Related papers: From Folding Mechanics to Robotic Function: A Unif…
Wheeled robots are highly efficient in human living environments. However, conventional wheeled designs, with their limited degrees of freedom and constraints in robot configuration, struggle to simultaneously achieve stability,…
The leaf-like origami structure was inspired by geometric patterns found in nature, exhibiting unique transitions between open and closed shapes. With a bistable energy landscape, leaf-like origami is able to replicate the autonomous…
Nematic elastomers dramatically change their shape in response to diverse stimuli including light and heat. In this paper, we provide a systematic framework for the design of complex three dimensional shapes through the actuation of…
Accurate and efficient simulation tools are essential in robotics, enabling the visualization of system dynamics and the validation of control laws before committing resources to physical experimentation. Developing physically accurate…
UMI-style interfaces enable scalable robot learning, but existing systems remain largely visuomotor, relying primarily on RGB observations and trajectory while providing only limited access to physical interaction signals. This becomes a…
The Miura vertex is a versatile origami pattern found in a variety of mechanisms. Previous papers have derived and validated a closed-form solution for the kinematics of a symmetric Miura vertex, but the motion of an asymmetric vertex has…
Recent research efforts have yielded significant advancements in manipulating objects under homogeneous settings where the robot is required to either manipulate rigid or deformable (soft) objects. However, the manipulation under…
We present Dynamics-Guided Diffusion Model (DGDM), a data-driven framework for generating task-specific manipulator designs without task-specific training. Given object shapes and task specifications, DGDM generates sensor-less manipulator…
Due to their ability to adapt to different terrains, quadruped robots have drawn much attention in the research field of robot learning. Legged mobile manipulation, where a quadruped robot is equipped with a robotic arm, can greatly enhance…
Direct numerical simulation of microscale fluid--structure interactions in multicomponent and multiphase flows requires methods that can represent moving boundaries together with fields constrained to evolving interfaces. Diffuse-domain…
Mechanical metamaterials capable of large deformations are an emerging platform for functional devices and structures across scales. Bistable designs are particularly attractive since they endow a single object with two configurations that…
This paper addresses the problem of controlling a continuum manipulator (CM) in free or obstructed environments with no prior knowledge about the deformation behavior of the CM and the stiffness and geometry of the interacting obstructed…
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…
This study introduces a new unified structural framework for orbifold sigma models that incorporates twisted sectors, singularities, and smooth regions into a single algebraic object. Traditional approaches to orbifold theories often treat…
Folding a sheet of paper along a curve can lead to structures seen in decorative art and utilitarian packing boxes. Here we present a theory for the simplest such structure: an annular circular strip that is folded along a central circular…
Yoshimura origami is a classical folding pattern that has inspired many deployable structure designs. Its applications span from space exploration, kinetic architectures, and soft robots to even everyday household items. However, despite…
We study, experimentally and theoretically, the mechanical response of sheet materials on which line cracks or cuts are arranged in a simple pattern. Such sheet materials, often called kirigami (the Japanese words, kiri and gami, stand for…
We present a simple, accessible method for autonomously transforming flat plastic sheets into intricate three-dimensional structures using only uniform heating and common tools such as household ovens and scissors. Our approach combines…
Modular robotics enables the development of versatile and adaptive robotic systems with autonomous reconfiguration. This paper presents a modular robotic system in which each module has independent actuation, battery power, and control,…
We prove several hardness results on folding origami crease patterns. Flat-folding finite crease patterns is fixed-parameter tractable in the ply of the folded pattern (how many layers overlap at any point) and the treewidth of an…