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Among small-scale mobile robots, multi-modal locomotion can help compensate for limited actuator capabilities. However, supporting multiple locomotion modes or gaits in small terrestrial robots typically requires complex designs with low…
Back-support exoskeletons are commonly used in the workplace to reduce low back pain risk for workers performing demanding activities. However, for the assistance of tasks differing from lifting, back-support exoskeletons potential has not…
This paper endeavours to bridge the existing gap in muscular actuator design for ligament-skeletal-inspired robots, thereby fostering the evolution of these robotic systems. We introduce two novel compliant actuators, namely the Internal…
Powered lower limb exoskeletons are a viable solution for people with a spinal cord injury to regain mobility for their daily activities. However, the commonly employed rigid actuation and pre-programmed trajectories increase the risk of…
Occupational exoskeletons promise to alleviate musculoskeletal injuries among industrial workers. Knowledge of the usability of the exoskeleton designs with respect to the user device interaction points, and the problems in design features,…
Bio-inspired soft robots have already shown the ability to handle uncertainty and adapt to unstructured environments. However, their availability is partially restricted by time-consuming, costly and highly supervised design-fabrication…
Fluid-based soft actuators are an attractive option for lightweight and human-safe robots. These actuators, combined with fluid pressure force feedback, are in principle a form of series-elastic actuation (SEA), in which nearly all…
In this study, we present a feedforward control system designed for active gravity compensation on an upper body exoskeleton. The system utilizes only positional data from internal motor sensors to calculate torque, employing analytical…
Omnidirectional aerial robots offer full 6-DoF independent control over position and orientation, making them popular for aerial manipulation. Although advancements in robotic autonomy, human operation remains essential in complex aerial…
Squatting is one of the most demanding lower-limb movements, requiring substantial muscular effort and coordination. Reducing the physical demands of this task through intelligent and personalized assistance has significant implications,…
We present microfabricated thermal actuators to engineer the biaxial strain in two-dimensional (2D) materials. These actuators are based on microheater circuits patterned onto the surface of a polymer with a high thermal expansion…
Biological muscles have always attracted robotics researchers due to their efficient capabilities in compliance, force generation, and mechanical work. Many groups are working on the development of artificial muscles, however,…
This article proposes a mobile quad-arm robot: ARMS, which unifies wheeled-legged tripedal locomotion, wheeled locomotion, and quad-arm loco-manipulation. ARMS's four arms have different mechanisms and are partially designed to be…
Wearable exoskeletons can augment human strength and reduce muscle fatigue during specific tasks. However, developing personalized and task-generalizable assistance algorithms remains a critical challenge. To address this, a meta-imitation…
Soft Robots distinguish themselves from traditional robots by embracing flexible kinematics. Because of their recent emergence, there exist numerous uncharted territories, including novel actuators, manufacturing processes, and advanced…
This work investigates an application-driven co-design problem where the motion and motors of a six degrees of freedom robotic manipulator are optimized simultaneously, and the application is characterized by a set of tasks. Unlike the…
Work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (WRUED) are a major problem in modern societies as they affect the quality of life of workers and lead to absenteeism and productivity loss. According to studies performed in North…
Robots need lightweight legs for agile locomotion, and intrinsic series elastic compliance has proven to be a major ingredient for energy-efficient locomotion and robust locomotion control. Animals' anatomy and locomotion capabilities…
Macroscale robotic systems have demonstrated great capabilities of high speed, precise, and agile functions. However, the ability of soft robots to perform complex tasks, especially in centimeter and millimeter scale, remains limited due to…
Active control of the shape of soft robots is challenging. Despite having an infinite number of passive degrees of freedom (DOFs), soft robots typically only have a few actively controllable DOFs, limited by the number of degrees of…