13 accepted papers
Shape-changing displays enable real-time visualization and haptic exploration of 3D surfaces. However, many shape-changing displays are composed of individually actuated rigid bodies, which makes them both mechanically complex and unable to form smooth surfaces. In this work, we build a multi-stable…
Shape displays are a class of haptic devices that enable whole-hand haptic exploration of 3D surfaces. However, their scalability is limited by the mechanical complexity and high cost of traditional actuator arrays. In this paper, we propose using electroadhesive auxetic skins as a strain-limiting l…
Freehand gesture-based interaction promises to enable rich interaction in applications such as augmented reality, virtual reality, human-robot interaction, and robotic prosthetic devices. However, current sensing approaches are limited to mid-air whole hand gestures and fail to identify small-scale
Robots are becoming more ubiquitous in our daily lives including in our offices and homes. As such, it is necessary to understand whether and how robotic presence affects us both emotionally and cognitively. In this letter, we investigate the effects of anthropomorphism and robot state of robotic pr
Modular soft robots combine the strengths of two traditionally separate areas of robotics. As modular robots, they can show robustness to individual failure and reconfigurability; as soft robots, they can deform and undergo large shape changes in order to adapt to their environment, and have inheren…
This paper introduces a new class of soft reconfigurable robot: balloon animal robots. The balloon animal robot consists of a closed volume inflatable tube which can be reconfigured into structures of varying topology by a collective of simple sub-unit robots. The robotic sub-units can (1) drive alo…
Soft isoperimetric truss robots have demonstrated an ability to grasp and manipulate objects using the members of their structure. The compliance of the members affords large contact areas with even force distribution, allowing for successful grasping even with imprecise open-loop control. In this w…
Realizing high performance force feedback through a handheld haptic interface is challenging due to the limitations on actuator selection imposed by form factor requirements including size, weight, and cost. Here, we introduce a hybrid actuation mechanism composed of a geared motor and two active un
The limited in-flight battery lifetime of centimeter-scale flying robots is a major barrier to their deployment, especially in applications which take advantage of their ability to reach high vantage points. Perching, where flyers remain fixed in space without use of flight actuators by attachment t
While much work has focused on the design of actuators for inputting energy into robotic systems, less work has been dedicated to devices that remove energy in a controlled manner, especially in the field of soft robotics. Such devices have the potential to significantly modulate the dynamics of a s
We consider a class of robotic systems composed of high elongation linear actuators connected at universal joints. We derive the differential kinematics of such robots, and formalize concepts of controllability based on graph rigidity. Control methods are then developed for two separate applications…
We present the design, modeling, and implementation of a novel pneumatic actuator, the Pneumatic Reel Actuator (PRA). The PRA is highly extensible, lightweight, capable of operating in compression and tension, compliant, and inexpensive. An initial prototype of the PRA can reach extension ratios gre…
The Wolverine is a mobile, wearable haptic device designed for simulating the grasping of rigid objects in a virtual reality interface. In contrast to prior work on wearable force feedback gloves, we focus on creating a low cost and lightweight device that renders a force directly between the thumb…