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To operate with limited sensor horizons in unpredictable environments, autonomous robots use a receding-horizon strategy to plan trajectories, wherein they execute a short plan while creating the next plan. However, creating safe,…
This work presents an optimization-based task and motion planning (TAMP) framework that unifies planning for locomotion and manipulation through a shared representation of contact modes. We define symbolic actions as contact mode changes,…
Enabling robots to autonomously perform hybrid motions in diverse environments can be beneficial for long-horizon tasks such as material handling, household chores, and work assistance. This requires extensive exploitation of intrinsic…
High-speed legged navigation in discrete and geometrically complex environments is a challenging task because of the high-degree-of-freedom dynamics and long-horizon, nonconvex nature of the optimization problem. In this work, we propose a…
We study the efficiency of sliding locomotion for three-link bodies in the presence of dry (Coulomb) friction. Friction coefficient space can be partitioned into several regions, each with distinct types of efficient kinematics. These…
Legged robots have great potential to perform loco-manipulation tasks, yet it is challenging to keep the robot balanced while it interacts with the environment. In this paper we study the use of additional contact points for maximising the…
Aerial robotic systems have raised emerging interests in recent years. In this article, we propose a novel aerial manipulator system that is significantly different from conventional aerial discrete manipulators: An Aerial Continuum…
Designing robot morphologies and kinematics has traditionally relied on human intuition, with little systematic foundation. Motion-design co-optimization offers a promising path toward automation, but two major challenges remain: (i) the…
Locomotion planning for legged systems requires reasoning about suitable contact schedules. The contact sequence and timings constitute a hybrid dynamical system and prescribe a subset of achievable motions. State-of-the-art approaches cast…
We present a method that finds locomanipulation plans that perform simultaneous locomotion and manipulation of objects for a desired end-effector trajectory. Key to our approach is to consider a generic locomotion constraint manifold that…
Humanoid robots are machines built with an anthropomorphic shape. Despite decades of research into the subject, it is still challenging to tackle the robot locomotion problem from an algorithmic point of view. For example, these machines…
Recent research on mobile robots has focused on increasing their adaptability to unpredictable and unstructured environments using soft materials and structures. However, the determination of key design parameters and control over these…
Real-time synthesis of legged locomotion maneuvers in challenging industrial settings is still an open problem, requiring simultaneous determination of footsteps locations several steps ahead while generating whole-body motions close to the…
This paper presents the design and development of a robotic system to give physical assistance to the elderly or people with neurological disorders such as Ataxia or Parkinson's. In particular, we propose using a mobile collaborative robot…
This paper presents a Center of Mass (CoM) based manipulation and regrasp planner that implements stability constraints to preserve the robot balance. The planner provides a graph of IK-feasible, collision-free and stable motion sequences,…
Motion planning framed as optimisation in structured latent spaces has recently emerged as competitive with traditional methods in terms of planning success while significantly outperforming them in terms of computational speed. However,…
Robotic assistance in minimally invasive surgery can greatly enhance surgical precision and reduce surgeon fatigue. This paper presents a focused investigation on the kinematic and ergonomic design principles for a laparoscopic surgical…
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…
This paper focuses on the motion planning for mobile robots in 3D, which are modelled by 6-DOF rigid body systems with nonholonomic kinematics constraints. We not only specify the target position, but also bring in the requirement of the…
The functional demands of robotic systems often require completing various tasks or behaviors under the effect of disturbances or uncertain environments. Of increasing interest is the autonomy for dynamic robots, such as multirotors, motor…