Related papers: PneuDrive: An Embedded Pressure Control System and…
Soft actuators offer compliant and safe interaction with an unstructured environment compared to their rigid counterparts. However, control of these systems is often challenging because they are inherently under-actuated, have infinite…
Soft robots have drawn great interest due to their ability to take on a rich range of shapes and motions, compared to traditional rigid robots. However, the motions, and underlying statics and dynamics, pose significant challenges to…
This paper presents a novel soft robotic system for a deformable mannequin that can be employed to physically realize the 3D geometry of different human bodies. The soft membrane on a mannequin is deformed by inflating several curved…
Our system introduces a modularized pneumatic actuating unit capable of delivering vibration, pressure, and impact feedback. Designed for adaptability, these modular tactile actuating units can be rapidly customized and reconfigured to suit…
Many robots are not equipped with a manipulator and many objects are not suitable for prehensile manipulation (such as large boxes and cylinders). In these cases, pushing is a simple yet effective non-prehensile skill for robots to interact…
We investigate pneumatic non-prehensile manipulation (i.e., blowing) as a means of efficiently moving scattered objects into a target receptacle. Due to the chaotic nature of aerodynamic forces, a blowing controller must (i) continually…
Advances in flexible catheters pave the way for minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of luminal organs and tubular structures through endoluminal interventions. A key challenge is in establishing non-constraining pressure monitoring…
The need for improved engine efficiencies has motivated the development of high-pressure combustion systems, in which operating conditions achieve and exceed critical conditions. Associated with these conditions are large thermodynamic…
Robust and unobtrusive in-vehicle physiological monitoring is crucial for ensuring driving safety and user experience. While remote physiological measurement (RPM) offers a promising non-invasive solution, its translation to real-world…
Reconfigurable robot swarms are capable of connecting with each other to form complex structures. Current mechanical or magnetic connection mechanisms can be complicated to manufacture, consume high power, have a limited load-bearing…
This article presents a novel SOFA based finite element method for the soft body modeling and the corresponding dynamic simulation and control of a pneumatic morphing soft quadrotor. The proposed modeling preserves the physical…
The Piecewise Constant Curvature (PCC) model is the most widely used soft robotic modeling and control. However, the PCC fails to accurately describe the deformation of the soft robots when executing dynamic tasks or interacting with the…
This paper presents UniPilot, a compact hardware-software autonomy payload that can be integrated across diverse robot embodiments to enable autonomous operation in GPS-denied environments. The system integrates a multi-modal sensing suite…
The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a powerful modeling tool for predicting soft robots' behavior, but its computation time can limit practical applications. In this paper, a learning-based approach based on condensation of the FEM model is…
Real-time proprioception is a challenging problem for soft robots, which have almost infinite degrees-of-freedom in body deformation. When multiple actuators are used, it becomes more difficult as deformation can also occur on actuators…
Robotic systems operating in unstructured environments require the ability to switch between compliant and rigid states to perform diverse tasks such as adaptive grasping, high-force manipulation, shape holding, and navigation in…
Continuum soft robots are mechanical systems entirely made of continuously deformable elements. This design solution aims to bring robots closer to invertebrate animals and soft appendices of vertebrate animals (e.g., an elephant's trunk, a…
In this work we present, for the first time, a computational fluid dynamics tool for the simulation of the metered discharge in a pressurized metered dose inhaler. The model, based on open-source software, adopts the Volume-Of-Fluid method…
Modern robots embody power and precision control. Yet, as robots undertake tasks that apply forces on humans, this power brings risk of injury. Soft robotic actuators use deformation to produce smooth, continuous motions and conform to…
Aiming to achieve both high functionality and flexibility in soft robot system, this paper presents a soft urethane sheet-like valve with an amplifier that can perform logical operations using only pneumatic signals. When the control…