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Coordinated robotic manipulation of deformable linear objects (DLOs), such as ropes and cables, has been widely studied; however, handling hybrid assemblies composed of both deformable and rigid elements in constrained environments remains…
Simulation plays a central role in scientific discovery. In many applications, the bottleneck is no longer running a simulator; it is choosing among large families of plausible simulators, each corresponding to different forward…
Underactuated legged robots depict highly nonlinear and complex dynamical behaviors that create significant challenges in accurately modeling system dynamics using both first principles and system identification approaches. Hence, it makes…
Finite element methods have been successfully used to develop physics-based models of soft robots that capture the nonlinear dynamic behavior induced by continuous deformation. These high-fidelity models are therefore ideal for designing…
Sim-to-real transfer remains a fundamental challenge in robot manipulation due to the entanglement of perception and control in end-to-end learning. We present a decoupled framework that learns each component where it is most reliable:…
The growing interest in space activities has led to the emergence of new space operators and innovative mission concepts. Small satellites such as CubeSats reduce mission costs and are typically deployed in constellations or formation…
Transformer-based language models excel in NLP tasks, but fine-grained control remains challenging. This paper explores methods for manipulating transformer models through principled interventions at three levels: prompts, activations, and…
Model reduction, which aims to learn a simpler model of the original mixed integer linear programming (MILP), can solve large-scale MILP problems much faster. Most existing model reduction methods are based on variable reduction, which…
This paper studies capturability and push recovery for quadrupedal locomotion. Despite the rich literature on capturability analysis and push recovery control for legged robots, existing tools are developed mainly for bipeds or humanoids.…
Achieving a proper balance between planning quality, safety and efficiency is a major challenge for autonomous driving. Optimisation-based motion planners are capable of producing safe, smooth and comfortable plans, but often at the cost of…
Push recovery during locomotion will facilitate the deployment of humanoid robots in human-centered environments. In this paper, we present a unified framework for walking control and push recovery for humanoid robots, leveraging the arms…
Parallel robots based on Handed Shearing Auxetics (HSAs) can implement complex motions using standard electric motors while maintaining the complete softness of the structure, thanks to specifically designed architected metamaterials.…
We present an approach to approximate reachable sets for linear systems with bounded L-infinity controls in finite time. Our first approach investigates the boundaries of these sets and reveals an exact characterization for single-input,…
Balance control is important for human and bipedal robotic systems. While dynamic balance during locomotion has received considerable attention, quantitative understanding of static balance and falling remains limited. This work presents a…
Designing trajectories for manipulation through contact is challenging as it requires reasoning of object \& robot trajectories as well as complex contact sequences simultaneously. In this paper, we present a novel framework for…
We design controllers from formal specifications for positive discrete-time monotone systems that are subject to bounded disturbances. Such systems are widely used to model the dynamics of transportation and biological networks. The…
The linear-frictional contact model is the most commonly used contact mechanism for discrete element (DEM) simulations of granular materials. Linear springs with a frictional slider are used for modeling interactions in directions normal…
In this paper, we present a planning framework that uses a combination of implicit (robot motion) and explicit (visual/audio/haptic feedback) communication during mobile robot navigation. First, we developed a model that approximates both…
Contact-rich manipulation tasks often exhibit a large sim-to-real gap. For instance, industrial assembly tasks frequently involve tight insertions where the clearance is less than 0.1 mm and can even be negative when dealing with a…
Robotic manipulation in unstructured environments requires planners to reason jointly about free-space motion and sustained, frictional contact with the environment. Existing (local) planning and simulation frameworks typically separate…