Related papers: Improved Proximity, Contact, and Force Sensing via…
To use robots in more unstructured environments, we have to accommodate for more complexities. Robotic systems need more awareness of the environment to adapt to uncertainty and variability. Although cameras have been predominantly used in…
Properly handling delicate produce with robotic manipulators is a major part of the future role of automation in agricultural harvesting and processing. Grasping with the correct amount of force is crucial in not only ensuring proper grip…
Vision-based tactile sensors that can measure 3D geometry of the contacting objects are crucial for robots to perform dexterous manipulation tasks. However, the existing sensors are usually complicated to fabricate and delicate to extend.…
Robot-to-human object handover is an essential skill for robot assistants, from serving drinks at home to passing surgical tools in the operating room. We expect robots to perform handover robustly -- to release the object only after a firm…
In this paper, we present a framework that unites obstacle avoidance and deliberate physical interaction for robotic manipulators. As humans and robots begin to coexist in work and household environments, pure collision avoidance is…
This study aims to design a motion/force controller for an aerial manipulator which guarantees the tracking of time-varying motion/force trajectories as well as the stability during the transition between free and contact motions. To this…
A classic task in robotics is tracking a target in the external environment. There are several well-documented approaches to this problem. This paper presents a novel approach to this problem using infrared time of flight sensors. The use…
Autonomous aerial robots are increasingly being deployed in real-world scenarios, where transparent glass obstacles present significant challenges to reliable navigation. Researchers have investigated the use of non-contact sensors and…
The physical interaction of aerial robots with their environment has countless potential applications and is an emerging area with many open challenges. Fully-actuated multirotors have been introduced to tackle some of these challenges.…
Estimating a soft robot's pose and applied forces, also called proprioception, is crucial for safe interaction of the robot with its environment. However, most solutions for soft robot proprioception use dedicated sensors, particularly for…
This paper presents a miniature tension sensor using a photo-reflector, designed for compact tendon-driven grippers and robotic hands. The proposed sensor has a small form factor of 13~mm x 7~mm x 6.5~mm and is capable of measuring tensile…
Astigmatic Defocus Sensor is a very simple and easy technique for measuring the amount of defocus (deviation from the focal plane) present in an optical beam. The approach uses a cylindrical lens to focus the beam and the measure of the…
Robots are expected to grasp a wide range of objects varying in shape, weight or material type. Providing robots with tactile capabilities similar to humans is thus essential for applications involving human-to-robot or robot-to-robot…
Handling fragile objects remains a major challenge for robotic manipulation. Tactile sensing and soft robotics can improve delicate object handling, but typically involve high integration complexity or slow response times. We address these…
For elastomer-based tactile sensors, represented by visuotactile sensors, routine calibration of mechanical parameters (Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio) has been shown to be important for force reconstruction. However, the reliance on…
This work presents a next-generation human-robot interface that can infer and realize the user's manipulation intention via sight only. Specifically, we develop a system that integrates near-eye-tracking and robotic manipulation to enable…
Performing interferometry in an optical lattice formed by standing waves of light offers potential advantages over its free-space equivalents since the atoms can be confined and manipulated by the optical potential. We demonstrate such an…
Aerial manipulators (AMs) are gaining increasing attention in automated transportation and emergency services due to their superior dexterity compared to conventional multirotor drones. However, their practical deployment is challenged by…
A pulse oximeter is an optical device that monitors tissue oxygenation levels. Traditionally, these devices estimate the oxygenation level by measuring the intensity of the transmitted light through the tissue and are embedded into everyday…
Combining 3D vision with tactile sensing could unlock a greater level of dexterity for robots and improve several manipulation tasks. However, obtaining a close-up 3D view of the location where manipulation contacts occur can be…