Related papers: Optimization of two- and three-link snake-like loc…
Many foraging microorganisms rely upon cellular transport networks to deliver nutrients, fluid and organelles between different parts of the organism. Networked organisms ranging from filamentous fungi to slime molds demonstrate a…
Despite advances in a diversity of environments, snake robots are still far behind snakes in traversing complex 3-D terrain with large obstacles. This is due to a lack of understanding of how to control 3-D body bending to push against…
Learning-based control algorithms require data collection with abundant supervision for training. Safe exploration algorithms ensure the safety of this data collection process even when only partial knowledge is available. We present a new…
Continuous neural field models with inhomogeneous synaptic connectivities are known to support traveling fronts as well as stable bumps of localized activity. We analyze stationary localized structures in a neural field model with periodic…
In this paper we propose a method for computing the contour of an object in an image using a snake represented as a subdivision curve. The evolution of the snake is driven by its control points which are computed minimizing an energy that…
Two-way is a dominant mode of communication in wireless systems. Departing from the tradition to optimize each transmission direction separately, recent work has demonstrated that, for time-division duplex (TDD) systems, optimizing the…
Efficient locomotion is important for the evolution of complex life, yet the physical principles selecting specific swimming strokes often remain entangled with biological constraints. In viscous fluids, the scallop theorem constrains the…
State-of-the-art approaches to legged locomotion are widely dependent on the use of models like the linear inverted pendulum (LIP) and the spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP), popular because their simplicity enables a wide array of…
In the fields of robotics and biomechanics, the integration of elastic elements such as springs and tendons in legged systems has long been recognized for enabling energy-efficient locomotion. Yet, a significant challenge persists:…
Bio-inspired multi-joint snake robots offer the advantages of terrain adaptability due to their limbless structure and high flexibility. However, a series of dozens of motor units in typical multiple-joint snake robots results in a heavy…
Rectilinear forms of snake-like robotic locomotion are anticipated to be an advantage in obstacle-strewn scenarios characterizing urban disaster zones, subterranean collapses, and other natural environments. The elongated, laterally-narrow…
In nature, limbless locomotion is adopted by a wide range of organisms at various length scales. Interestingly, undulatory, crawling and inching/looping gait constitutes a fundamental class of limbless locomotion and is often observed in…
Human movements are physical processes combining the classical mechanics of the human body moving in space and the biomechanics of the muscles generating the forces acting on the body under sophisticated sensory-motor control. The…
LIPM is everywhere in legged-locomotion control, but almost always as a modeling choice rather than as something the controller's cost actually prefers. This note tries to make that link more explicit. Working from a small centroidal OCP…
Quadrupedal animals employ diverse galloping strategies to optimize speed, stability, and energy efficiency. However, the biomechanical mechanisms that enable adaptive gait transitions during high-speed locomotion under load remain poorly…
This paper considers a class of convex optimization problems where both, the objective function and the constraints, have a continuously varying dependence on time. Our goal is to develop an algorithm to track the optimal solution as it…
We study an entropic optimal transport problem in which the transport plan is penalized by a nonlinear convex functional acting on the coupling. We establish existence, uniqueness, and uniform a priori bounds for minimizers, and we show…
We present experiments on oscillating hydrofoils undergoing combined heaving and pitching motions, paying particular attention to connections between propulsive efficiency and coherent wake features extracted using modal analysis.…
Limbless terrestrial animals exhibit exceptional locomotor versatility and control, currently unmatched by engineered counterparts. Here, we introduce a computational framework that enables soft synthetic snakes to navigate unstructured,…
Parallel kinematic mechanisms are interesting alternative designs for machining applications. Three 2-DOF parallel mechanism architectures dedicated to machining applications are studied in this paper. The three mechanisms have two constant…