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Vibration Energy Harvesting is an emerging technology aimed at turning mechanical energy from vibrations into electricity to power microsystems of the future. Most of present vibration energy harvesters are based on a mass spring structure…
Fibre jamming is a relatively new and understudied soft robotic mechanism that has previously found success when used in stiffness-tuneable arms and fingers. However, to date researchers have not fully taken advantage of the freedom offered…
A tunable stiffness bone rod was designed, optimized, and 3D printed to address the common shortcomings of existing bone rods in the healing of long fractured bones. The common deficiencies of existing bone fixations are high stiffness,…
For robotic transtibial prosthesis control, the global kinematics of the tibia can be used to monitor the progression of the gait cycle and command smooth and continuous actuation. In this work, these global tibia kinematics are used to…
Springs are efficient in storing and returning elastic potential energy but are unable to hold the energy they store in the absence of an external load. Lockable springs use clutches to hold elastic potential energy in the absence of an…
Since wearable linkage mechanisms could control the moment transmission from actuator(s) to wearers, they can help ensure that even low-cost wearable systems provide advanced functionality tailored to users' needs. For example, if a hip…
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have flexible and exceptional performance in manipulating electromagnetic waves and customizing wireless channels. These capabilities enable them to provide a plethora of valuable activity-related…
Linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) has been successfully used for generating feasible walking motions for humanoid robots. However, the effect of uncertainties on constraints satisfaction has only been studied using Robust MPC (RMPC)…
In this paper, we propose a novel design of a hybrid mobile robot with controllable stiffness and deformable shape. Compared to conventional mobile agents, our system can switch between rigid and compliant phases by solidifying or melting…
Achieving stable bipedal walking on surfaces with unknown motion remains a challenging control problem due to the hybrid, time-varying, partially unknown dynamics of the robot and the difficulty of accurate state and surface motion…
Many people living with neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, stroke, muscular dystrophy or dystonia experience upper limb impairments (muscle spasticity, loss of selective motor control, muscle weakness or tremors) and have…
Probabilistic Virtual Fixtures (VFs) enable the adaptive selection of the most suitable haptic feedback for each phase of a task, based on learned or perceived uncertainty. While keeping the human in the loop remains essential, for…
Humans are efficient, yet expressive in their motion. Human walking behaviors can be used to walk across a great variety of surfaces without falling and to communicate internal state to other humans through variable gait styles. This…
Negative extensibility refers to the category of mechanical metamaterials having an unusual phenomenon where the system contracts upon expansion. The dynamic analysis of such systems is crucial for exploring the vibration isolation…
Robotic dressing assistance has the potential to improve the quality of life for individuals with limited mobility. Existing solutions predominantly rely on rigid robotic manipulators, which have challenges in handling deformable garments…
In this study, we present a method for estimating the viscoelasticity of a leaf-spring sports prosthesis using advanced energy minimizing inverse kinematics based on the Piece-wise Constant Strain (PCS) model to reconstruct the…
Developing robust locomotion for humanoid robots is a complex task due to the unstable nature of these robots and also to the unpredictability of the terrain. A robust locomotion planner is one of the fundamental components for generating…
Design of robots at the small scale is a trial-and-error based process, which is costly and time-consuming. There are few dynamic simulation tools available to accurately predict the motion or performance of untethered microrobots as they…
Elastic actuation taps into elastic elements' energy storage for dynamic motions beyond rigid actuation. While Series Elastic Actuators (SEA) and Variable Stiffness Actuators (VSA) are highly sophisticated, they do not fully provide control…
Adaptive structures are of interest for their ability to dynamically modify mechanical properties post fabrication, enabling structural performance that is responsive to environmental uncertainty and changing loading conditions. Dynamic…