Related papers: Connected Assembly and Reconfiguration by Finite A…
Closed kinematic chains are created whenever multiple robot arms concurrently manipulate a single object. The closed-chain constraint, when coupled with robot joint limits, dramatically changes the connectivity of the configuration space.…
In this paper, disturbance reconstruction and robust trajectory tracking control of biped robots with hybrid dynamics in the port-Hamiltonian form is investigated. A new type of Hamiltonian function is introduced, which ensures the…
As soft robot design matures, researchers have converged to sophisticated design paradigms to enable the development of more suitable platforms. Two such paradigms are soft-rigid hybrid robots, which utilize rigid structural materials in…
In this paper, we present a new polygonal finite element method, called the Zipped Finite Element Method, for star-shaped polygons. The proposed approach constructs high-order shape functions as linear combinations of standard finite…
In this paper, we propose a novel design of a hybrid mobile robot with controllable stiffness and deformable shape. Compared to conventional mobile agents, our system can switch between rigid and compliant phases by solidifying or melting…
In the 1980's Stallings showed that every finitely generated subgroup of a free group is canonically represented by a finite minimal immersion of a bouquet of circles. In terms of the theory of automata, this is a minimal finite inverse…
Robust and adaptive robotic peg-in-hole assembly under tight tolerances is critical to various industrial applications. However, it remains an open challenge due to perceptual and physical uncertainties from contact-rich interactions that…
The design of distributed gathering and convergence algorithms for tiny robots has recently received much attention. In particular, it has been shown that convergence problems can even be solved for very weak, \emph{oblivious} robots:…
We study an elementary problem of the topological robotics: collective motion of a set of $n$ distinct particles which one has to move from an initial configuration to a final configuration, with the requirement that no collisions occur in…
Modern experimental methods enable the creation of self-assembly building blocks with tunable interactions, but optimally exploiting this tunability for the self-assembly of desired structures remains an important challenge. Many studies of…
This paper studies the problem of using a robot arm to manipulate a uniformly rotating chain with its bottom end fixed. Existing studies have investigated ideal rotational shapes for practical applications, yet they do not discuss how these…
In this work we consider the problem of gathering autonomous robots in the plane. In particular, we consider non-transparent unit-disc robots (i.e., fat) in an asynchronous setting. Vision is the only mean of coordination. Using a…
Most large engineering structures are described as assemblies of plates and shells and they are computed as such using adhoc Finite Element packages. In fact their computation in 3D would be much too costly. In this framework, the…
As access to space and robotic autonomy capabilities move forward, there is simultaneously a growing interest in deploying large, complex space structures to provide new on-orbit capabilities. New space-borne observatories, large orbital…
This paper introduces a new approach for the automated reconstruction - reassembly of fragmented objects having one surface near to plane, on the basis of the 3D representation of their constituent fragments. The whole process starts by 3D…
Rigid bodies, plastic impact, persistent contact, Coulomb friction, and massless limbs are ubiquitous simplifications introduced to reduce the complexity of mechanics models despite the obvious physical inaccuracies that each incurs…
While rigid robots are extensively used in various applications, they are limited in the tasks they can perform and can be unsafe in close human-robot interactions. Soft robots on the other hand surpass the capabilities of rigid robots in…
The finite element method is a well-established method for the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs), both linear and nonlinear. However, the repeated reassemblage of finite element matrices for nonlinear PDEs is…
Floating-base multi-link robots can change their shape during flight, making them well-suited for applications in confined environments such as autonomous inspection and search and rescue. However, trajectory planning for such systems…
We present the design, characterization, and experimental results for a new modular robotic system for programmable self-assembly. The proposed system uses the Hybrid Cube Model (HCM), which integrates classical features from both…