11 accepted papers
Large language models (LLMs) can provide rich physical descriptions of most worldly objects, allowing robots to achieve more informed and capable grasping. We leverage LLMs' common sense physical reasoning and code-writing abilities to infer an object's physical characteristics-mass $m$, friction co…
Uncertainty in perception, actuation, and the environment often require multiple attempts for a robotic task to be successful. We study a class of problems providing (1) low-entropy indicators of terminal success / failure, and (2) unreliable (high-entropy) data to predict the final outcome of an on…
Soft robots are becoming increasingly prevalent, with unique applications to medical devices and wearable technology. Understanding the dynamics of nonlinear soft actuators is crucial to creating controllable soft robots. this letter presents a system identification process and closed-loop control o
We describe a flexible robotic skin module that can measure proximity, contact and force, as well as algorithms for detecting obstacles, human hands, and affective touch gestures. The computational requirements of the proposed architecture are in line with the capabilities of a small microcontroller
This paper describes a system identification method and the development of a closed-loop controller for a Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic (HASEL) actuator. Our efforts focus on developing a reliable and consistent way to identify system models for these soft robotic actuators usin…
We use a conductive fabric substrate as a building material for a soft sensor to extend the functionality of soft actuators. We use PCB etching techniques to apply a pattern to the fabric, yielding distinct conductive surfaces within the same textile. We connect these via flexible wire bus embedded…
Deep learning approaches have been used to perform classification in several applications with high-dimensional input data. In this paper, we investigate the potential for deep learning for classifying affective touch on robotic skin in a social setting. Three models are considered, a convolutional…
We describe a combined force and distance sensor using a commodity infrared distance sensor embedded in a transparent elastomer with applications in robotic manipulation. Prior to contact, the sensor works as a distance sensor (0â10 cm), whereas after contact the material doubles as a spring, with…
We present a fiber reinforced soft pneumatic actuator with integrated strain and pressure sensors. We demonstrate that combining these sensors into the same actuator enables proprioception of both actuator curvature and environmental contact forces. We describe the manufacture and integration of a s…
We present an experience-based planning framework called Thunder that learns to reduce computation time required to solve high-dimensional planning problems in varying environments. The approach is especially suited for large configuration spaces that include many invariant constraints, such as thos…
We present an unsupervised framework for simultaneous appearance-based object discovery, detection, tracking and reconstruction using RGBD cameras and a robot manipulator. The system performs dense 3D simultaneous localization and mapping concurrently with unsupervised object discovery. Putative obj…