Related papers: MODUR: A Modular Dual-reconfigurable Robot
Fast and modular modeling of multi-legged robots (MLRs) is essential for resilient control, particularly under significant morphological changes caused by mechanical damage. Conventional fixed-structure models, often developed with…
There is a surge of research interest in the field of tensegrity robotics. Robots developed under this paradigm provide many advantages and have distinguishing features in terms of structural compliance, dexterity, safety, and weight…
Natural organisms utilize distributed actuation through their musculoskeletal systems to adapt their gait for traversing diverse terrains or to morph their bodies for varied tasks. A longstanding challenge in robotics is to emulate this…
Modular Aerial Robot Systems (MARS) consist of multiple drone units that can self-reconfigure to adapt to various mission requirements and fault conditions. However, existing fault-tolerant control methods exhibit significant oscillations…
The paper presents a new formal way of modeling and designing reconfigurable robots, in which case the robots are allowed to reconfigure not only structurally but also functionally. We call such kind of robots "self-evolvable", which have…
Traditional aerial vehicles are usually custom-designed for specific tasks. Although they offer an efficient solution, they are not always able to adapt to changes in the task specification, e.g., increasing the payload. This applies to…
Modular Aerial Robot Systems (MARS) comprise multiple drone units with reconfigurable connected formations, providing high adaptability to diverse mission scenarios, fault conditions, and payload capacities. However, existing control…
A metamorphic robotic system is an aggregate of homogeneous robot units which can individually and selectively locomote in such a way as to change the global shape of the system. We introduce a mathematical framework for defining and…
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,…
This paper proposes a unified robust motion controller for the position and force control problems of compliant robot manipulators driven by Series Elastic Actuators (SEAs). It is shown that the dynamic model of the compliant robot includes…
Modular robotics research has long been preoccupied with perfecting the modules themselves -- their actuation methods, connectors, controls, communication, and fabrication. This inward focus results, in part, from the complexity of the task…
In the modular robot reconfiguration problem, we are given $n$ cube-shaped modules (or robots) as well as two configurations, i.e., placements of the $n$ modules so that their union is face-connected. The goal is to find a sequence of moves…
Recent advances in robotics have been largely driven by imitation learning, which depends critically on large-scale, high-quality demonstration data. However, collecting such data remains a significant challenge-particularly for mobile…
Industrial robots are widely used in diverse manufacturing environments. Nonetheless, how to enable robots to automatically plan trajectories for changing tasks presents a considerable challenge. Further complexities arise when robots…
Despite a slow neuromuscular system, humans easily outperform modern robot technology, especially in physical contact tasks. How is this possible? Biological evidence indicates that motor control of biological systems is achieved by a…
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…
We present a modular framework for solving a motion planning problem among a group of robots. The proposed framework utilizes a finite set of low level motion primitives to generate motions in a gridded workspace. The constraints on…
Wheeled robots are highly efficient in human living environments. However, conventional wheeled designs, limited by degrees of freedom, struggle to meet varying footprint needs and achieve omnidirectional mobility. This paper proposes a…
Modular soft robots have shown higher potential in sophisticated tasks than single-module robots. However, the modular structure incurs the complexity of accurate control and necessitates a control strategy specifically for modular robots.…
We study a new model of 3-dimensional modular self-reconfigurable robots Rhombic Dodecahedral (RD). By extending results on the 2D analog of this model we characterize the free space requirements for a pivoting move and investigate the…