Related papers: Embedding bifurcations into pneumatic artificial m…

In this paper, we present a method of embedding physics data manifolds with metric structure into lower dimensional spaces with simpler metrics, such as Euclidean and Hyperbolic spaces. We then demonstrate that it can be a powerful step in…

Over the past years, machine learning has emerged as a powerful computational tool to tackle complex problems over a broad range of scientific disciplines. In particular, artificial neural networks have been successfully deployed to…

Fluidically actuated soft robots have promising capabilities such as inherent compliance and user safety. The control of soft robots needs to properly handle nonlinear actuation dynamics, motion constraints, workspace limitations, and…

Active soft bodies can affect their shape through an internal actuation mechanism that induces a deformation. Similar to recent work, this paper utilizes a differentiable, quasi-static, and physics-based simulation layer to optimize for…

We present a method for differentiable simulation of soft articulated bodies. Our work enables the integration of differentiable physical dynamics into gradient-based pipelines. We develop a top-down matrix assembly algorithm within…

The Festo air muscle is today one of the most known commercial version of the so-called McKibben pneumatic artificial muscle. A major advantage of handmade McKibben muscles, as well as its commercial versions, lies in the possibility it…

Dynamic manipulation of flexible objects such as fabric, which is difficult to modelize, is one of the major challenges in robotics. With the development of deep learning, we are beginning to see results in simulations and in some actual…

Many important physical processes have dynamics that are too complex to completely model analytically. Optimisation of such processes often relies on intuition, trial-and-error, or the construction of empirical models. Machine learning…

Soft robotic manipulators provide numerous advantages over conventional rigid manipulators in fragile environments such as the marine environment. However, developing analytic inverse models necessary for shape, motion, and force control of…

Soft robots are promising for manipulation tasks thanks to their compliance, safety, and high degree of freedom. However, the commonly used bidirectional continuum segment design means soft robotic manipulators only function in a limited…

Robots built from soft materials can alter their shape and size in a particular profile. This shape-changing ability could be extremely helpful for rescue robots and those operating in unknown terrains and environments. In changing shape,…

Neural networks are a central technique in machine learning. Recent years have seen a wave of interest in applying neural networks to physical systems for which the governing dynamics are known and expressed through differential equations.…

Continuum soft robots are mechanical systems entirely made of continuously deformable elements. This design solution aims to bring robots closer to invertebrate animals and soft appendices of vertebrate animals (e.g., an elephant's trunk, a…

Over the past decades, we have witnessed a rapid emergence of soft and reconfigurable robots thanks to their capability to interact safely with humans and adapt to complex environments. However, their softness makes accurate control very…

We investigate pneumatic non-prehensile manipulation (i.e., blowing) as a means of efficiently moving scattered objects into a target receptacle. Due to the chaotic nature of aerodynamic forces, a blowing controller must (i) continually…

Continuum arms, such as trunk and tentacle robots, lie between the two extremities of rigid and soft robots and promise to capture the best of both worlds in terms of manipulability, dexterity, and compliance. This paper proposes a new…

Controlled execution of dynamic motions in quadrupedal robots, especially those with articulated soft bodies, presents a unique set of challenges that traditional methods struggle to address efficiently. In this study, we tackle these…

This paper proposes a soft sensor embedded in a soft ring actuator with five fingers as a soft hand to identify the bifurcation of manipulated objects during the in-hand manipulation process. The manipulation is performed by breaking the…

Physics-constrained data-driven computing is an emerging computational paradigm that allows simulation of complex materials directly based on material database and bypass the classical constitutive model construction. However, it remains…

Even though artificial muscles have gained popularity due to their compliant, flexible, and compact properties, there currently does not exist an easy way of making informed decisions on the appropriate actuation strategy when designing a…