Related papers: A Novel Aerial-Aquatic Locomotion Robot with Varia…
This paper presents the VLEIBot^* (Very Little Eel-Inspired roBot), a 45-mg/23-mm^3 microrobotic swimmer that is propelled by a bioinspired anguilliform propulsor. The propulsor is excited by a single 6-mg high-work-density (HWD)…
Underwater vehicles have seen significant development over the past seventy years. However, bio-inspired propulsion robots are still in their early stages and require greater interdisciplinary collaboration between biologists and…
Inflated continuum robots are promising for a variety of navigation tasks, but controlling their motion with a small number of actuators is challenging. These inflated beam robots tend to buckle under compressive loads, producing extremely…
Multimodal UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are rarely capable of more than two modalities, i.e., flying and walking or flying and perching. However, being able to fly, perch, and walk could further improve their usefulness by expanding…
We present VAPOR, a novel method for autonomous legged robot navigation in unstructured, densely vegetated outdoor environments using offline Reinforcement Learning (RL). Our method trains a novel RL policy using an actor-critic network and…
With the growing demand for efficient logistics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being paired with automated guided vehicles (AGVs). While UAVs offer the ability to navigate through dense environments and varying altitudes,…
Soft robots have been increasingly utilized as sophisticated tools in physical rehabilitation, particularly for assisting patients with neuromotor impairments. However, many soft robotics for rehabilitation applications are characterized by…
Soft robots are capable of inherently safer interactions with their environment than rigid robots since they can mechanically deform in response to unanticipated stimuli. However, their complex mechanics can make planning and control…
Robots are becoming increasingly essential for traversing complex environments such as disaster areas, extraterrestrial terrains, and marine environments. Yet, their potential is often limited by mobility and adaptability constraints. In…
Robotic blimps, as lighter-than-air aerial platforms, offer extended operational duration and enhanced safety in human-robot interactions due to their buoyant lift. However, achieving robust flight performance under environmental airflow…
This article presents a novel telepresence system for advancing aerial manipulation in dynamic and unstructured environments. The proposed system not only features a haptic device, but also a virtual reality (VR) interface that provides…
In this work, we introduce an advanced thermo-active variable impedance module which builds upon our previous innovation in thermal-based impedance adjustment for actuation systems. Our initial design harnessed the temperature-responsive,…
We design, build, and thoroughly test a new type of actuator dubbed viscoelastic liquid cooled actuator (VLCA) for robotic applications. VLCAs excel in the following five critical axes of performance: energy efficiency, torque density,…
Aerial Vision-and-Language Navigation (VLN) is a novel task enabling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to navigate in outdoor environments through natural language instructions and visual cues. However, it remains challenging due to the…
Accurate localization is crucial for water robotics, yet traditional onboard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) approaches are difficult or ineffective due to signal reflection on the water's surface and its high cost of aquatic GNSS…
Designing soft robots poses considerable challenges: automated design approaches may be particularly appealing in this field, as they promise to optimize complex multi-material machines with very little or no human intervention.…
Robotic tails can enhance the stability and maneuverability of mobile robots, but current designs face a trade-off between the power of rigid systems and the safety of soft ones. Rigid tails generate large inertial effects but pose risks in…
Quadrupedal robots can learn versatile locomotion skills but remain vulnerable when one or more joints lose power. In contrast, dogs and cats can adopt limping gaits when injured, demonstrating their remarkable ability to adapt to physical…
We present SMORS, the first Soft fully actuated MultirOtoR System for multimodal locomotion. Unlike conventional hexarotors, SMORS is equipped with three rigid and three continuously soft arms, with each arm hosting a propeller. We create a…
This paper introduces a novel simulation framework for evaluating motion control in tethered multi-robot systems within dynamic marine environments. Specifically, it focuses on the coordinated operation of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle…