10 accepted papers
Accurate dynamic object manipulation in a robotic hand remains a difficult task, especially when frictional slip is involved. Prior solutions involve extensive data collection to train complex models to control the hand that do not necessarily generalize to other slip circumstances. Our approach foc
We develop a new resistive force theory based granular limit surface (RFT-GLS) method to predict and guide behaviors of forceful ground robots. As a case study, we harness a small mobile robotic system – MiniRQuad (296 g) – to ‘walk-burrow-tug;’ it actively exploits ground anchoring by burrowing its
Our aim is to provide effective interaction with virtual objects, despite the lack of co-location of virtual and real-world contacts, while taking advantage of relatively large skin area and ease of mounting on the forearm. We performed two human participant studies to determine the effects of hapti
Soft robots capable of dexterous manipulation can enable the exploration of extreme environments. Equipping these robots with tactile sensing is a challenge, as sensors must be flexible, stretchable, and robust to environmental conditions. We present a tactile sensor design with a pneumatically driv
We present a novel robot end-effector for gripping and haptic exploration. Tactile sensing through suction flow monitoring is achieved with a new suction cup design that contains multiple chambers for air flow. Each chamber connects with its own remote pressure transducer, which enables both absolut…
We present a design and fabrication method using low-cost materials for anew tactile sensor that is highly stretchable (up to 60%) and for which the signal is substantially unaffected by stretching, immersion in water, or electromagnetic noise. The sensor can be wrapped around the front, side and ba
We present a tactile sensor intended for manipulation by mobile robots, e.g., in the home. The surface consists of an array of small, rounded bumps or “nibs,” for reliable traction on objects like wet dishes. When the nibs contact a surface they deflect, and capacitive sensors measure the correspond
We present a capacitive sensor suitable for a gripper that uses thin films of gecko-inspired adhesives. The sensor is fabricated directly on the films and measures the area over which the adhesive makes intimate contact. In experiments, a new underactuated gripper uses adhesive films to acquire and
Active sensing provides a way to assess whether a thin film of gecko-inspired adhesive has made good contact with a surface. This knowledge is useful for applications like gripping objects in space where a failed grasp could lead to loss of the object. Our active sensing approach uses Lamb waves in
We present the design and implementation of a miniature tactile sensing array for ground reaction force measurements in small legged robots. Dynamic ground pressure data from the sensors were collected using a small two-legged runner and used to train a support vector machine (SVM) terrain classifie