Related papers: Omnidirectional Tractable Three Module Robot
This paper introduces a cube-based reconfigurable robot that utilizes an electromagnet-based actuation framework to reconfigure in three dimensions via pivoting. While a variety of actuation mechanisms for self-reconfigurable robots have…
The motion of a mechanical system can be defined as a path through its configuration space. Computing such a path has a computational complexity scaling exponentially with the dimensionality of the configuration space. We propose to reduce…
Experiments on physical continuum robot are the gold standard for evaluations. Currently, as no commercial continuum robot platform is available, a large variety of early-stage prototypes exists. These prototypes are developed by individual…
With a slender redundant body, the tendon-driven robot (TDR) has a large workspace and great maneuverability while working in complex environments. TDR comprises multiple independently controlled robot segments, each with a set of driving…
This paper presents a coordination algorithm for mobile autonomous robots. Relying upon distributed sensing the robots achieve rendezvous, that is, they move to a common location. Each robot is a point mass moving in a nonconvex environment…
What does it take to build mobile manipulation systems that can competently operate on previously unseen objects in previously unseen environments? This work answers this question using opening of articulated structures as a mobile…
The Omnid human-collaborative mobile manipulators are an experimental platform for testing control architectures for autonomous and human-collaborative multirobot mobile manipulation. An Omnid consists of a mecanum-wheel omnidirectional…
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 present the design and implementation of a robust motion formation distributed control algorithm for a team of mobile robots. The primary task for the team is to form a geometric shape, which can be freely translated and…
We present a control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform collaborative transportation tasks with a human partner. The framework supports both translational and rotational motions, which are fundamental to co-transport…
Navigation and inspection in confined environments, such as tunnels and pipes, pose significant challenges for existing robots due to limitations in maneuverability and adaptability to varying geometries. Vine robots, which are soft growing…
Transport of fluid through a pipe is essential for the operation of macroscale machines and microfluidic devices. Conventional fluids only flow in response to external pressure. We demonstrate that an active isotropic fluid, comprised of…
In-pipe robots are promising solutions for condition assessment, leak detection, water quality monitoring in a variety of other tasks in pipeline networks. Smart navigation is an extremely challenging task for these robots as a result of…
This paper aims to develop distributed feedback control algorithms that allow cooperative locomotion of quadrupedal robots which are coupled to each other by holonomic constraints. These constraints can arise from collaborative manipulation…
This paper introduces a novel class of hyperredundant robots comprised of chains of permanently magnetized spheres enclosed in a cylindrical polymer skin. With their shape controlled using an externally-applied magnetic field, the spherical…
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…
A single nonholonomic under-actuated mobile robot with a bounded control range travels in a 3D workspace. This workspace also hosts a compact unknown domain with a smooth boundary. The robot has access to the horizontal distance to this…
Rigid-formation navigation of multiple robots is essential for applications such as cooperative transportation. This process involves a team of collaborative robots maintaining a predefined geometric configuration, such as a square, while…
We introduce and analyze a model for self-reconfigurable robots made up of unit-cube modules. Compared to past models, our model aims to newly capture two important practical aspects of real-world robots. First, modules often do not occupy…
How do we move a robot efficiently from one position to another? To answer this question, we need to understand its configuration space, a 'map' where we can find every possible position of the robot. Unfortunately, these maps are very…