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The advent of 3D printing has revolutionized many industries and has had similar improvements for soft robots. However, many challenges persist for these functional devices. Magnetic soft robots require the addition of magnetic particles…
We present a new millimeter-scale bimorph actuator for microrobotic applications, driven by feedforward controlled shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires. The device weighs 10 mg, measures 14 mm in length, and occupies a volume of 4.8 mm3, which…
Forthcoming applications concerning humanoid robots may involve physical interaction between the robot and a dynamic environment. In such scenario, classical balancing and walking controllers that neglect the environment dynamics may not be…
The disposal and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) is a global challenge. The disassembly of components is a crucial step towards an efficient recycling process, avoiding the destructive methods. Although most disassembly work is…
Mobile autonomous robots have the potential to revolutionize manufacturing processes. However, employing large robot fleets in manufacturing requires addressing challenges including collision-free movement in a shared workspace, effective…
We present a biologically inspired design for swarm foraging based on ant's pheromone deployment, where the swarm is assumed to have very restricted capabilities. The robots do not require global or relative position measurements and the…
In this study we address existing deficiencies in the literature on applications of Particle Swarm Optimization to generate optimal designs. We present the results of a large computer study in which we bench-mark both efficiency and…
Lower limb exoskeleton robots hold great potential for rehabilitation, movement assistance, and strength augmentation. Design control to guarantee optimal needed assistance is still a challenge considering the pathological variances between…
In this paper we investigate the computational power of a set of mobile robots with limited visibility. At each iteration, a robot takes a snapshot of its surroundings, uses the snapshot to compute a destination point, and it moves toward…
Acoustophoresis has enabled novel interaction capabilities, such as levitation, volumetric displays, mid-air haptic feedback, and directional sound generation, to open new forms of multimodal interactions. However, its traditional…
Spherical rolling robots have garnered significant attention in the field of mobile robotics for applications such as inspection and space exploration. Designing underactuated rolling robots poses challenges in achieving multi-directional…
The giant single-celled slime mould Physarum polycephalum exhibits complex morphological adaptation and amoeboid movement as it forages for food and may be seen as a minimal example of complex robotic behaviour. Swarm computation has…
Cardiovascular diseases account for around 17.9 million deaths per year globally, the treatment of which is challenging considering the confined space and complex topology of the vascular network and high risks during operations. Robots,…
Soft robots are known for their ability to perform tasks with great adaptability, enabled by their distributed, non-uniform stiffness and actuation. Bending is the most fundamental motion for soft robot design, but creating robust, and…
This paper proposes a new type of actuator at millimeter scale, which is based on Simplified Electro-Permanent (SEP) magnets. The new actuator can achieve connection and smooth motion by controlling the polarity of SEP magnets. Analyses…
The vision of creating entirely-soft robots capable of performing complex tasks will be accomplished only when the controllers required for autonomous operation can be fully implemented on soft components. Despite recent advances in…
Magnetic elastomers deform under a magnetic field, working as a soft actuator. Untethered microbot made of magnetic elastomers have great potentials in performing medical tasks inside human body as mini doctors. However, the lack of a…
In this work, we introduce a framework that enables highly maneuverable locomotion using non-periodic contacts. This task is challenging for traditional optimization and planning methods to handle due to difficulties in specifying contact…
This study proposes an event-based reconfiguration control to navigate a robot swarm through challenging environments with narrow passages such as valleys, tunnels, and corridors. The robot swarm is modeled as an undirected graph, where…
This paper presents MicroRoboScope, a portable, compact, and versatile microrobotic experimentation platform designed for real-time, closed-loop control of both magnetic and acoustic microrobots. The system integrates an embedded computer,…