Related papers: Design and Autonomous Control of the Active Adapti…
We present a novel system, AdVENTR for autonomous robot navigation in unstructured outdoor environments that consist of uneven and vegetated terrains. Our approach is general and can enable both wheeled and legged robots to handle outdoor…
Robot mobility is critical for mission success, especially in soft or deformable terrains, where the complex wheel-soil interaction mechanics often leads to excessive wheel slip and sinkage, causing the eventual mission failure. To improve…
The airworthiness and safety of a non-pedigreed autopilot must be verified, but the cost to formally do so can be prohibitive. We can bypass formal verification of non-pedigreed components by incorporating Runtime Safety Assurance (RTSA) as…
Compliance is a strong requirement for human-robot interactions. Soft-robots provide an opportunity to cover the lack of compliance in conventional actuation mechanisms, however, the control of them is very challenging given their intrinsic…
Mobile manipulation tasks are one of the key challenges in the field of search and rescue (SAR) robotics requiring robots with flexible locomotion and manipulation abilities. Since the tasks are mostly unknown in advance, the robot has to…
Advances in hardware technology have facilitated more integration of sophisticated software toward augmenting the development of Unmanned Vehicles (UVs) and mitigating constraints for onboard intelligence. As a result, UVs can operate in…
To rationalize the relatively high investment that industrial automation systems entail, research in the field of intelligent machines should target high value functions such as fettling, die-finishing, deburring, and fixtureless…
The suspension system is a crucial part of the automotive chassis, improving vehicle ride comfort and isolating passengers from rough road excitation. Unlike passive suspension, which has constant spring and damping coefficients, active…
Autopilot systems are typically composed of an "inner loop" providing stability and control, while an "outer loop" is responsible for mission-level objectives, e.g. way-point navigation. Autopilot systems for UAVs are predominately…
The space environment around the Earth is becoming increasingly populated by both active spacecraft and space debris. To avoid potential collision events, significant improvements in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities and…
A fundamental capability for On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) is inspection of the vehicle to be serviced, or the structure being assembled. This research assumes autonomous slewing to maintain situational awareness of…
Long-horizon navigation in complex urban environments relies heavily on continuous human operation, which leads to fatigue, reduced efficiency, and safety concerns. Shared autonomy, where a Vision-Language AI agent and a human operator…
This work presents a prototype of a multirotor aerial vehicle capable of precision landing, even under the effects of rotor failures. The manuscript presents the fault-tolerant techniques and mechanical designs to achieve a fault-tolerant…
We present a light-weight body-terrain clearance evaluation algorithm for the automated path planning of NASA's Mars 2020 rover. Extraterrestrial path planning is challenging due to the combination of terrain roughness and severe limitation…
Modular Aerial Robot Systems (MARS) comprise multiple drone units with reconfigurable connected formations, providing high adaptability to diverse mission scenarios, fault conditions, and payload capacities. However, existing control…
Autonomous racing has advanced rapidly, particularly on scaled platforms, and software stacks must evolve accordingly. In this work, AROLA is introduced as a modular, layered software architecture in which fragmented and monolithic designs…
As autonomous systems become more prevalent in the real world, it is critical to ensure they operate safely. One approach is the use of Run Time Assurance (RTA), which is a real-time safety assurance technique that monitors a primary…
The trial and error approach of reinforcement learning (RL) results in high performance across many complex tasks, but it can also lead to unsafe behavior. Run time assurance (RTA) approaches can be used to assure safety of the agent during…
Adaptive Cruise Control has seen significant advancements, with Collaborative Adaptive Cruise Control leveraging Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication to enhance coordination and stability. However, the reliance on stable communication channels…
Low-cost autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) have the potential to help humans by simplifying and speeding up complex tasks that require their interaction with the environment, such as construction, package delivery, and search and…