Related papers: 3D Steering and Localization in Pipes and Burrows …
In-pipe inspection robots must traverse confined pipeline networks with elbows and three-dimensional fittings, requiring both reliable axial traction and rapid rolling reorientation for posture correction. In compact V-shaped platforms,…
Current simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms perform well in static environments but easily fail in dynamic environments. Recent works introduce deep learning-based semantic information to SLAM systems to reduce the…
Nowadays, mobile robots are deployed in many indoor environments, such as offices or hospitals. These environments are subject to changes in the traversability that often happen by following repeating patterns. In this paper, we investigate…
Concentric Tube Robots (CTRs) have been proposed to operate within the unstructured environment for minimally invasive surgeries. In this letter, we consider the operation scenario where the tubes travel inside the channels with a large…
Guidance robots that can guide people and avoid various obstacles, could potentially be owned by more visually impaired people at a fairly low cost. Most of the previous guidance robots for the visually impaired ignored the human response…
Some animals exhibit multi-modal locomotion capability to traverse a wide range of terrains and environments, such as amphibians that can swim and walk or birds that can fly and walk. This capability is extremely beneficial for expanding…
Autonomous navigation in unstructured natural environments poses a significant challenge. In goal navigation tasks without prior information, the limited look-ahead of onboard sensors utilised by robots compromises path efficiency. We…
Robotic assistance allows surgeries to be reliably and accurately executed while still under direct supervision of the surgeon, combining the strengths of robotic technology with the surgeon's expertise. This paper describes a robotic…
Majority of the existing robot navigation systems, which facilitate the use of laser range finders, sonar sensors or artificial landmarks, has the ability to locate itself in an unknown environment and then build a map of the corresponding…
Agricultural robots are expected to increase yields in a sustainable way and automate precision tasks, such as weeding and plant monitoring. At the same time, they move in a continuously changing, semi-structured field environment, in which…
How can a robot navigate successfully in rich and diverse environments, indoors or outdoors, along office corridors or trails on the grassland, on the flat ground or the staircase? To this end, this work aims to address three challenges:…
Attaining animal-like legged locomotion on rough outdoor terrain with sparse foothold affordances -a primary use-case for legs vs other forms of locomotion- is a largely open problem. New advancements in control and perception have enabled…
Water distribution systems (WDS) carry potable water with millions of miles of pipelines and deliver purified water to residential areas. The incidents in the WDS cause leak and water loss, which imposes pressure gradient and public health…
The operational environments in which a mobile robot executes its missions often exhibit non-flat terrain characteristics, encompassing outdoor and indoor settings featuring ramps and slopes. In such scenarios, the conventional…
We describe a system for visually guided autonomous navigation of under-canopy farm robots. Low-cost under-canopy robots can drive between crop rows under the plant canopy and accomplish tasks that are infeasible for over-the-canopy drones…
The huge advantage of in-pipe robots is that they are able to measure from inside the pipes, and to sense the geometry, appearance and radiometry directly. The downside is the inability to know precise, absolute position of the measurements…
Robots often have to operate in discrete partially observable worlds, where the states of world are only observable at runtime. To react to different world states, robots need contingencies. However, computing contingencies is costly and…
Quadruped robots are currently a widespread platform for robotics research, thanks to powerful Reinforcement Learning controllers and the availability of cheap and robust commercial platforms. However, to broaden the adoption of the…
This paper explores the design strategies for hybrid pole- or trunk-climbing robots, focusing on methods to inform design decisions and assess metrics such as adaptability and performance. A wheeled-grasping hybrid robot with modular,…
Assistive robot manipulators must be able to autonomously pick and place a wide range of novel objects to be truly useful. However, current assistive robots lack this capability. Additionally, assistive systems need to have an interface…