In 1981, Clavel returned to EPFL as a faculty member, initially as an assistant professor. The introduction of the Delta robot revolutionized high-speed pick-and-place operations, offering accelerations up to 50g, and it has since been widely adopted in diverse sectors including food and pharmaceutical packaging, electronics assembly, and even surgical robotics. Over 10,000 Delta robots were estimated to be in use worldwide by the 21st century, spawning many variations in size and application (from large payload models to micron-scale devices). Beyond the
Delta robot, Clavel’s research interests included
parallel kinematics mechanisms, high-dynamics robotics, medical and
surgical robots,
haptic interfaces, and precision mechanisms. He headed the EPFL Institute of Microengineering (as department head from 1991 to 1993) and served multiple terms as Director of the Microengineering Section at EPFL, contributing to academic administration in addition to research. Clavel was also a dedicated educator, known for mentoring dozens of graduate students (supervising over 30 doctoral theses) and maintaining close ties with industry through collaborative projects and startup initiatives. Over the course of his career, he was credited as an inventor on roughly 30 patents related to robotic mechanisms and devices. ==Awards==