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Robotic manipulation of volumetric elastoplastic deformable materials, from foods such as dough to construction materials like clay, is in its infancy, largely due to the difficulty of modelling and perception in a high-dimensional space.…
Shape morphing magnetic soft materials, composed of magnetic particles in a soft polymer matrix, can transform shapes reversibly, remotely, and rapidly, finding diverse applications in actuators, soft robotics, and biomedical devices. To…
A novel framework of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs)-enhanced indoor wireless networks is proposed, where an RIS mounted on the robot is invoked to enable mobility of the RIS and enhance the service quality for mobile users.…
This paper addresses the problem of contact-based manipulation of deformable linear objects (DLOs) towards desired shapes with a dual-arm robotic system. To alleviate the burden of high-dimensional continuous state-action spaces, we model…
Soft deployable structures - unlike conventional piecewise rigid deployables based on hinges and springs - can assume intricate 3-D shapes, thereby enabling transformative technologies in soft robotics, shape-morphing architecture, and…
We present Dynamics-Guided Diffusion Model (DGDM), a data-driven framework for generating task-specific manipulator designs without task-specific training. Given object shapes and task specifications, DGDM generates sensor-less manipulator…
In recent years, the integration of additive manufacturing (AM) and industrial robotics has opened new perspectives for the production of complex components, particularly in the automotive sector. Robot-assisted additive manufacturing…
Deformable object manipulation (DOM) represents a critical challenge in robotics, with applications spanning healthcare, manufacturing, food processing, and beyond. Unlike rigid objects, deformable objects exhibit infinite dimensionality,…
Intelligence lies not only in the brain (decision-making processes) but in the body (physical morphology). The morphology of robots can significantly influence how they interact with the physical world, crucial for manipulating objects in…
Recent advances enable the creation of nanoscale building blocks with complex geometries and interaction specificities for self-assembly. This nearly boundless design space necessitates design principles for defining the mutual interactions…
The control and task automation of robotic surgical system is very challenging, especially in soft tissue manipulation, due to the unpredictable deformations. Thus, an accurate simulator of soft tissues with the ability of interacting with…
In this paper, we propose a method to align and place a fabric piece on top of another using a dual-arm manipulator and a grayscale camera, so that their surface textures are accurately matched. We propose a novel control scheme that…
Electro-thermally actuated origami provides a novel method for creating 3-D systems with advanced morphing and functional capabilities. However, it is currently difficult to simulate the multi-physical behavior of such systems because the…
Many industries extensively use flexible materials. Effective approaches for handling flexible objects with a robot manipulator must address residual vibrations. Existing solutions rely on complex models, use additional instrumentation for…
We present a novel Learning from Demonstration (LfD) method, Deformable Manipulation from Demonstrations (DMfD), to solve deformable manipulation tasks using states or images as inputs, given expert demonstrations. Our method uses…
Manipulation of deformable linear objects (DLOs) in constrained environments is a challenging task. This paper describes a two-layered approach for placing DLOs on a flat surface using a single robot hand. The high-level layer is a novel…
Robotic manipulators often face challenges in handling objects of different sizes and materials, limiting their effectiveness in practical applications. This issue is particularly pronounced when manipulating meter-scale objects or those…
Highly constrained manipulation tasks continue to be challenging for autonomous robots as they require high levels of precision, typically less than 1mm, which is often incompatible with what can be achieved by traditional perception…
Nematic elastomers and glasses are solids that display spontaneous distortion under external stimuli. Recent advances in the synthesis of sheets with controlled heterogeneities have enabled their actuation into non-trivial shapes with…
Natural systems integrate the work of many sub-units (cells) toward a large-scale unified goal (morphological and behavioral), which can counteract the effects of unexpected experiences, damage, or simply changes in tasks demands. In this…