Related papers: usBot: A Modular Robotic Testbed for Programmable …
We developed a new class of soft locomotive robots that can self-assemble into a preprogrammed configuration and vary their stiffness afterward in a highly integrated, compact body using contracting-cord particle jamming (CCPJ). We…
Modular reconfigurable robots require reliable mechanisms for automated module exchange, but conventional rigid active couplings often fail due to inevitable positioning and orientational errors. To address this, we propose a…
Complex systems are often decomposed into modular subsystems for engineering tractability. Although various equation based white-box modeling techniques make use of such structure, learning based methods have yet to incorporate these ideas…
Autonomous underwater robots typically require higher cost and time for demonstrations compared to other domains due to the complexity of the environment. Due to the limited capacity and payload flexibility, it is challenging to find…
Soft robots are distinguished by their flexibility and adaptability, allowing them to perform nearly impossible tasks for rigid robots. However, controlling their behavior is challenging due to their nonlinear material response and infinite…
We present a decentralized model for autonomous reconfiguration of homogeneous pivoting cube modular robots in two dimensions. Each cube in the ensemble is controlled by a neural network that only gains information from other cubes in its…
Modular robots can be rearranged into a new design, perhaps each day, to handle a wide variety of tasks by forming a customized robot for each new task. However, reconfiguring just the mechanism is not sufficient: each design also requires…
In the modular robot reconfiguration problem, we are given $n$ cube-shaped modules (or robots) as well as two configurations, i.e., placements of the $n$ modules so that their union is face-connected. The goal is to find a sequence of moves…
In situ robotic automation in construction is challenging due to constantly changing environments, a shortage of robotic experts, and a lack of standardized frameworks bridging robotics and construction practices. This work proposes a…
We propose a novel algorithm for forming arbitrarily shaped assemblies using decentralized robots. By relying on local interactions, the algorithm ensures there are no unreachable states or gaps in the assembly, which are global properties.…
In automated manufacturing, robots must reliably assemble parts of various geometries and low tolerances. Ideally, they plan the required motions autonomously. This poses a substantial challenge due to high-dimensional state spaces and…
Robots have been steadily increasing their presence in our daily lives, where they can work along with humans to provide assistance in various tasks on industry floors, in offices, and in homes. Automated assembly is one of the key…
This work presents a system to benchmark humanoid posture control and balance performances under perturbed conditions. The specific benchmarking scenario consists, for example, of balancing upright stance while performing voluntary…
Research on the co-optimization of soft robotic design and control requires rapid means for real-world validation. Existing creation pipelines do not allow for the swift prototyping of soft robots to quickly test various design…
Rapid robotic system development sets a demand for multi-disciplinary methods and tools to explore and compare design alternatives. In this paper, we present collaborative modeling that combines discrete-event models of controller software…
Smart factories that allow flexible production of highly individualized goods require flexible robots, usable in efficient assembly lines. Compliant robots can work safely in shared environments with domain experts, who have to program such…
Modular robots have the potential to revolutionize automation, as one can optimize their composition for any given task. However, finding optimal compositions is non-trivial. In addition, different compositions require different base…
In this paper, we propose a whole-body planning framework that unifies dynamic locomotion and manipulation tasks by formulating a single multi-contact optimal control problem. We model the hybrid nature of a generic multi-limbed mobile…
Modeling and control of the human musculoskeletal system is important for understanding human motor functions, developing embodied intelligence, and optimizing human-robot interaction systems. However, current human musculoskeletal models…
Legged machines are becoming increasingly agile and adaptive but they have so far lacked the morphological diversity of legged animals, which have been rearranged and reshaped to fill millions of niches. Unlike their biological…