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Optimizing gait stability for legged robots is a difficult problem. Even on level surfaces, effectively traversing across different textures (e.g., carpet) rests on dynamically tuning parameters in multidimensional space. Inspired by…
Removing floating litter from water bodies is crucial to preserving aquatic ecosystems and preventing environmental pollution. In this work, we present a multi-robot aerial soft manipulator for floating litter collection, leveraging the…
Quadruped robots manifest great potential to traverse rough terrains with payload. Numerous traditional control methods for legged dynamic locomotion are model-based and exhibit high sensitivity to model uncertainties and payload…
In this paper, I present vectorable thrust control for different locomotion modes by a novel quadruped robot, SPIDAR, equipped with vectoring rotor in each link. First, the robot's unique mechanical design, the dynamics model, and the basic…
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…
We present a methodology for fast prototyping of morphologies and controllers for robot locomotion. Going beyond simulation-based approaches, we argue that the form and function of a robot, as well as their interplay with real-world…
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,…
Locomotion by shape changes (spermatozoon swimming, snake slithering, bird flapping) or gas expulsion (rocket firing) is assumed to require environmental interaction, due to conservation of momentum. As first noted in (Wisdom, 2003) and…
Although recent years have seen significant progress of humanoid robots in walking and running, the frequent foot strikes with ground during these locomotion gaits inevitably generate high instantaneous impact forces, which leads to…
Viscoelasticity governs the locomotion strategies of deformable microorganisms, rendering it a fundamental mechanical property of microbial motility and an integral component in the design of envisioned microbots. Recent studies have shown…
Designing ground-aerial robots is challenging due to the increased actuation requirements which can lead to added weight and reduced locomotion efficiency. Morphobots mitigate this by combining actuators into multi-functional groups and…
Mudskippers are unique amphibious fish capable of locomotion in diverse environments, including terrestrial surfaces, aquatic habitats, and highly viscous substrates such as mud. This versatile locomotion is largely enabled by their…
Current aerial robots demonstrate limited interaction capabilities in unstructured environments when compared with their biological counterparts. Some examples include their inability to tolerate collisions and to successfully land or perch…
Autonomous navigation in highly constrained environments remains challenging for mobile robots. Classical navigation approaches offer safety assurances but require environment-specific parameter tuning; end-to-end learning bypasses…
This study presents the development and experimental verification of a biomimetic manta ray robot for underwater autonomous exploration. Inspired by manta rays, the robot uses flapping motion for propulsion to minimize seabed disturbance…
We present Swim2Real, a pipeline that calibrates a 16-parameter robotic fish simulator from swimming videos using vision-language model (VLM) feedback, requiring no hand-designed search stages. Calibrating soft aquatic robots is…
Metachronal locomotion is a widespread swimming mode used by aquatic swarming organisms to achieve performance and maneuverability in the intermediate Reynolds number regime. Our understanding of the mechanisms driving these abilities is…
The agility of animals, particularly in complex activities such as running, turning, jumping, and backflipping, stands as an exemplar for robotic system design. Transferring this suite of behaviors to legged robotic systems introduces…
Crawling is a common locomotion mechanism in soft robots and nonskeletal animals. In this work we propose modeling soft-robotic legged locomotion by approximating it with an equivalent articulated robot with elastic joints. For concreteness…
This paper presents the concept of a tethered variable inertial attitude control mechanism for a modular jumping-limbed robot designed for planetary exploration in low-gravity environments. The system, named SPLITTER, comprises two sub-10…