Related papers: Optimization of two- and three-link snake-like loc…
Animals run robustly in diverse terrain. This locomotion robustness is puzzling because axon conduction velocity is limited to a few ten meters per second. If reflex loops deliver sensory information with significant delays, one would…
Parallel-elastic joints can improve the efficiency and strength of robots by assisting the actuators with additional torques. For these benefits to be realized, a spring needs to be carefully designed. However, designing robots is an…
The efficient way to transfer input potential energy to the kinetic energy of a racket or bat was analyzed by two coupled harmonic triple pendulums. We find the most efficient way to transfer energy based on the kinetic chain process. Using…
In recent past, experiments and simulations have suggested that apart from the solvent friction, friction arising from the protein itself plays an important role in protein folding by affecting the intra-chain loop formation dynamics. This…
It is of paramount importance to enhance medical practices, given how important it is to protect human life. Medical therapy can be accelerated by automating patient prediction using machine learning techniques. To double the efficiency of…
Compliance in actuation has been exploited to generate highly dynamic maneuvers such as throwing that take advantage of the potential energy stored in joint springs. However, the energy storage and release could not be well-timed yet. On…
Snakes can traverse almost all types of environments by bending their elongate bodies in 3-D to interact with the terrain. Similarly, a snake robot is a promising platform to perform critical tasks in various environments. Understanding how…
Snake robots have been studied for decades with the aim of achieving biological snakes' fluent locomotion. Yet, as of today, their locomotion remains far from that of the biological snakes. Our recent study suggested that snake locomotion…
This paper presents an optimization-based motion planning methodology for snake robots operating in constrained environments. By using a reduced-order model, the proposed approach simplifies the planning process, enabling the optimizer to…
In this article a multi-segmented planar tensegrity mechanism was presented. This mechanism has a three-segment structure with each segment residing on top of another. The size of the segments may decrease proportionally from base to top,…
Motion planning for locomotion systems typically requires translating high-level rigid-body tasks into low-level joint trajectories-a process that is straightforward for car-like robots with fixed, unbounded actuation inputs but more…
In this paper, preys with stochastic evasion policies are considered. The stochasticity adds unpredictable changes to the prey's path for avoiding predator's attacks. The prey's cost function is composed of two terms balancing the…
Limitations in actuation, sensing, and computation have forced small legged robots to rely on carefully tuned, mechanically mediated leg trajectories for effective locomotion. Recent advances in manufacturing, however, have enabled the…
Responding mechanically to environmental requests, muscles show a surprisingly large variety of functions. The studies of in vivo cycling muscles qualified skeletal muscles into four principal locomotor patterns: motor, brake, strut, and…
Routing, modulation and spectrum allocation in elastic optical networks is a problem aiming at increasing the capacity of the network. Many algorithms such as shortest path algorithm can be used as the routing section of this problem. The…
Quadruped robots are often designed with rigid feet to simplify control and maintain stable contact during locomotion. While this approach is straightforward, it limits the ability of the legs to absorb impact forces and reuse stored…
Locomotion is typically studied either in continuous media where bodies and legs experience forces generated by the flowing medium, or on solid substrates dominated by friction. In the former, centralized coordination is believed to…
The complex dynamics of agile robotic legged locomotion requires motion planning to intelligently adjust footstep locations. Often, bipedal footstep and motion planning use mathematically simple models such as the linear inverted pendulum,…
We present an algorithm to compute planar linkage topology and geometry, given a user-specified end-effector trajectory. Planar linkage structures convert rotational or prismatic motions of a single actuator into an arbitrarily complex…
This study addresses optimal rake-link formation in large-scale timetabled rail operations by modeling the problem as a directed acyclic graph and solving it via the minimum path cover algorithm. It enables efficient rake-to-service…