Related papers: Steerable rolling of a 1-DoF robot using an intern…
Reinforcement Learning (RL) allows learning non-trivial robot control laws purely from data. However, many successful applications of RL have relied on ad-hoc regularizations, such as hand-crafted curricula, to regularize the learning…
This paper introduces a new type of soft continuum robot, called SCoReS, which is capable of self-controlling continuously its curvature at the segment level; in contrast to previous designs which either require external forces or machine…
This paper designs a new spherical robot structure capable of supporting high-speed motion at up to 10 m/s. Building upon a single-pendulum-driven spherical robot, the design incorporates a momentum wheel with an axis aligned with the…
The inverted pendulum is a non-linear unbalanced system that needs to be controlled using motors to achieve stability and equilibrium. The inverted pendulum is constructed with Lego and using the Lego Mindstorm NXT, which is a programmable…
We give a geometric account of kinematic control of a spherical rolling robot controlled by two internal wheels just like the toy robot Sphero. Particularly, we introduce the notion of shape space and fibers to the system by exploiting its…
Legged locomotion shows promise for running in complex, unstructured environments. Designing such legged robots requires considering heterogeneous, multi-domain constraints and variables, from mechanical hardware and geometry choices to…
This paper presents a novel design and experimental investigation for a self-propelled capsule robot that can be used for painless colonoscopy during a retrograde progression from the patient's rectum. The steerable robot is driven forward…
We describe a docking mechanism and strategy to allow modular self-assembly for the Modboat: an inexpensive underactuated oscillating swimming robot powered by a single motor. Because propulsion is achieved through oscillation, orientation…
This research proposes a novel morphing structure with shells inspired by the movement of pillbugs. Instead of the pillbug body, a loopcoupled mechanism based on slider-crank mechanisms is utilized to achieve the rolling up and spreading…
We study dynamics of the inverted pendulum on the wheel on a soft surface and under a proportional-integral-derivative controller. The behaviour of such pendulum is modelled by a system with a differential inclusion. If the the system has a…
This study presents the design of a six-wheeled outdoor autonomous mobile robot. The main design goal of our robot is to increase its adaptability and flexibility when moving outdoors. This six-wheeled robot platform was equipped with some…
In this paper, we present a laboratory mechatronic platform for experimental verification and demonstration of various dynamical and control system phenomena exhibited by the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model -- a spatially discretized version…
The Modboat is an autonomous surface robot that turns the oscillation of a single motor into a controlled paddling motion through passive flippers. Inertial control methods developed in prior work can successfully drive the Modboat along…
An asymmetric two-link robot supported atop a flat platform by wheels that roll and pivot freely, but do not slip laterally, will develop forward momentum if the joint between the links is actuated internally. In particular, oscillations in…
Electrically-driven soft robots based on piezoelectric actuators may enable compact form factors and maneuverability in complex environments. In most prior work, piezoelectric actuators are used to control a single degree of freedom. In…
A mobility mechanism for robots to be used in tight spaces shared with people requires it to have a small footprint, to move omnidirectionally, as well as to be highly maneuverable. However, currently there exist few such mobility…
The steering control of an autonomous unicycle is considered. The underlying dynamical model of a single rolling wheel is discussed regarding the steady state motions and their stability. The unicycle model is introduced as the simplest…
Robot co-design, where the morphology of a robot is optimized jointly with a learned policy to solve a specific task, is an emerging area of research. It holds particular promise for soft robots, which are amenable to novel manufacturing…
This paper introduces a Cosserat rod based mathematical model for modeling a self-controllable variable curvature soft continuum robot. This soft continuum robot has a hollow inner channel and was developed with the ability to perform…
This study evaluates the application of a discrete action space reinforcement learning method (Q-learning) to the continuous control problem of robot inverted pendulum balancing. To speed up the learning process and to overcome technical…