Related papers: Infinite-Dimensional Closed-Loop Inverse Kinematic…
Simulating soft robots in cluttered environments remains an open problem due to the challenge of capturing complex dynamics and interactions with the environment. Furthermore, fast simulation is desired for quickly exploring robot behaviors…
While multi-joint continuum robots are highly dexterous and flexible, designing an optimal robot can be challenging due to its kinematics involving curvatures. Hence, the current work presents a computational method developed to find…
Humanoid robots are designed to perform diverse loco-manipulation tasks. However, they face challenges due to their high-dimensional and unstable dynamics, as well as the complex contact-rich nature of the tasks. Model-based optimal control…
For robot manipulation, a complete and accurate object shape is desirable. Here, we present a method that combines visual and haptic reconstruction in a closed-loop pipeline. From an initial viewpoint, the object shape is reconstructed…
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…
A neural network-based framework is developed and experimentally demonstrated for the problem of estimating the shape of a soft continuum arm (SCA) from noisy measurements of the pose at a finite number of locations along the length of the…
For the shape control of deformable free-form surfaces, simulation plays a crucial role in establishing the mapping between the actuation parameters and the deformed shapes. The differentiation of this forward kinematic mapping is usually…
Soft robots are intrinsically capable of adapting to different environments by changing their shape in response to interaction forces with the environment. However, sensing and feedback are still required for higher level decisions and…
Tip-extending soft robots that "grow" via pneumatic eversion of their body material have demonstrated applications in exploration of cluttered environments. During growth, the motion and force of the robot tip can be controlled in three…
Continuum robots possess high flexibility and redundancy, making them well suited for safe interaction in complex environments, yet their continuous deformation and nonlinear dynamics pose fundamental challenges to perception, modeling, and…
The normal form and zero dynamics are powerful tools useful in analysis and control of both linear and nonlinear systems. There are no simple closed form solutions to the general zero dynamics problem for nonlinear systems. A few algorithms…
Optimal control (OC) using inverse dynamics provides numerical benefits such as coarse optimization, cheaper computation of derivatives, and a high convergence rate. However, to take advantage of these benefits in model predictive control…
This paper presents a novel method for learning reward functions for robotic motions by harnessing the power of a CLIP-based model. Traditional reward function design often hinges on manual feature engineering, which can struggle to…
Autonomy in robotic surgery is very challenging in unstructured environments, especially when interacting with deformable soft tissues. The main difficulty is to generate model-based control methods that account for deformation dynamics…
Object manipulation has been extensively studied in the context of fixed base and mobile manipulators. However, the overactuated locomotion modality employed by snake robots allows for a unique blend of object manipulation through…
Human kinematics is of fundamental importance for rehabilitation and assistive robotic systems that physically interact with human. The wrist plays an essential role for dexterous human-robot interaction, but its conventional kinematic…
In this paper, we study integrated estimation and control of soft robots. A significant challenge in deploying closed loop controllers is reliable proprioception via integrated sensing in soft robots. Despite the considerable advances…
Soft robots, compared to regular rigid robots, as their multiple segments with soft materials bring flexibility and compliance, have the advantages of safe interaction and dexterous operation in the environment. However, due to its…
Many robotic tasks involving some form of 3D visual perception greatly benefit from a complete knowledge of the working environment. However, robots often have to tackle unstructured environments and their onboard visual sensors can only…
Soft robotics has emerged as a promising technology that holds great potential for various application areas. This is due to soft materials unique properties, including flexibility, safety, and shock absorption, among others. Despite many…