Oussama Zenkri
Photo: SCIoI
Oussama Zenkri is a robotics researcher interested in intelligent behavior, problem solving, strategy learning, and the mechanisms underlying intelligent behavior. He is particularly inspired by the remarkable rationality exhibited by living organisms even when faced with limited resources.
He joined SCIoI as a doctoral researcher in October 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Oliver Brock.
Oussama is involved in Project 2w. His research focuses on studying the sophisticated problem-solving and strategy-learning techniques used by humans, with the aim of incorporating this knowledge into the design of more advanced and reliable robotic systems.
Projects
Oussama Zenkri is member of:
Publications +
6984777
Zenkri
1
apa
50
date
desc
year
20070
https://www.scienceofintelligence.de/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/
%7B%22status%22%3A%22success%22%2C%22updateneeded%22%3Afalse%2C%22instance%22%3Afalse%2C%22meta%22%3A%7B%22request_last%22%3A0%2C%22request_next%22%3A0%2C%22used_cache%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22data%22%3A%5B%7B%22key%22%3A%22QDPHF4HT%22%2C%22library%22%3A%7B%22id%22%3A6984777%7D%2C%22meta%22%3A%7B%22creatorSummary%22%3A%22Zenkri%20et%20al.%22%2C%22parsedDate%22%3A%222025%22%2C%22numChildren%22%3A1%7D%2C%22bib%22%3A%22%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-bib-body%26quot%3B%20style%3D%26quot%3Bline-height%3A%202%3B%20padding-left%3A%201em%3B%20text-indent%3A-1em%3B%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%5Cn%20%20%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-entry%26quot%3B%26gt%3BZenkri%2C%20O.%2C%20Bolenz%2C%20F.%2C%20Pachur%2C%20T.%2C%20%26amp%3B%20Brock%2C%20O.%20%282025%29.%20Extracting%20Principles%20of%26%23xA0%3BExploration%20Strategies%20with%26%23xA0%3Ba%26%23xA0%3BComplex%20Ecological%20Task.%20In%20O.%20Brock%20%26amp%3B%20J.%20Krichmar%20%28Eds.%29%2C%20%26lt%3Bi%26gt%3BFrom%20Animals%20to%20Animats%2017%26lt%3B%5C%2Fi%26gt%3B%20%28pp.%20289%26%23x2013%3B300%29.%20Springer%20Nature%20Switzerland.%20%26lt%3Ba%20class%3D%26%23039%3Bzp-DOIURL%26%23039%3B%20href%3D%26%23039%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.1007%5C%2F978-3-031-71533-4_22%26%23039%3B%26gt%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.1007%5C%2F978-3-031-71533-4_22%26lt%3B%5C%2Fa%26gt%3B%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%5Cn%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%22%2C%22data%22%3A%7B%22itemType%22%3A%22conferencePaper%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Extracting%20Principles%20of%5Cu00a0Exploration%20Strategies%20with%5Cu00a0a%5Cu00a0Complex%20Ecological%20Task%22%2C%22creators%22%3A%5B%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Oussama%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Zenkri%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Florian%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Bolenz%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Thorsten%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Pachur%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Oliver%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Brock%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Oliver%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Brock%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Jeffrey%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Krichmar%22%7D%5D%2C%22abstractNote%22%3A%22Human%20exploration%2C%20a%20cornerstone%20of%20our%20ability%20to%20solve%20novel%20problems%2C%20is%20a%20complex%20process%2C%20posing%20significant%20research%20challenges.%20Most%20previous%20studies%20simplify%20tasks%20to%20isolate%20specific%20variables%2C%20creating%20artificial%20problems%20that%20do%20not%20align%20with%20those%20humans%20have%20evolved%20to%20solve%2C%20thus%20limiting%20the%20generalizability%20of%20findings.%20To%20address%20this%20gap%2C%20we%20introduce%20the%20Lockbox%20paradigm%3A%20a%20novel%2C%20ecologically%20valid%2C%20and%20challenging%20task%20that%20promotes%20active%20exploration%20and%20physical%20interaction.%20Data%20from%2091%20participants%20interacting%20with%20the%20Lockbox%20reveal%20a%20remarkable%20human%20ability%20to%20adapt%20and%20solve%20problems%20efficiently%20in%20complex%20scenarios.%20By%20comparing%20different%20interaction%20methods%2C%20we%20demonstrate%20the%20critical%20role%20of%20cost%20variations%2C%20such%20as%20physical%20and%20cognitive%20costs%2C%20in%20driving%20attentiveness%20and%20shaping%20exploration%20strategies.%20These%20findings%20provide%20valuable%20insights%20into%20human%20exploration%20strategies%2C%20with%20potential%20applications%20in%20fields%20such%20as%20robotics%20and%20artificial%20intelligence.