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Modular robots offer reconfigurability and fault tolerance essential for lunar missions, but require controllers that adapt safely to real-world disturbances. We build on our previous hardware-agnostic actuator synchronization in Motion…
Robust and energy-efficient bipedal locomotion in robotics is still a challenging topic. In order to address issues in this field, we can take inspiration from nature, by studying human locomotion. The Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP)…
The functional replication and actuation of complex structures inspired by nature is a longstanding goal for humanity. Creating such complex structures combining soft and rigid features and actuating them with artificial muscles would…
In previous work, the authors proposed a data-driven optimisation algorithm for the personalisation of human-prosthetic interfaces, demonstrating the possibility of adapting prosthesis behaviour to its user while the user performs tasks…
Soft continuum arms (SCAs) promise versatile manipulation through mechanical compliance, for assistive devices, agriculture, search applications, or surgery. However, the strong nonlinear coupling between materials, morphology, and…
Robotic Manipulation Surfaces (RMS) manipulate objects by deforming the surface on which they rest, offering safe, parallel handling of diverse and fragile items. However, existing designs face a fundamental tradeoff: achieving fine control…
This paper presents and experimentally demonstrates a novel framework for variable assistance on lower body exoskeletons, based upon safety-critical control methods. Existing work has shown that providing some freedom of movement around a…
Tactile sensing is a crucial perception mode for robots and human amputees in need of controlling a prosthetic device. Today robotic and prosthetic systems are still missing the important feature of accurate tactile sensing. This lack is…
This paper presents a new stiffness modulation mechanism that enables infinite-range stiffness modulation in a fast manner. The proposed stiffness modulation mechanism can help improve many robot environment interaction applications such as…
This paper presents a sensorized vision-enabled prosthetic hand aimed at replicating a natural hand's performance, functionality, appearance, and comfort. The design goal was to create an accessible substitution with a user-friendly…
We present the design and implementation of HASTA (Hopper with Adjustable Stiffness for Terrain Adaptation), a vertical hopping robot with real-time tunable leg stiffness, aimed at optimizing energy efficiency across various ground profiles…
Soft Robots distinguish themselves from traditional robots by embracing flexible kinematics. Because of their recent emergence, there exist numerous uncharted territories, including novel actuators, manufacturing processes, and advanced…
Robotic systems operating in unstructured environments require the ability to switch between compliant and rigid states to perform diverse tasks such as adaptive grasping, high-force manipulation, shape holding, and navigation in…
Human limb motion tracking and recognition plays an important role in medical rehabilitation training, lower limb assistance, prosthetics design for amputees, feedback control for assistive robots, etc. Lightweight wearable sensors,…
The field of robotics is a quickly evolving feat of technology that accepts contributions from various genres of science. Neuroscience, Physiology, Chemistry, Material science, Computer science, and the wide umbrella of mechatronics have…
Soft robots have immense potential given their inherent safety and adaptability, but challenges in soft actuator forces and design constraints have limited scaling up soft robots to larger sizes. Electrothermal shape memory alloy (SMA)…
Soft robots have been leveraged in considerable areas like surgery, rehabilitation, and bionics due to their softness, flexibility, and safety. However, it is challenging to produce two same soft robots even with the same mold and…
This paper presents a control interface to translate the residual body motions of individuals living with severe disabilities, into control commands for body-machine interaction. A custom, wireless, wearable multi-sensor network is used to…
In human-robot systems, ensuring safety during force control in the presence of both internal and external disturbances is crucial. As a typical loosely coupled floating-base robot system, the supernumerary robotic leg (SRL) system is…
A sensor-fused wearable assistance prototype for upper-limb function (triceps brachii and extensor pollicis brevis) is presented. The device integrates surface electromyography (sEMG), an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and flex/force…