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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…
The realization of artificial microscopic swimmers able to propel in viscous fluids is an emergent research field of fundamental interest and vast technological applications. For certain functionalities, the efficiency of the microswimmer…
Underwater robotics has advanced significantly over recent decades. however, the development of miniaturized underwater robots remains limited by low energy densities of traditional power sources. Nature offers compelling…
The design of artificial microswimmers is often inspired by the strategies of natural microorganisms. Many of these creatures exploit the fact that elasticity breaks the time-reversal symmetry of motion at low Reynolds numbers, but this…
In recent years, impressive advances in harvesting renewable energy have led to pressing demand for the complimentary energy storage technology. Here, a high coulombic efficiency (~ 99.7%) Al battery is developed using earth-abundant…
Traditional sea exploration faces significant challenges due to extreme conditions, limited visibility, and high costs, resulting in vast unexplored ocean regions. This paper presents an innovative AI-powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicle…
This study is part of research aiming at increasing the range of dynamic tasks for teleoperated field robotics in order to allow operators to use the full range of human motions without being limited by the dynamics of the robotic…
Accounting for electrons and nuclei simultaneously is a powerful capability of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD). However, AIMD is often unable to accurately reproduce properties of systems such as water due to inaccuracies in the…
Optical flow estimation is a critical task for tiny mobile robotics to enable safe and accurate navigation, obstacle avoidance, and other functionalities. However, optical flow estimation on tiny robots is challenging due to limited onboard…
Controlling AUVs can be challenging because of the effect of complex non-linear hydrodynamic forces acting on the robot, which are significant in water and cannot be ignored. The problem is exacerbated for small AUVs for which the dynamics…
An important function of autonomous microrobots is the ability to perform robust movement over terrain. This paper explores an edge ML approach to microrobot locomotion, allowing for on-device, lower latency control under compute, memory,…
Ionic polymer actuators, in essence, consist of ion exchange polymers sandwiched between layers of electrodes. They have recently gained recognition as promising candidates for soft actuators due to their lightweight nature, noise-free…
Bilayer bending based soft actuators are widely utilized in soft robotics for locomotion and object gripping. However, studies on soft actuators based on bilayer doming remain largely unexplored despite the often-observed dome-like shapes…
Fluid-driven elastomeric actuators (FEAs) are among the most popular actuators in the emerging field of soft robotics. Intrinsically compliant, with continuum of motion, large strokes, little friction, and high power-to-weight ratio, they…
Climbing soft robots are of tremendous interest in both science and engineering due to their potential applications in intelligent surveillance, inspection, maintenance, and detection under environments away from the ground. The challenge…
This paper presents AquaMILR+, an untethered limbless robot designed for agile navigation in complex aquatic environments. The robot features a bilateral actuation mechanism that models musculoskeletal actuation in many anguilliform…
This paper presents UnderwaterVLA, a novel framework for autonomous underwater navigation that integrates multimodal foundation models with embodied intelligence systems. Underwater operations remain difficult due to hydrodynamic…
In the application of underwater creature study, comparing with propeller-powered ROVs and servo motor actuated robotic fish, novel biomimetic fish robot designs with soft actuation structure could interact with aquatic creatures closely…
Micro/nanoliter droplet is capable of achieving versatile applications with tiny volume and substantial surface energy, which is a big plus over bulk liquid. Yet, the contradiction of elaborate manipulation and enough power is still a…
Bacteria can exploit mechanics to display remarkable plasticity in response to locally changing physical and chemical conditions. Compliant structures play a striking role in their taxis behavior, specifically for navigation inside complex…