Related papers: Simultaneous Position-and-Stiffness Control of Und…
Tendon-Driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs) have the potential to be used in minimally invasive surgery and industrial inspection, where the robot must enter narrow and confined spaces. We propose a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach to…
Dynamical systems (DSs) provide a framework for high flexibility, robustness, and control reliability and are widely used in motion planning and physical human-robot interaction. The properties of the DS directly determine the robot's…
We present an iterative approach for planning and controlling motions of underactuated robots with uncertain dynamics. At its core, there is a learning process which estimates the perturbations induced by the model uncertainty on the active…
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…
In this paper, we present a novel and generic data-driven method to servo-control the 3-D shape of continuum and soft robots embedded with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. Developments of 3-D shape perception and control technologies are…
Soft robots are notoriously hard to control. This is partly due to the scarcity of models able to capture their complex continuum mechanics, resulting in a lack of control methodologies that take full advantage of body compliance. Currently…
The body structure of an anatomically correct tendon-driven musculoskeletal humanoid is complex, and the difference between its geometric model and the actual robot is very large because expressing the complex routes of tendon wires in a…
Soft robots have been leveraged in considerable areas like surgery, rehabilitation, and bionics due to their softness, flexibility, and safety. However, it is challenging to produce two same soft robots even with the same mold and…
A hybrid continuum robot design is introduced that combines a proximal tendon-actuated section with a distal telescoping section comprised of permanent-magnet spheres actuated using an external magnet. While, individually, each section can…
In this paper, we propose a novel safe, passive, and robust control law for mechanical systems. The proposed approach addresses safety from a physical human-robot interaction perspective, where a robot must not only stay inside a…
Future robots will navigate perilous, remote environments with resilience and autonomy. Researchers have proposed building robots with compliant bodies to enhance robustness, but this approach often sacrifices the autonomous capabilities…
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,…
Frictional contact has been extensively studied as the core underlying behavior of legged locomotion and manipulation, and its nearly-discontinuous nature makes planning and control difficult even when an accurate model of the robot is…
Dynamic motions are a key feature of robotic arms, enabling them to perform tasks quickly and efficiently. Soft continuum manipulators do not currently consider dynamic parameters when operating in task space. This shortcoming makes…
In co-manipulative continuum robots (CCRs), multiple continuum arms cooperate by grasping a common flexible object, forming a closed-chain deformable mechanical system. The closed-chain coupling induces strong dynamic interactions and…
As robots shift from industrial to human-centered spaces, adopting mobile manipulators, which expand workspace capabilities, becomes crucial. In these settings, seamless interaction with humans necessitates compliant control. Two common…
Continuum manipulators offer intrinsic dexterity and safe geometric compliance for navigation within confined and obstacle-rich environments. However, their infinite-dimensional backbone deformation, unmodeled internal friction, and…
Continuum parallel robots (CPR) combine rigid actuation mechanisms with multiple elastic rods in a closed-loop topology, making forward statics challenging when rigid--continuum junctions are enforced by explicit kinematic constraints. Such…
This paper proposes a simultaneous control method for the angle and stiffness of the joint in an antagonistic pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) actuator system using only pressure measurements, and clarifies the allowable references for the…
Control of soft robotic manipulators remains a challenge for designs with advanced capabilities and novel actuation. Two significant limitations are multi-axis, three-dimensional motion of soft bodies alongside actuator dynamics and…