Related papers: An Open-Source, Reproducible Tensegrity Robot that…
In this paper, we present a light-weight, multi- axis compliant tenegrity joint that is biologically inspired by the human elbow. This tensegrity elbow actuates by shortening and lengthening cable in a method inspired by muscular actuation…
Most traditional robotic mechanisms feature inelastic joints that are unable to robustly handle large deformations and off-axis moments. As a result, the applied loads are transferred rigidly throughout the entire structure. The…
In this paper, we introduce a design principle to develop novel soft modular robots based on tensegrity structures and inspired by the cytoskeleton of living cells. We describe a novel strategy to realize tensegrity structures using planar…
Aerial vehicles with collision resilience can operate with more confidence in environments with obstacles that are hard to detect and avoid. This paper presents the methodology used to design a collision resilient aerial vehicle with…
Robust motion planning is a well-studied problem in the robotics literature, yet current algorithms struggle to operate scalably and safely in the presence of other moving agents, such as humans. This paper introduces a novel framework for…
This paper proposes a model-based approach to control the shape of a tensegrity system by driving its node position locations. The nonlinear dynamics of the tensegrity system is used to regulate position, velocity, and acceleration to the…
Robot navigation requires an autonomy pipeline that is robust to environmental changes and effective in varying conditions. Teach and Repeat (T&R) navigation has shown high performance in autonomous repeated tasks under challenging…
Unstructured environments such as mountains, caves, construction sites, or disaster areas are challenging for autonomous navigation because of terrain irregularities. In particular, it is crucial to plan a path to avoid risky terrain and…
We introduce collision-resilient aerial vehicles with icosahedron tensegrity structures, capable of surviving high-speed impacts and resuming operations post-collision. We present a model-based design approach, which guides the selection of…
Dexterous object manipulation remains an open problem in robotics, despite the rapid progress in machine learning during the past decade. We argue that a hindrance is the high cost of experimentation on real systems, in terms of both time…
This paper proposes a unified approach for dynamic modeling and simulations of general tensegrity structures with rigid bars and rigid bodies of arbitrary shapes. The natural coordinates are adopted as a non-minimal description in terms of…
Tensegrity structures are becoming widely used in robotics, such as continuously bending soft manipulators and mobile robots to explore unknown and uneven environments dynamically. Estimating their shape, which is the foundation of their…
Snake robots have the potential to maneuver through tightly packed and complex environments. One challenge in enabling them to do so is the complexity in determining how to coordinate their many degrees-of-freedom to create purposeful…
Mobile soft robots offer compelling applications in fields ranging from urban search and rescue to planetary exploration. A critical challenge of soft robotic control is that the nonlinear dynamics imposed by soft materials often result in…
Operating robots precisely and at high speeds has been a long-standing goal of robotics research. Balancing these competing demands is key to enabling the seamless collaboration of robots and humans and increasing task performance. However,…
In this paper, we introduce a novel method for safe navigation in agricultural robotics. As global environmental challenges intensify, robotics offers a powerful solution to reduce chemical usage while meeting the increasing demands for…
Multi-legged elongate robots hold promise for maneuvering through complex environments. Prior work has demonstrated that reliable locomotion can be achieved using open-loop body undulation and foot placement on rugose terrain. However,…
This paper describes and analyzes a reactive navigation framework for mobile robots in unknown environments. The approach does not rely on a global map and only considers the local occupancy in its robot-centered 3D grid structure. The…
Navigating unknown three-dimensional (3D) rugged environments is challenging for multi-robot systems. Traditional discrete systems struggle with rough terrain due to limited individual mobility, while modular systems--where rigid,…
Motion planners for mobile robots in unknown environments face the challenge of simultaneously maintaining both robustness against unmodeled uncertainties and persistent feasibility of the trajectory-finding problem. That is, while dealing…