Related papers: PDE-based Dynamic Control and Estimation of Soft R…
In this paper, we use the optimal control methodology to control a flexible, elastic Cosserat rod. An inspiration comes from stereotypical movement patterns in octopus arms, which are observed in a variety of manipulation tasks, such as…
Many application domains, e.g., in medicine and manufacturing, can greatly benefit from pneumatic Soft Robots (SRs). However, the accurate control of SRs has remained a significant challenge to date, mainly due to their nonlinear dynamics…
The design and control of soft robots operating in fluid environments requires a careful understanding of the interplay between large elastic body deformations and hydrodynamic forces. Here we show that this interplay leads to novel…
High-performance closed-loop control of truly soft continuum manipulators has remained elusive. Experimental demonstrations have largely relied on sufficiently stiff, piecewise architectures in which each actuated segment behaves as a…
This paper presents the design, control, and applications of a multi-segment soft robotic arm. In order to design a soft arm with large load capacity, several design principles are proposed by analyzing two kinds of buckling issues, under…
Continuum robots are flexible, thin manipulators capable of navigating confined or delicate environments making them well suited for surgical applications. Previous approaches to continuum robot state estimation typically rely on…
Robotics is shifting from rigid, articulated systems to more sophisticated and heterogeneous mechanical structures. Soft robots, for example, have continuously deformable elements capable of large deformations. The flourishing of control…
In this paper, we present a novel synergistic framework for learning shape estimation and a shape-aware whole-body control policy for tendon-driven continuum robots. Our approach leverages the interaction between two Augmented Neural…
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 paper introduces a Cosserat rod based mathematical model for modeling a self-controllable variable curvature soft continuum robot. This soft continuum robot has a hollow inner channel and was developed with the ability to perform…
This paper presents an offset-free model predictive controller for fast and accurate control of a spherical soft robotic arm. In this control scheme, a linear model is combined with an online disturbance estimation technique to…
Soft robots promise improved safety and capability over rigid robots when deployed in complex, delicate, and dynamic environments. However, the infinite degrees of freedom and highly nonlinear dynamics of these systems severely complicate…
Soft robots offer more flexibility, compliance, and adaptability than traditional rigid robots. They are also typically lighter and cheaper to manufacture. However, their use in real-world applications is limited due to modeling challenges…
Purpose of review: We review recent advances in algorithmic development and validation for modeling and control of soft robots leveraging the Koopman operator theory. Recent findings: We identify the following trends in recent research…
Soft robot arms have made significant progress towards completing human-scale tasks, but designing arms for tasks with specific load and workspace requirements remains difficult. A key challenge is the lack of model-based design tools,…
This paper investigates a framework (CATCH-FORM-3D) for the precise contact force control and surface deformation regulation in viscoelastic material manipulation. A partial differential equation (PDE) is proposed to model the…
Soft robots could bring robotic systems to new horizons, by enabling safe human-machine interaction. For precise control, these soft structures require high level position feedback that is not easily achieved through conventional…
Continuum and soft robots can transform diverse sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, marine, and space, thanks to their potential to adaptively interact with unstructured environments. These robots exhibit complex mechanics that pose…
The robotic shape control of deformable linear objects has garnered increasing interest within the robotics community. Despite recent progress, the majority of shape control approaches can be classified into two main groups: open-loop…
In this paper we study robust output tracking and disturbance rejection of linear partial differential equation (PDE) models. We focus on demonstrating how the abstract internal model based controller design methods developed for "regular…