Related papers: COSMIC: Concurrent Optimization of Structure, Mate…

Robotics and automation have the potential to significantly improve quality of life for people with assistive needs and their carers. Adoption of such technologies at this point in time is far from widespread. This paper presents a novel…

The process of robot design is a complex task and the majority of design decisions are still based on human intuition or tedious manual tuning. A more informed way of facing this task is computational design methods where design parameters…

Robots generally have a structure that combines rotational joints and links in a serial fashion. On the other hand, various joint mechanisms are being utilized in practice, such as prismatic joints, closed links, and wire-driven systems.…

This paper presents a novel approach that combines the advantages of both model-based and learning-based frameworks to achieve robust locomotion. The residual modules are integrated with each corresponding part of the model-based framework,…

Evolution sculpts both the body plans and nervous systems of agents together over time. In contrast, in AI and robotics, a robot's body plan is usually designed by hand, and control policies are then optimized for that fixed design. The…

Current autonomic computing systems are ad hoc solutions that are designed and implemented from the scratch. When designing software, in most cases two or more patterns are to be composed to solve a bigger problem. A composite design…

In situ robotic automation in construction is challenging due to constantly changing environments, a shortage of robotic experts, and a lack of standardized frameworks bridging robotics and construction practices. This work proposes a…

Lattice-type structures can provide a combination of stiffness with light weight that is desirable in a variety of applications. Design optimization of these structures must rely on approximations of the governing physics to render solution…

Although various structural optimization techniques have a sound mathematical basis, the practical constructability of optimal designs poses a great challenge in the manufacturing stage. Currently, there is only a limited number of unified…

We present a control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform collaborative transportation tasks with a human partner. The framework supports both translational and rotational motions, which are fundamental to co-transport…

In nature, biological organisms jointly evolve both their morphology and their neurological capabilities to improve their chances for survival. Consequently, task information is encoded in both their brains and their bodies. In robotics,…

Motion planning and control are two core components of the robotic systems autonomy stack. The standard approach to combine these methodologies comprises an offline/open-loop stage, planning, that designs a feasible and safe trajectory to…

The optimal control of a mechanical system is of crucial importance in many realms. Typical examples are the determination of a time-minimal path in vehicle dynamics, a minimal energy trajectory in space mission design, or optimal motion…

Coordinated multi-robot motion planning at intersections is key for safe mobility in roads, factories and warehouses. The rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) algorithms are popular in multi-robot motion planning. However, generating the…

This work aims to combine machine learning and control approaches for legged robots, and developed a hybrid framework to achieve new capabilities of balancing against external perturbations. The framework embeds a kernel which is a fully…

Human-robot co-carrying tasks reveal their potential in both industrial and everyday applications by leveraging the strengths of both parties. Effective control of robots in these tasks requires managing the energy level in the closed-loop…

Motion planning is a difficult problem in robot control. The complexity of the problem is directly related to the dimension of the robot's configuration space. While in many theoretical calculations and practical applications the…

In this paper, we address the development of a robotic rehabilitation system for the upper limbs based on collaborative end-effector solutions. The use of commercial collaborative robots offers significant advantages for this task, as they…

Multi-robot assembly systems are becoming increasingly appealing in manufacturing due to their ability to automatically, flexibly, and quickly construct desired structural designs. However, effectively planning for these systems in a manner…

Hyper-redundant robots offer high dexterity, making them good at operating in confined and unstructured environments. To extend the reachable workspace, we built a multi-segment flexible rack actuated planar robot. However, the compliance…