Related papers: The sensorimotor loop as a dynamical system: How r…

Collective behavior in animals has long been modeled through self-propelled particle models, which reproduce striking group-level phenomena through abstract interaction forces. Yet these models are fundamentally descriptive: they leave open…

Self-organization is frequently observed in active collectives, from ant rafts to molecular motor assemblies. General principles describing self-organization away from equilibrium have been challenging to identify. We offer a unifying…

Soft materials have many important roles in animal locomotion and object manipulation. In robotic applications soft materials can store and release energy, absorb impacts, increase compliance and increase the range of possible shape…

The functional demands of robotic systems often require completing various tasks or behaviors under the effect of disturbances or uncertain environments. Of increasing interest is the autonomy for dynamic robots, such as multirotors, motor…

This paper investigates the possibility of the motion control of a ball with a pendulum mechanism with non-holonomic constraints using gaits - the simplest motions such as acceleration and deceleration during the motion in a straight line,…

We have developed an experimental setup of very simple self-propelled robots to observe collective motion emerging as a result of inelastic collisions only. A circular pool and commercial RC boats were the basis of our first setup, where we…

The collective ability of organisms to move coherently in space and time is ubiquitous in any group of autonomous agents that can move and sense each other and the environment. Here we investigate the origin of collective motion and its…

A simple periodically driven system displaying rich behavior is introduced and studied. The system self-organizes into a mosaic of static ordered regions with three possible patterns, which are threaded by one-dimensional paths on which a…

We present experimental results on the single file motion of a group of robots interacting with each other through position sensors. We successfully replicate the fundamental diagram typical of these systems, with a transition from free…

This paper investigates the stability properties and performance of super-twisting sliding-mode control loops subject to periodic perturbations. Although there exist conditions on the control gains that guarantee finite-time stability of…

In robotics motion is often described from an external perspective, i.e., we give information on the obstacle motion in a mathematical manner with respect to a specific (often inertial) reference frame. In the current work, we propose to…

In nature, a variety of limbless locomotion patterns flourish from the small or basic life form (Escherichia coli, the amoeba, etc.) to the large or intelligent creatures (e.g., slugs, starfishes, earthworms, octopuses, jellyfishes, and…

We develop an algorithm for the motion and task planning of a system comprised of multiple robots and unactuated objects under tasks expressed as Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) constraints. The robots and objects evolve subject to uncertain…

We investigate a soliton cellular automaton (Box-Ball system) with periodic boundary conditions. Since the cellular automaton is a deterministic dynamical system that takes only a finite number of states, it will exhibit periodic motion. We…

We review how sensorimotor control is dictated by interacting neural populations, optimal feedback mechanisms, and the biomechanics of bodies. First, we outline the distributed anatomical loops that shuttle sensorimotor signals between…

In this paper, we present a controller that combines motion generation and control in one loop, to endow robots with reactivity and safety. In particular, we propose a control approach that enables to follow the motion plan of a first order…

Synthetic active collectives, composed of many nonliving individuals capable of cooperative changes in group shape and dynamics, hold promise for practical applications and for the elucidation of guiding principles of natural collectives.…

We present controllers that enable mobile robots to persistently monitor or sweep a changing environment. The changing environment is modeled as a field which grows in locations that are not within range of a robot, and decreases in…

The paper shows sufficiency conditions for stability of continuous periodic orbits under phase uncertainty. Phase based uncertainty is a trait of bipedal walking robots, where the desired trajectories are parameterized by a monotonous…

Limit cycle oscillations are phenomena arising in nonlinear dynamical systems and characterized by periodic, locally-stable, and self-sustained state trajectories. Systems controlled in a closed loop along a periodic trajectory can also be…