Soft robot shape estimation with IMUs leveraging PCC kinematics for drift filtering

The control possibilities for soft robots have long been hindered by the need for reliable methods to estimate their configuration. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) can solve this challenge, but they are affected by well-known drift issues. This letter proposes a method to eliminate this limitation by leveraging the Piecewise Constant...

Development of a 3D printed structural electronics force sensor

Structural electronics has garnered significant attention in the past decade. However, there remains a lack of a systematic approach in designing and manufacturing sensors that leverage both mechanical and electronic properties of materials for different applications. In this paper, we introduce a method for designing piezoresistive force...

P-satI-D Shape Regulation of Soft Robots

Soft robots are intrinsically underactuated mechanical systems that operate under uncertainties and disturbances. In these conditions, this letter proposes two versions of PID-like control laws with a saturated integral action for the particularly challenging shape regulation task. The closed-loop system is asymptotically stabilized and...

Follow-The-Leader Mechanisms in Medical Devices: A Review on Scientific and Patent Literature

Conventional medical instruments are not capable of passing through tortuous anatomy as required for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery due to their rigid shaft designs. Nevertheless, developments in minimally invasive surgery are pushing medical devices to become more dexterous. Amongst devices with controllable flexibility, so...

Shape Sensing of Flexible Robots Based on Deep Learning

In this article, a deep learning method for the shape sensing of continuum robots based on multicore fiber bragg grating (FBG) fiber is introduced. The proposed method, based on an artificial neural network (ANN), differs from traditional approaches, where accurate shape reconstruction requires a tedious characterization of many...

Contour Moments Based Manipulation of Composite Rigid-Deformable Objects With Finite Time Model Estimation and Shape/Position Control

The robotic manipulation of composite rigid-deformable objects (i.e., those with mixed nonhomogeneous stiffness properties) is a challenging problem with clear practical applications that, despite the recent progress in the field, it has not been sufficiently studied in the literature. To deal with this issue, in this article, we propose a...

Semantic Scene Completion using Local Deep Implicit Functions on LiDAR Data

Semantic scene completion is the task of jointly estimating 3D geometry and semantics of objects and surfaces within a given extent. This is a particularly challenging task on real-world data that is sparse and occluded. We propose a scene segmentation network based on local Deep Implicit Functions as a novel learning-based method for scene...

Sensing soft robots' shape with cameras: an investigation on kinematics-aware SLAM

The nature of continuum soft robots calls for novel perception solutions, which can provide information on the robot's shape while not substantially modifying their bodies' softness. One way to achieve this goal is to develop innovative and completely deformable sensors. However, these solutions tend to be less reliable than classic sensors for...

Re-flex: Responsive Flexible Mold for Computer Aided Intuitive Design and Materialization

The paper presents an ongoing research about the design and a possible use of a responsive flexible mold. The mold is developed by integrating its precedents with automation and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The objective of the design is to provide an immersive design tool which has direct link to fabrication. It allows intuitive...

Deep Learning Object-Recognition in a Design-to-Robotic-Production and -Operation Implementation

This paper presents a new instance in a series of discrete proof-of-concept implementations of comprehensively intelligent built-environments based on Design-to-Robotic-Production and -Operation (D2RP&O) principles developed at Delft University of Technology (TUD). With respect to D2RP, the featured implementation presents a customized...