%22%2C%22proceedingsTitle%22%3A%22From%20Animals%20to%20Animats%2017%22%2C%22conferenceName%22%3A%2217th%20International%20Conference%20on%20Simulation%20of%20Adaptive%20Behavior%2C%20SAB%202024%22%2C%22date%22%3A%222025%22%2C%22eventPlace%22%3A%22%22%2C%22DOI%22%3A%2210.1007%5C%2F978-3-031-71533-4_22%22%2C%22ISBN%22%3A%22978-3-031-71533-4%22%2C%22citationKey%22%3A%22%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ISSN%22%3A%22%22%2C%22language%22%3A%22en%22%2C%22collections%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22dateModified%22%3A%222026-06-22T12%3A01%3A31Z%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22key%22%3A%2245MJEQCX%22%2C%22library%22%3A%7B%22id%22%3A6984777%7D%2C%22meta%22%3A%7B%22creatorSummary%22%3A%22Li%20et%20al.%22%2C%22parsedDate%22%3A%222024%22%2C%22numChildren%22%3A1%7D%2C%22bib%22%3A%22%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-bib-body%26quot%3B%20style%3D%26quot%3Bline-height%3A%202%3B%20padding-left%3A%201em%3B%20text-indent%3A-1em%3B%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%5Cn%20%20%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-entry%26quot%3B%26gt%3BLi%2C%20X.%2C%20Zenkri%2C%20O.%2C%20Pfisterer%2C%20A.%2C%20%26amp%3B%20Brock%2C%20O.%20%282024%29.%20%26lt%3Bi%26gt%3BA%20Biologically%20Inspired%20Design%20Principle%20for%20Building%20Robust%20Robotic%20Systems%26lt%3B%5C%2Fi%26gt%3B.%20arXiv.%20%26lt%3Ba%20class%3D%26%23039%3Bzp-DOIURL%26%23039%3B%20href%3D%26%23039%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.48550%5C%2FARXIV.2408.10192%26%23039%3B%26gt%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.48550%5C%2FARXIV.2408.10192%26lt%3B%5C%2Fa%26gt%3B%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%5Cn%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%22%2C%22data%22%3A%7B%22itemType%22%3A%22preprint%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22A%20Biologically%20Inspired%20Design%20Principle%20for%20Building%20Robust%20Robotic%20Systems%22%2C%22creators%22%3A%5B%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Xing%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Li%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Oussama%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Zenkri%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Adrian%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Pfisterer%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Oliver%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Brock%22%7D%5D%2C%22abstractNote%22%3A%22Robustness%2C%20the%20ability%20of%20a%20system%20to%20maintain%20performance%20under%20significant%20and%20unanticipated%20environmental%20changes%2C%20is%20a%20critical%20property%20for%20robotic%20systems.%20While%20biological%20systems%20naturally%20exhibit%20robustness%2C%20there%20is%20no%20comprehensive%20understanding%20of%20how%20to%20achieve%20similar%20robustness%20in%20robotic%20systems.%20In%20this%20work%2C%20we%20draw%20inspirations%20from%20biological%20systems%20and%20propose%20a%20design%20principle%20that%20advocates%20active%20interconnections%20among%20system%20components%20to%20enhance%20robustness%20to%20environmental%20variations.%20We%20evaluate%20this%20design%20principle%20in%20a%20challenging%20long-horizon%20manipulation%20task%3A%20solving%20lockboxes.%20Our%20extensive%20simulated%20and%20real-world%20experiments%20demonstrate%20that%20we%20could%20enhance%20robustness%20against%20environmental%20changes%20by%20establishing%20active%20interconnections%20among%20system%20components%20without%20substantial%20changes%20in%20individual%20components.%20Our%20findings%20suggest%20that%20a%20systematic%20investigation%20of%20design%20principles%20in%20system%20building%20is%20necessary.%20It%20also%20advocates%20for%20interdisciplinary%20collaborations%20to%20explore%20and%20evaluate%20additional%20principles%20of%20biological%20robustness%20to%20advance%20the%20development%20of%20intelligent%20and%20adaptable%20robotic%20systems.%22%2C%22genre%22%3A%22%22%2C%22repository%22%3A%22arXiv%22%2C%22archiveID%22%3A%22%22%2C%22date%22%3A%222024%22%2C%22DOI%22%3A%2210.48550%5C%2FARXIV.2408.10192%22%2C%22citationKey%22%3A%22%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Farxiv.org%5C%2Fabs%5C%2F2408.10192%22%2C%22language%22%3A%22%22%2C%22collections%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22dateModified%22%3A%222026-08-20T06%3A45%3A54Z%22%7D%7D%5D%7D
Zenkri, O., Bolenz, F., Pachur, T., & Brock, O. (2025). Extracting Principles of Exploration Strategies with a Complex Ecological Task. In O. Brock & J. Krichmar (Eds.), From Animals to Animats 17 (pp. 289–300). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71533-4_22
Li, X., Zenkri, O., Pfisterer, A., & Brock, O. (2024). A Biologically Inspired Design Principle for Building Robust Robotic Systems. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2408.10192
For the Public -
SCIoI at the Berlin Clusters of Excellence Science Slam 2026
ZEIT Wissen – February 2026 - Jetzt neu: mit Hirn
