Related papers: A Landauer Limit for Robotic Manipulation
Performing long-term experimentation or large-scale data collection for machine learning in the field of soft robotics is challenging, due to the hardware robustness and experimental flexibility required. In this work, we propose a modular…
This dissertation considers Open-world Robot Manipulation, a manipulation problem where a robot must generalize or quickly adapt to new objects, scenes, or tasks for which it has not been pre-programmed or pre-trained. This dissertation…
Assistive robotic arms enable users with physical disabilities to perform everyday tasks without relying on a caregiver. Unfortunately, the very dexterity that makes these arms useful also makes them challenging to teleoperate: the robot…
In this paper, we propose a real-world benchmark for studying robotic learning in the context of functional manipulation: a robot needs to accomplish complex long-horizon behaviors by composing individual manipulation skills in functionally…
Atom-by-atom assembly of functional materials and devices is perceived as one of the ultimate targets of nanoscience and nanotechnology. While traditionally implemented via scanning probe microscopy techniques, recently it has been shown…
Pushing is a motion primitive useful to handle objects that are too large, too heavy, or too cluttered to be grasped. It is at the core of much of robotic manipulation, in particular when physical interaction is involved. It seems…
Modular robots can be reconfigured to create a variety of designs from a small set of components. But constructing a robot's hardware on its own is not enough -- each robot needs a controller. One could create controllers for some designs…
Cognitive cooperative assistance in robot-assisted surgery holds the potential to increase quality of care in minimally invasive interventions. Automation of surgical tasks promises to reduce the mental exertion and fatigue of surgeons. In…
Biological systems often involve the self-assembly of basic components into complex and function- ing structures. Artificial systems that mimic such processes can provide a well-controlled setting to explore the principles involved and also…
Robots that can operate autonomously in a human living environment are necessary to have the ability to handle various tasks flexibly. One crucial element is coordinated bimanual movements that enable functions that are difficult to perform…
This work introduces a cooperative task capability improvement utilizing additional moments. The manipulators apply forces at the object's grasp point. Applying forces at a point other than the object's center of gravity produces undesired…
Multi-robot formation control enables robots to cooperate as a working group in completing complex tasks, which has been widely used in both civilian and military scenarios. Before moving to reach a given formation, each robot should choose…
Robotics has the potential to magnify the skilled workforce of the nation by complementing our workforce with automation: teams of people and robots will be able to do more than either could alone. The economic engine of the U.S. runs on…
A robot making contact with an environment or human presents potential safety risks, including excessive collision force. While experiments on the effect of robot inertia, relative velocity, and interface stiffness on collision are in…
Autonomous surgery involves having surgical tasks performed by a robot operating under its own will, with partial or no human involvement. There are several important advantages of automation in surgery, which include increasing precision…
When developing general purpose robots, the overarching software architecture can greatly affect the ease of accomplishing various tasks. Initial efforts to create unified robot systems in the 1990s led to hybrid architectures, emphasizing…
Robotic manipulation of tethered tools is widely seen in robotic work cells. They may cause excess strain on the tool's cable or undesired entanglements with the robot's arms. This paper presents a manipulation planner with cable…
According to the Landauer principle, any logically irreversible process accompanies entropy production, which results in heat dissipation in the environment. Erasing of information, one of the primary logically irreversible processes, has a…
Robots should learn new tasks from humans. But how do humans convey what they want the robot to do? Existing methods largely rely on humans physically guiding the robot arm throughout their intended task. Unfortunately -- as we scale up the…
The key factor currently limiting the advancement of computational power of electronic computation is no longer the manufacturing density and speed of components, but rather their high energy consumption. While it has been widely argued…