Related papers: Simple Models, Real Swimming: Digital Twins for Te…
Bio-inspired underwater vehicles could yield improved efficiency, maneuverability, and environmental compatibility over conventional propeller-driven underwater vehicles. However, to realize the swimming performance of biology, there is a…
Accurate simulation of soft mechanisms under dynamic actuation is critical for the design of soft robots. We address this gap with our differentiable simulation tool by learning the material parameters of our soft robotic fish. On the…
We study the fluid dynamics of two fish-like bodies with synchronised swimming patterns. Our studies are based on two-dimensional simulations of viscous incompressible flows. We distinguish between motion patterns that are externally…
Navigating rugged landscapes poses significant challenges for legged locomotion. Multi-legged robots (those with 6 and greater) offer a promising solution for such terrains, largely due to their inherent high static stability, resulting…
This study investigates a method to guide and control fish schools using virtual fish trained with reinforcement learning. We utilize 2D virtual fish displayed on a screen to overcome technical challenges such as durability and movement…
Predicting the shape of tendon driven continuum robots (TDCRs) at steady state from actuation remains challenging due to continuous deformation, complex tendon routing, compliance, friction, and fabrication variability. In this paper, we…
This paper presents a Long Short-Term Memory network-based Fluid Experiment Data-Driven model (FED-LSTM) for predicting unsteady, nonlinear hydrodynamic forces on the underwater quadruped robot we constructed. Trained on experimental data…
A simple nonholonomic dynamics model is developed as a low-order model for generating undulatory swim-like motions, validated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The rigid-body-dynamics model generates swimming motion by…
Fish swim by undulating their bodies. These propulsive motions require coordinated shape changes of a body that interacts with its fluid environment, but the specific shape coordination that leads to robust turning and swimming motions…
Many soft-body organisms found in nature flourish underwater. Similarly, soft robots are potentially well-suited for underwater environments partly because the problematic effects of gravity, friction, and harmonic oscillations are less…
In the last few years, there have been many new developments and significant accomplishments in the research of bionic robot fishes. However, in terms of swimming performance, existing bionic robot fishes lag far behind fish, prompting…
Learning policies in simulation is promising for reducing human effort when training robot controllers. This is especially true for soft robots that are more adaptive and safe but also more difficult to accurately model and control. The…
Whole-body manipulation is a powerful yet underexplored approach that enables robots to interact with large, heavy, or awkward objects using more than just their end-effectors. Soft robots, with their inherent passive compliance, are…
As the global population grows and climate change intensifies, sustainable food production is critical. Marine aquaculture offers a viable solution, providing a sustainable protein source. However, the industry's expansion requires novel…
Soft robots, made from compliant materials, exhibit complex dynamics due to their flexibility and high degrees of freedom. Controlling soft robots presents significant challenges, particularly underactuation, where the number of inputs is…
The formulation of rheological constitutive equations -- models that relate internal stresses and deformations in complex fluids -- is a critical step in the engineering of systems involving soft materials. While data-driven models provide…
Developing dynamic models for tendon-driven continuum robots is challenging due to their nonlinear, high-dimensional, and friction-dominated dynamics. This paper presents a comparative study of data-driven system identification methods,…
Tendon-driven musculoskeletal humanoids have many benefits in terms of the flexible spine, multiple degrees of freedom, and variable stiffness. At the same time, because of its body complexity, there are problems in controllability. First,…
Over the past few decades, biomimetic robotic experiments have significantly advanced our understanding of undulatory swimming. Compared to animal experiments, robotic experiments offer repeatability and controlled parameter variations, but…
Reinforcement learning-based quadruped robots excel across various terrains but still lack the ability to swim in water due to the complex underwater environment. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a data-driven…