Related papers: A physics-informed, vision-based method to reconst…
Deformable object manipulation is a classical and challenging research area in robotics. Compared with rigid object manipulation, this problem is more complex due to the deformation properties including elastic, plastic, and elastoplastic…
Three-dimensional shape sensing in soft and continuum robotics is a crucial aspect for stable actuation and control in fields such as Minimally Invasive surgery, as the estimation of complex curvatures while using continuum robotic tools is…
The robotic manipulation of deformable linear objects has shown great potential in a wide range of real-world applications. However, it presents many challenges due to the objects' complex nonlinearity and high-dimensional configuration. In…
We present SoftSMPL, a learning-based method to model realistic soft-tissue dynamics as a function of body shape and motion. Datasets to learn such task are scarce and expensive to generate, which makes training models prone to overfitting.…
Providing force feedback as relevant information in current Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery systems constitutes a technological challenge due to the constraints imposed by the surgical environment. In this context, Sensorless…
Shape is an important physical property of natural and manmade 3D objects that characterizes their external appearances. Understanding differences between shapes and modeling the variability within and across shape classes, hereinafter…
Continuum robots have emerged as a promising technology in the medical field due to their potential of accessing deep sited locations of the human body with low surgical trauma. When deriving physics-based models for these robots,…
Applications in fields ranging from home care to warehouse fulfillment to surgical assistance require robots to reliably manipulate the shape of 3D deformable objects. Analytic models of elastic, 3D deformable objects require numerous…
Underactuated soft robot hands offer inherent safety and adaptability advantages over rigid systems, but developing dexterous manipulation skills remains challenging. While imitation learning shows promise for complex manipulation tasks,…
Hardness is among the most important attributes of an object that humans learn about through touch. However, approaches for robots to estimate hardness are limited, due to the lack of information provided by current tactile sensors. In this…
Deformable objects manipulation can benefit from representations that seamlessly integrate vision and touch while handling occlusions. In this work, we present a novel approach for, and real-world demonstration of, multimodal visuo-tactile…
Non-contact radar-based human sensing is often interpreted using simplified motion assumptions. However, respiration induces non-rigid surface deformation of the human body that impacts electromagnetic wave scattering and can degrade the…
We propose a method for the description and simulation of the nonlinear dynamics of slender structures modeled as Cosserat rods. It is based on interpreting the strains and the generalized velocities of the cross sections as basic variables…
We describe and analyze algorithms for shape-constrained symbolic regression, which allows the inclusion of prior knowledge about the shape of the regression function. This is relevant in many areas of engineering -- in particular whenever…
Soft robots achieve functionality through tight coupling among geometry, material composition, and actuation. As a result, effective design optimization requires these three aspects to be considered jointly rather than in isolation. This…
The spinning of slender viscous jets can be described asymptotically by one-dimensional models that consist of systems of partial and ordinary differential equations. Whereas the well-established string models possess only solutions for…
Robot arms with lighter weight can reduce unnecessary energy consumption which is desirable in robotic industry. However, lightweight arms undergo undesirable elastic deformation. In this paper, the planar motion of a lightweight flexible…
This paper aims to solve the equations of geometrically exact 3D nonlinear Cosserat static rods under large displacements with a mesh free alternative method to finite elements: the shooting method. One of the main goal of the work…
In this technical report, we investigate efficient representations of articulated objects (e.g. human bodies), which is an important problem in computer vision and graphics. To deform articulated geometry, existing approaches represent…
This document aims at specifying the requirements and capturing the needs of users for building a softbody simulation system. This system has different applications ranging from computer games to surgery training which facilitates the…