9 accepted papers
Compliant mechanisms, e.g., tensegrities, inherently exhibit nonlinear behavior, wherein the stiffness matrix, evaluated at a specific configuration, characterizes the instantaneous relationship between applied forces and resulting displacements. For traditional robot joints, the stiffness matrix is…
Modularity in robots enhances versatility, enabling shape morphing and reconfiguration. In modular soft robots, the use of soft materials allows dimensional transformations across different architectures - from chains (1D) to lattices (2D) and spheres (3D). All this enables a swarm of robots to exhi…
Microspine grippers are small spines commonly found on insect legs that reinforce surface interaction by engaging with asperities to increase shear force and traction. An array of such microspines, when integrated into the limbs or undercarriage of a robot, can provide the ability to maneuver uneven
Tensegrities synergistically combine tensile (cable) and rigid (link) elements to achieve structural integrity, making them lightweight, packable, and impact resistant. Consequently, they have high potential for locomotion in unstructured environments. This research presents geometric modeling of a
The adaptability of soft robots makes them ideal candidates to maneuver through unstructured environments. However, locomotion challenges arise due to complexities in modeling the body mechanics, actuation, and robot-environment dynamics. These factors contribute to the gap between their potential a…
In recent times, soft manipulators have gardened immense interest given their dexterous abilities. A critical aspect for their feedback control involves the reconstruction of the manipulator shape. The research, for the first time, presents shape reconstruction of a soft manipulator through sensor f
Soft robot modeling tends to prioritize soft robot dynamics in order to recover how they might behave. Soft robot design tends to focus on how to use compliant elements with actuation to effect certain canonical movement profiles. For soft robot locomotors, these profiles should lead to locomotion.…
The deformable and continuum nature of soft robots promises versatility and adaptability. However, control of modular, multi-limbed soft robots for terrestrial locomotion is challenging due to the complex robot structure, actuator mechanics and robot-environment interaction. Traditionally, soft robo…