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Accurate manipulation of a deformable body such as a piece of fabric is difficult because of its many degrees of freedom and unobservable properties affecting its dynamics. To alleviate these challenges, we propose the application of…
Vision transformers have excelled in various computer vision tasks but mostly rely on rigid input sampling using a fixed-size grid of patches. It limits their applicability in real-world problems, such as active visual exploration, where…
A model (further referred to as the enhanced vector-based model or EVM) for elastic bonds in solids, composed of bonded particles is presented. The model can be applied for a description of elastic deformation of rocks, ceramics, concrete,…
Reinforcement Learning (RL) is an emerging approach to control many dynamical systems for which classical control approaches are not applicable or insufficient. However, the resultant policies may not generalize to variations in the…
Compliance in actuation has been exploited to generate highly dynamic maneuvers such as throwing that take advantage of the potential energy stored in joint springs. However, the energy storage and release could not be well-timed yet. On…
This paper presents the design and development of a highly articulated, continuum, wearable, fabric-based Soft Poly-Limb (fSPL). This fabric soft arm acts as an additional limb that provides the wearer with mobile manipulation assistance…
Elastically-driven motion has been used as a strategy to achieve high speeds in small organisms and engineered micro-robotic devices. We examine the size-scaling relations determining the limit of elastic energy release from elastomer bands…
Many industrial tasks-such as sanding, installing fasteners, and wire harnessing-are difficult to automate due to task complexity and variability. We instead investigate deploying robots in an assistive role for these tasks, where the robot…
Folding garments reliably and efficiently is a long standing challenge in robotic manipulation due to the complex dynamics and high dimensional configuration space of garments. An intuitive approach is to initially manipulate the garment to…
Bio-inspired soft robots have already shown the ability to handle uncertainty and adapt to unstructured environments. However, their availability is partially restricted by time-consuming, costly and highly supervised design-fabrication…
In robotics, structural design and behavior optimization have long been considered separate processes, resulting in the development of systems with limited capabilities. Recently, co-design methods have gained popularity, where bi-level…
Soft actuators are receiving increasing attention from the engineering community, not only in research but even for industrial applications. Among soft actuators, fibre-reinforced Bending Fluidic Actuators (BFAs) became very popular thanks…
Many soft-body organisms found in nature flourish underwater. Similarly, soft robots are potentially well-suited for underwater environments partly because the problematic effects of gravity, friction, and harmonic oscillations are less…
People learn motor activities best when they are conscious of their errors and make a concerted effort to correct them. While haptic interfaces can facilitate motor training, existing interfaces are often bulky and do not always ensure…
Bioinspired flexible blades have been recently shown to significantly improve the versatility of horizontal-axis wind turbines, by widening their working range and increasing their efficiency. The aerodynamic and centrifugal forces bend the…
Tactile sensing plays an important role in robotic perception and manipulation tasks. To overcome the real-world limitations of data collection, simulating tactile response in a virtual environment comes as a desirable direction of robotic…
Objective: In this work we address limitations in state-of-the-art ultrasound robots by designing and integrating a novel soft robotic system for ultrasound imaging. It employs the inherent qualities of soft fluidic actuators to establish…
Garments with the ability to provide kinesthetic force-feedback on-demand can augment human capabilities in a non-obtrusive way, enabling numerous applications in VR haptics, motion assistance, and robotic control. However, designing such…
Soft robotics holds transformative potential for enabling adaptive and adaptable systems in dynamic environments. However, the interplay between morphological and control complexities and their collective impact on task performance remains…
Reconfigurable robots are at the forefront of robotics innovation due to their unmatched versatility and adaptability in addressing various tasks through collaborative operations. This paper explores the design and implementation of a novel…