Related papers: Can Quadruped Navigation Robots be Used as Guide D…
To help the blind people walk to the destination efficiently and safely in indoor environment, a novel wearable navigation device is presented in this paper. The locating, way-finding, route following and obstacle avoiding modules are the…
Quadruped robots must exhibit robust walking capabilities in practical applications. In this work, we propose a novel approach that enables quadruped robots to pass various small obstacles, or "tiny traps". Existing methods often rely on…
A vast number of applications for legged robots entail tasks in complex, dynamic environments. But these environments put legged robots at high risk for limb damage. This paper presents an empirical study of fault tolerant dynamic gaits…
Legged robots can have a unique role in manipulating objects in dynamic, human-centric, or otherwise inaccessible environments. Although most legged robotics research to date typically focuses on traversing these challenging environments,…
Multi-robot collaborative transportation is a critical capability that has attracted significant attention over recent years. To reliably transport a kinematically constrained payload, a team of robots must closely collaborate and…
People who are blind or have low vision (BLV) encounter numerous challenges in their daily lives and work. To support them, various haptic assistive tools have been developed. Despite these advancements, the effective utilization of these…
Robot navigation in crowded pedestrian environments is a well-known challenge and we explore the practical deployment of group-based representations in this setting. Pedestrian groups have been empirically shown to enable a mobile robot's…
Operations in hazardous environments put humans, animals, and machines at high risk for physically damaging consequences. In contrast to humans and animals, quadruped robots cannot naturally identify and adjust their locomotion to a…
Mobile robots are increasingly being used in noisy environments for social purposes, e.g. to provide support in healthcare or public spaces. Since these robots also operate beyond human sight, the question arises as to how different robot…
Recent work has shown results on learning navigation policies for idealized cylinder agents in simulation and transferring them to real wheeled robots. Deploying such navigation policies on legged robots can be challenging due to their…
In the field of locomotion task of quadruped robots, Blind Policy and Perceptive Policy each have their own advantages and limitations. The Blind Policy relies on preset sensor information and algorithms, suitable for known and structured…
The recent availability of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) legged robot platforms have opened up new opportunities in deploying legged systems into different scenarios. While the main advantage of legged robots is their ability to traverse…
Modern quadrupeds are skillful in traversing or even sprinting on uneven terrains in a remote uncontrolled environment. However, survival in the wild requires not only maneuverability, but also the ability to handle potential critical…
The basic idea behind evolutionary robotics is to evolve a set of neural controllers for a particular task at hand. It involves use of various input parameters such as infrared sensors, light sensors and vision based methods. This paper…
Navigation presents a significant challenge for persons with visual impairments (PVI). While traditional aids such as white canes and guide dogs are invaluable, they fall short in delivering detailed spatial information and precise guidance…
Some animals exhibit multi-modal locomotion capability to traverse a wide range of terrains and environments, such as amphibians that can swim and walk or birds that can fly and walk. This capability is extremely beneficial for expanding…
Robot dogs are receiving increasing attention in various fields of research. However, the number of studies investigating their potential usability on construction sites is scarce. The construction industry implies several human…
Quadrupedal robots resemble the physical ability of legged animals to walk through unstructured terrains. However, designing a controller for quadrupedal robots poses a significant challenge due to their functional complexity and requires…
Navigating unfamiliar environments presents significant challenges for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. In this work, we construct a dataset of images and goals across different scenarios such as searching through kitchens or…
Persons with visual impairments (PwVI) have difficulties understanding and navigating spaces around them. Current wayfinding technologies either focus solely on navigation or provide limited communication about the environment. Motivated by…