of Behavior-Based Edge Compaction in a Road Construction Scenario.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2020/2021. Proceedings of the 6th Commercial Vehicle Technology Symposium – CVT 2020/2021, (2021)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-29717-6_5 - Localization using OSM landmarks.
2021 Latin American Robotics Symposium (LARS), 2021 Brazilian Symposium on Robotics (SBR), and 2021 Workshop on Robotics in Education (WRE), S. 228 - 233. (2021)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9605475
2020
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- Advanced scene aware navigation for the heavy duty off-road vehicle Unimog.
The 9th International Conference on Advanced Concepts in Mechanical Engineering – ACME 2020. IOP Conference Series, Vol. 997, S. 1 - 18. (2020)
DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/997/1/012093 - Autonome Off-Road Navigation von Nutzfahrzeugen. Erfahrungsbericht und Testergebnisse des CVC-Leitprojekts zum autonomen Fahrbetrieb von Nutzfahrzeugen im Off-Road-Bereich.
CVC News, Vol. 1, S. 4 - 10. (2020)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341932539 - Behavior-Based Obstacle Detection in Off-Road Environments Considering Data Quality.
Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, Vol. 495, S. 786 - 809. (2020)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-11292-9_39 - Evolution of robotic simulators. Using UE 4 to enable real-world quality testing of complex autonomous robots in unstructured environments.
Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH 2020), S. 271 - 278. (2020)
DOI: 10.5220/0009911502710278 - Towards High-Quality Road Construction. Using Autonomous Tandem Rollers for Asphalt Compaction Optimization.
Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), S. 90 - 97. (2020)
https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC2020/0015 - Wenn Autos fahren wie von Geisterhand. Off-Road-Bereich wird zur Herausforderung / Nutzen wäre aber enorm.
KOMMUNALtopinform, Vol. 4, S. 62 - 63. (2020)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349725077
2019
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- Combining Onthologies and Behavior-Based Control for Aware Navigation in Challenging Off-Road Environments.
Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2019), S. 135 - 146. (2019)
DOI: 10.5220/0007934301350146 - Distributed Coordination and Task Assignment of Autonomous Tandem Rollers in Road Construction Scenarios.
36th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2019), S. 953 - 960. (2019)
https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC2019/0127 - High Quality Road Construction using 5G-AMMCOA. Autonomous Mobile Machine Communication for Off-Road Applications.
, S. 1 - 7. (2019)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331563786
2018
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- Auf dem Weg zur autonomen Straßenfertigung. Kooperation und Kommunikation von vollautomatisierten Nutzfahrzeugen in der Baustelle von morgen am Beispiel von BOMAG Tandemwalzen..
CVC News, Vol. 1, S. 12 - 15. (2018)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323906237 - Behavior-Based Control for Safe and Robust Navigation of an Unimog in Off-Road Environments.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2018. Proceedings of the 5th Commercial Vehicle Technology Symposium – CVT 2018, S. 63 - 76. (2018)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-21300-8_6 - Behavior-Based Low-Level Control for (semi-) Autonomous Vehicles in Rough Terrain.
Proceedings of ISR 2018, S. 386 - 393. (2018)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8470623 - Combining Behavior-Based and Contract-Based Control Architectures for Behavior Optimization of Networked Autonomous Vehicles in Unstructured Environments.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2018. Proceedings of the 5th Commercial Vehicle Technology Symposium – CVT 2018, S. 324 - 335. (2018)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-21300-8_26 - Cooperation and Communication of Autonomous Tandem Rollers in Street Construction Scenarios.
Commercial Vehicle Technology 2018. Proceedings of the 5th Commercial Vehicle Technology Symposium – CVT 2018, S. 25 - 36. (2018)
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-21300-8_3 - Local Behavior-Based Navigation in Rough Off-Road Scenarios based on Vehicle Kinematics.
2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), S. 719 - 724. (2018)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8460631
2017
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- Autonomie in unwegsamem Gelände. Aktuelle Zwischenergebnisse des CVC-Leitprojekts zum autonomen Fahrbetrieb von Nutzfahrzeugen im Off-Road Bereich.
CVC News, Vol. 2, S. 8 - 11. (2017)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323906337 - Quality-Based Behavior-Based Control for Autonomous Robots in Rough Environments.
Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2017), Vol. 1, S. 513 - 524. (2017)
DOI: 10.5220/0006481405130524