7 accepted papers
Cable transmissions are commonly used in robotics for remote force transmission, offering a lightweight, compact, and efficient solution for transmitting high forces between input and output. However, cables in flexible compression housings (Bowden cables), exhibit high static friction, which increa
Real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in-terventions are significantly impacted by material compatibility problems and size constraints in the MRI bore. Limited physi-cian access to patients within the bore of the MRI necessitates iterative positioning and imaging, which prolongs the duration o…
Contact detection without endpoint tactile sensing is challenging; friction and inertia obscure the sensing of low amplitude and high frequency forces. In this work we explore fluidic transmissions as series-elastic actuators, coupled to remotely-located direct-drive brushless motors, in a bid to ma…
Localizing and tracking the pose of robotic grippers are necessary skills for manipulation tasks. However, the manipulators with imprecise kinematic models (e.g. low-cost arms) or manipulators with unknown world coordinates (e.g. poor camera-arm calibration) cannot locate the gripper with respect to…
Dexterous, serial-chain motor-driven robotic arms have high moving mass, since most of the actuators must be located in the arm itself. This necessitates high gear ratios, sacrificing passive compliance, backdrivability, and the capacity for delicate motion. We introduce the concept of a remote dire…
We present a new type of hydrostatic transmission that uses a hybrid air-water configuration, analogous to N+1 cable-tendon transmissions, using N hydraulic lines and 1 pneumatic line for a system with N degrees of freedom (DOFs). The common air-filled line preloads all DOFs in the system, allowing
The Harvard Robobee is a fly-sized aerial vehicle that can perform controlled flight maneuvers. But this robot is unable to control its yaw or heading angle to a desired value. Motivated by this deficiency, we propose a new method to produce yaw-axis rotations. Termed wriggle-steering, it consists o…