Related papers: Embedded Flexible Circumferential Sensing for Real…
While multi-joint continuum robots are highly dexterous and flexible, designing an optimal robot can be challenging due to its kinematics involving curvatures. Hence, the current work presents a computational method developed to find…
We propose a hardware and software pipeline to fabricate flexible wearable sensors and use them to capture deformations without line of sight. Our first contribution is a low-cost fabrication pipeline to embed multiple aligned conductive…
Endowing continuum robots with compliance while it is interacting with the internal environment of the human body is essential to prevent damage to the robot and the surrounding tissues. Compared with passive compliance, active compliance…
A robust estimation of road course and traffic lanes is an essential part of environment perception for next generations of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and development of self-driving vehicles. In this paper, a flexible method for…
For robots with low rigidity, determining the robot's state based solely on kinematics is challenging. This is particularly crucial for a robot whose entire body is in contact with the environment, as accurate state estimation is essential…
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…
Robot-assisted neurological surgery is receiving growing interest due to the improved dexterity, precision, and control of surgical tools, which results in better patient outcomes. However, such systems often limit surgeons' natural sensory…
We introduce a low-cost method for mounting sensors onto robot links for large-area sensing coverage that does not require the sensor's positions or orientations to be calibrated before use. Using computer aided design (CAD), a robot skin…
Automatic assembly lines have increasingly replaced human labor in various tasks; however, the automation of Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) insertion remains unrealized due to its high requirement for effective feedback and dynamic operation,…
This paper presents a novel method for modeling the shape of a continuum robot as a Neural Configuration Euclidean Distance Function (N-CEDF). By learning separate distance fields for each link and combining them through the kinematics…
In laparoscopic robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, the kinematic control of the robot is subject to the remote center of motion (RCM) constraint at the port of entry (e.g., trocar) into the patient's body. During surgery, after the…
This paper presents MicroRoboScope, a portable, compact, and versatile microrobotic experimentation platform designed for real-time, closed-loop control of both magnetic and acoustic microrobots. The system integrates an embedded computer,…
Soft robotics is a modern robotic paradigm for performing dexterous interactions with the surroundings via morphological flexibility. The desire for autonomous operation requires soft robots to be capable of proprioception and makes it…
Estimating a soft robot's pose and applied forces, also called proprioception, is crucial for safe interaction of the robot with its environment. However, most solutions for soft robot proprioception use dedicated sensors, particularly for…
Autonomous robotic surgery has the potential to provide efficacy, safety, and consistency independent of individual surgeons skill and experience. Autonomous soft-tissue surgery in unstructured and deformable environments is especially…
Magnetic soft continuum robots are capable of bending with remote control in confined space environments, and they have been applied in various bioengineering contexts. As one type of ferromagnetic soft continuums, the Magnetically Induced…
Magnetic actuation enables surgical robots to navigate complex anatomical pathways while reducing tissue trauma and improving surgical precision. However, clinical deployment is limited by the challenges of controlling such systems under…
Developing robot controllers in a simulated environment is advantageous but transferring the controllers to the target environment presents challenges, often referred to as the "sim-to-real gap". We present a method for continuous…
Medical robotics can help improve and extend the reach of healthcare services. A major challenge for medical robots is the complex physical interaction between the robot and the patients which is required to be safe. This work presents the…
Surgical robotic systems equipped with microscale, high-dexterity manipulators have shown promising results in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). One barrier to the widespread adoption of such systems is the prohibitive cost of research and…