14 accepted papers
The integration of large-scale foundation models in control loops has shown strong potential for executing complex tasks directly from natural language inputs. However, achieving stability and real-time performance remains a sig- nifi cant challenge, particularly for systems with hard-to-model dynam…
While wearable robots that utilize intrinsically soft materials for actuation offer enhanced safety and biological compatibility, the challenges of sensing and control significantly affect their performance. The control problem in such systems is inherently complex, and the inclusion of 'softness' i
This work presents a comprehensive LiDAR-inertial odometry framework featuring robust smoothing and mapping capabilities, effectively correcting LiDAR feature point skewness using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). While the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is a common choice for nonlinear motion estim…
Aneurysms, balloon-like bulges in blood vessels, present a significant health risk due to their potential to rupture, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding. Current treatments often involve delivering embolic materials or metal coils to fill these bulges, occluding them from the pressure of…
Culverts, essential components of drainage systems, require regular inspection to ensure optimal functionality. However, culvert inspections pose numerous challenges, including accessibility, manpower, defect localization, and reliance on superficial assessments. To address these challenges, we prop…
Following biology's lead, soft robotics has emerged as a perfect candidate for actuation within complex environments. While soft actuation has been developed intensively over the last few decades, soft sensing has so far slowed to catch up. A largely unresearched area is the change of the soft mater…
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is mostly treated via robotic catheter-based cardiac ablation procedures. Over the last few decades, cables or tendon mechanisms are at the core of available cardiac catheters. Despite advances, the use of cables often results in considerable force loss, nonlinear hysteresis…
Although experience sharing (ES) accelerates multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) in an advisor-advisee framework, attempts to apply ES to decentralized multiagent systems have so far relied on trusted environments and over-looked the possibility of adversarial manipulation and inference. Nevert…
This paper presents a simple but compact design of a bicycle-like robot for inspecting complex-shaped ferromagnetic structures. The design concept for versatile locomotion relies on two independently steered magnetic wheels formed in a bicycle-like configuration, allowing the robot to possess multi-…
This paper presents a novel design of a multi-directional bicycle robot, which is developed for the inspection of steel structures, in particular, steel-reinforced bridges. The locomotion concept is based on arranging two magnetic wheels in a bicycle-like configuration with two independent steering…
The nature-inspired behavior of collective motion is found to be an optimal solution in swarming systems for predator avoidance and survival. In this work, we propose a two-level control architecture for multi-robot systems (MRS), which leverages the advantages of flocking control and function appro
Motivated by a high demand for automated inspection of civil infrastructure, this work presents an efficient design and development of a tank-like robot for structural health monitoring. Unlike most existing magnetic wheeled mobile robot designs, which may be suitable for climbing on flat steel surf…
Satisfactory operation of civil infrastructure is of critical importance to an economy. In order to maintain performance, infrastructure needs to be properly maintained. Inspecting infrastructure is inherently labor-intensive work and costly. In this paper, we propose a solution to cost-effective in…
Bridge condition assessment is important to maintain the quality of highway roads for public transport. Bridge deterioration with time is inevitable due to aging material, environmental wear and in some cases, inadequate maintenance. Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods are preferred for conditi…