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Friction systems are mechanical systems wherein friction is used for force transmission (e.g. mechanical braking systems or automatic gearboxes). For finding optimal and safe design parameters, engineers have to predict friction system…
We present a minimal quasistatic 1D model describing the kinematics of the transition from static friction to stick-slip motion of a linear elastic block on a rigid plane. We show how the kinematics of both the precursors to frictional…
The synthetic toggle switch, first proposed by Gardner & Collins [1] is a MIMO control system that can be controlled by varying the concentrations of two inducer molecules, aTc and IPTG, to achieve a desired level of expression of the two…
Design of robots at the small scale is a trial-and-error based process, which is costly and time-consuming. There are no good dynamic simulation tools to predict the motion or performance of a microrobot as it moves against a substrate. At…
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…
The bundling of flagella is known to create a "run" phase, where the bacteria moves in a nearly straight line rather than making changes in direction. Historically, mechanical explanations for the bundling phenomenon intrigued many…
This paper presents an object manipulation strategy for the Variable Topology Truss (VTT) system, a truss robot that comprises actuated truss members connected by passive spherical joints. Although truss robots were originally proposed as…
By the recent spread of machine learning in the robotics field, a humanoid that can act, perceive, and learn in the real world through contact with the environment needs to be developed. In this study, as one of the choices, we propose a…
Repetitive tasks in industrial works may contribute to health problems among operators, such as musculo-skeletal disorders, in part due to insufficient control of muscle fatigue. In this paper, a predictive model of fatigue is proposed for…
Tendon-driven under-actuated robotic fingers provide advantages for dexterous manipulation through reduced actuator requirements and simplified mechanical design. However, achieving both high load capacity and adaptive compliance in a…
A toggle switch consists of two genes that mutually repress each other. This regulatory motif is active during cell differentiation and is thought to act as a memory device, being able to choose and maintain cell fate decisions. In this…
Soft robotic manipulators are attractive for a range of applications such as medical interventions or industrial inspections in confined environments. A myriad of soft robotic manipulators have been proposed in the literature, but their…
Robotic manipulation is essential for modernizing factories and automating industrial tasks like polishing, which require advanced tactile abilities. These robots must be easily set up, safely work with humans, learn tasks autonomously, and…
Robots built from soft materials will inherently apply lower environmental forces than their rigid counterparts, and therefore may be more suitable in sensitive settings with unintended contact. However, these robots' applied forces result…
Vertebrate animals benefit from a combination of rigidity for structural support and softness for adaptation. Similarly, integrating rigidity and softness can enhance the versatility of soft robotics. However, the challenges associated with…
Modulating the stiffness of soft actuators is crucial for improving the efficiency of interaction with the environment. However, current stiffness modulation mechanisms are hard to achieve high lateral stiffness and a wide range of bending…
Fast and safe manipulation of flexible objects with a robot manipulator necessitates measures to cope with vibrations. Existing approaches either increase the task execution time or require complex models and/or additional instrumentation…
Stroke-induced motor impairment often results in substantial loss of upper-limb function, creating a strong demand for rehabilitation robots that enable safe and transparent physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). Variable stiffness…
Fluid-based soft actuators are an attractive option for lightweight and human-safe robots. These actuators, combined with fluid pressure force feedback, are in principle a form of series-elastic actuation (SEA), in which nearly all…
Scales engagement can contribute significantly to nonlinear bending behavior of elastic substrates with rigid biomimetic scales. In this letter, we investigate the role of friction in modulating the nonlinearity that arises due to…