Related papers: Hydrodynamic surrogate models for bio-inspired mic…
This work presents an interpretable parametric surrogate model motivated by the need to identify a hydrodynamic model for resolving the trajectory of an object in real-time. The surrogate is formulated as a reduced-order model for a…
Soft robotics has the potential to revolutionize robotic locomotion, in particular, soft robotic swimmers offer a minimally invasive and adaptive solution to explore and preserve our oceans. Unfortunately, current soft robotic swimmers are…
Recent research on mobile robots has focused on increasing their adaptability to unpredictable and unstructured environments using soft materials and structures. However, the determination of key design parameters and control over these…
Run-and-tumble (RT) motion is commonly observed in flagellated microswimmers, arising from synchronous and asynchronous flagellar beating. One such example is a biflagellated alga, called \textit{Chlamydomonas reinhardtii}. Its flagellar…
The collective swimming of soft robots in an infinite viscous fluid is an emergent phenomenon due to the non-reciprocal hydrodynamic interactions between individual swimmers. These physical interactions give rise to unique spatiotemporal…
Inverse dynamics is used extensively in robotics and biomechanics applications. In manipulator and legged robots, it can form the basis of an effective nonlinear control strategy by providing a robot with both accurate positional tracking…
Recent experiments have demonstrated that small-scale rotary devices installed in a microfluidic channel can be driven passively by the underlying flow alone without resorting to conventionally applied magnetic or electric fields. In this…
This paper presents the first steps toward a soft dolphin robot using a bio-inspired approach to mimic dolphin flexibility. The current dolphin robot uses a minimalist approach, with only two actuated cable-driven degrees of freedom…
Fishes, cetaceans, and many other aquatic vertebrates undulate their bodies to propel themselves through water. Swimming requires an intricate interplay between sensing the environment, making decisions, controlling internal dynamics, and…
Autonomous ground vehicles operating in shallow water or flood-prone terrains require dynamic models that account for hydrodynamic forces. However, the simulation and planning tools currently available either lack the physical fidelity or…
Legged robots are well-suited for broad exploration tasks in complex environments with yielding terrain. Understanding robotic foot-terrain interactions is critical for safe locomotion and walking efficiency for legged robots. This paper…
Soft robots are intrinsically capable of adapting to different environments by changing their shape in response to interaction forces with the environment. However, sensing and feedback are still required for higher level decisions and…
Bio-inspired underwater vehicles could yield improved efficiency, maneuverability, and environmental compatibility over conventional propeller-driven underwater vehicles. However, to realize the swimming performance of biology, there is a…
Micro-organisms propel themselves in viscous environments by the periodic, nonreciprocal beating of slender appendages known as flagella. Active materials have been widely exploited to mimic this form of locomotion. However, the realization…
A simple nonholonomic dynamics model is developed as a low-order model for generating undulatory swim-like motions, validated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The rigid-body-dynamics model generates swimming motion by…
This study presents a novel framework for precise force control of fin-actuated underwater robots by integrating a deep neural network (DNN)-based surrogate model with reinforcement learning (RL). To address the complex interactions with…
Understanding and modeling animal behavior is essential for studying collective motion, decision-making, and bio-inspired robotics. Yet, evaluating the accuracy of behavioral models still often relies on offline comparisons to static…
Aquatic organisms are known for their ability to generate efficient propulsion with low energy expenditure. While existing research has sought to leverage bio-inspired structures to reduce energy costs in underwater robotics, the crucial…
Accurate post-impact velocity predictions are essential in developing impact-aware manipulation strategies for robots, where contacts are intentionally established at non-zero speed mimicking human manipulation abilities in dynamic grasping…
This study presents key enhancements in hydrodynamic modeling using the strip-based Morison's equation approach to enable rapid simulations of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT). The modeling framework employs the relative form of the…