Related papers: Terrain Recognition and Contact Force Estimation t…
Humans possess a remarkable ability to react to unpredictable perturbations through immediate mechanical responses, which harness the visco-elastic properties of muscles to maintain balance. Inspired by this behaviour, we propose a novel…
We propose a learning-based method to reconstruct the local terrain for locomotion with a mobile robot traversing urban environments. Using a stream of depth measurements from the onboard cameras and the robot's trajectory, the algorithm…
The semantics of the environment, such as the terrain type and property, reveals important information for legged robots to adjust their behaviors. In this work, we present a framework that learns semantics-aware locomotion skills from…
Identification of inertial parameters is fundamental for the implementation of torque-based control in humanoids. At the same time, good models of friction and actuator dynamics are critical for the low-level control of joint torques. We…
Articulation perception aims to recover the motion and structure of articulated objects (e.g., drawers and cupboards), and is fundamental to 3D scene understanding in robotics, simulation, and animation. Existing learning-based methods rely…
Fine dexterous manipulation requires reactive control based on rich sensing of manipulator-object interactions. Tactile sensing arrays provide rich contact information across the manipulator's surface. However their implementation faces two…
Robotics would gain by replicating the remarkable agility of arthropods in navigating complex environments. Here we consider the control of multi-legged systems which have 6 or more legs. Current multi-legged control strategies in robots…
Reinforcement learning (RL), driven by data-driven methods, has become an effective solution for robot leg motion control problems. However, the mainstream RL methods for bipedal robot terrain traversal, such as teacher-student policy…
We present a solution for autonomous forest inventory with a legged robotic platform. Compared to their wheeled and aerial counterparts, legged platforms offer an attractive balance of endurance and low soil impact for forest applications.…
This paper describes the design of a multi-camera optical tactile sensor that provides information about the contact force distribution applied to its soft surface. This information is contained in the motion of spherical particles spread…
Agile-legged robots have proven to be highly effective in navigating and performing tasks in complex and challenging environments, including disaster zones and industrial settings. However, these applications normally require the capability…
We present a tactile sensing method enabled by the mechanical compliance of soft robots; an externally attachable photoreflective module reads surface deformation of silicone skin to estimate contact force without embedding tactile…
Legged locomotion enables robotic systems to traverse extremely challenging terrains. In many real-world scenarios, the terrain is not that difficult and these mixed terrain types introduce the need for flexible use of different walking…
Wearable exoskeletons hold transformative promise for restoring mobility across diverse users with muscular weakness or other impairments. However, their translation beyond laboratory environments remains limited by sensing systems that…
This paper introduces a system of data collection acceleration and real-to-sim transferring for surface recognition on a quadruped robot. The system features a mechanical single-leg setup capable of stepping on various easily…
Tactile sensing plays a vital role in enabling robots to perform fine-grained, contact-rich tasks. However, the high dimensionality of tactile data, due to the large coverage on dexterous hands, poses significant challenges for effective…
Reliable real-time 3D shape sensing is essential for robust control and interpretation of deformable systems during motion. Existing vision-based approaches require line-of-sight and complex instrumentation, limiting operation in occluded…
Recent advancements in legged locomotion research have made legged robots a preferred choice for navigating challenging terrains when compared to their wheeled counterparts. This paper presents a novel locomotion policy, trained using Deep…
Many applications require robots to move through complex 3-D terrain with large obstacles, such as self-driving, search and rescue, and extraterrestrial exploration. Although robots are already excellent at avoiding sparse obstacles, they…
Vision-based tactile sensors have gained extensive attention in the robotics community. The sensors are highly expected to be capable of extracting contact information i.e. haptic information during in-hand manipulation. This nature of…