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Fang, G. (author)Soft robots that are built from materials with mechanical properties similar to those of living tissues can achieve tasks like never before in comparison to conventional rigid robots. Powered by the compliance of soft materials and novel structure designs, complex motion (e.g., bending, twisting, and extension) can be accomplished in robotic...doctoral thesis 2022
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Willems van Dijk, Janne (author)Conventional robots adopt wheels or robotic limbs for locomotion. Wheels are simple to control but not suitable for irregular terrains. On the other hand, robotic feet can overcome a wider variety of surfaces but are less desirable due to their complex design and control system. In nature, we find that invertebrate animals, like snails, can go...master thesis 2022
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Elfferich, Rick (author)Fruit and vegetable production is increasing worldwide, and farmers currently face a tough challenge in finding enough agricultural workers. Automation of the labour-intensive task of crop harvesting could help fill in this gap between supply and demand. However, picking soft fruits is challenging, as they can be easily damaged if not carefully...master thesis 2022
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Bjelonic, Filip (author), Sachtler, Arne (author), Albu-Schaffer, Alin (author), Della Santina, C. (author)Adding elastic elements to the mechanical structure should enable robots to perform efficient oscillatory tasks. Still, even characterizing natural oscillations in nonlinear systems is a challenge in itself, which nonlinear modal theory promises to solve. Therein eigenmanifolds generalize eigenspaces to mechanical systems with non-Euclidean...journal article 2022
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Andrade Borges, E.I. (author), Rieder, J.S.I. (author), Aschenbrenner, D. (author), Scharff, R.B.N. (author)Soft robots are typically intended to operate in highly unpredictable and unstructured environments. Although their soft bodies help them to passively conform to their environment, the execution of specific tasks within such environments often requires the help of an operator that supervises the interaction between the robot and its environment...journal article 2022
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Baaij, T.A. (author), Klein Holkenborg, Marn (author), Stölzle, Maximilian (author), van der Tuin, Daan (author), Naaktgeboren, Jonatan (author), Babuska, R. (author), Della Santina, C. (author)Sensing the shape of continuum soft robots without obstructing their movements and modifying their natural softness requires innovative solutions. This letter proposes to use magnetic sensors fully integrated into the robot to achieve proprioception. Magnetic sensors are compact, sensitive, and easy to integrate into a soft robot. We also...journal article 2022
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Yarali, E. (author), Baniasadi, Mahdi (author), Zolfagharian, Ali (author), Chavoshi, Maede (author), Arefi, Fatemeh (author), Hossain, Mokarram (author), Bastola, Anil (author), Ansari, Mahdi (author), Foyouzat, Alireza (author), Dabbagh, Ali (author), Ebrahimi, Mohamad (author), Mirzaali, Mohammad J. (author), Bodaghi, Mahdi (author)Magneto-/ electro-responsive polymers (MERPs) are a class of stimuli-responsive materials that are actuated when triggered by external magnetic/ electric fields. MERPs exhibit rapid, reversible, and safe multi-functional and dynamic (i.e., changing with time) properties, which can effectively be manipulated at different length scales. These...review 2022
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Zhu, J. (author), Cherubini, Andrea (author), Dune, Claire (author), Navarro-Alarcon, David (author), Alambeigi, Farshid (author), Berenson, Dmitry (author), Ficuciello, Fanny (author), Harada, Kensuke (author), Kober, J. (author), Yuan, Wenzhen (author)Deformable object manipulation (DOM) is an emerging research problem in robotics. The ability to manipulate deformable objects endows robots with higher autonomy and promises new applications in the industrial, services, and health-care sectors. However, compared to rigid object manipulation, the manipulation of deformable objects is...journal article 2022
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Koo, Sumin (author), Chae, Y. (author)As smart clothing is being increasingly recognized as a strong contender in future wearables, with its flexible and comfortable interface becoming more accessible to people, fashion also has been successfully orienting itself as the next game-changer in wearable technology through its connection to a wide range of design, lifestyle, and...book chapter 2022
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Bredenbeck, A. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Hamaza, S. (author)Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are widely used for environmental surveying and exploration thanks to their maneuverability and accessibility. Until recently, however, these platforms were mainly used as passive systems that observe their environments visually and do not interact physically. The capability of UAVs to physically interact with...conference paper 2022
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van den Berg, S.C. (author), Scharff, R.B.N. (author), Rusak, Z. (author), Wu, J. (author)We present OpenFish: an open source soft robotic fish which is optimized for speed and efficiency. The soft robotic fish uses a combination of an active and passive tail segment to accurately mimic the thunniform swimming mode. Through the implementation of a novel propulsion system that is capable of achieving higher oscillation frequencies...journal article 2022
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Pustina, P. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), De Luca, Alessandro (author)The intrinsically underactuated and nonlinear nature of continuum soft robots makes the derivation of provably stable feedback control laws a challenging task. Most of the works so far circumvented the issue either by looking at coarse fully-actuated approximations of the dynamics or by imposing quasi-static assumptions. In this letter, we...journal article 2022
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Fang, G. (author), Tian, Yingjun (author), Yang, Zhi Xin (author), Geraedts, Jo M.P. (author), Wang, C.C. (author)This article presents an efficient learning-based method to solve the <italic>inverse kinematic</italic> (IK) problem on soft robots with highly nonlinear deformation. The major challenge of efficiently computing IK for such robots is due to the lack of analytical formulation for either forward or inverse kinematics. To address...journal article 2022
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Kumar, Prabhat (author), Langelaar, Matthijs (author)This paper presents a robust density-based topology optimization approach for synthesizing pressure-actuated compliant mechanisms. To ensure functionality under manufacturing inaccuracies, the robust or three-field formulation is employed, involving dilated, intermediate and eroded realizations of the design. Darcy's law in conjunction with a...journal article 2022
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Rosi, Emanuele Riccardo (author), Stölzle, Maximilian (author), Solari, Fabio (author), Della Santina, C. (author)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...conference paper 2022
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Liu, Q. (author), Ghodrat, S. (author), Jansen, K.M.B. (author)Shape memory alloy (SMA) wires are excellent candidates for wearable actuators since they are thin, low weight and have a high actuation force. The main drawbacks are that the wire should be kept straight and needs to be relatively long to enable a large enough actuation stroke. Embedding the SMA wire in a flexible tube largely enhances its...journal article 2022
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Roozendaal, Tjark (author), Verwaal, M. (author), Buso, A. (author), Scharff, R.B.N. (author), Song, Y. (author), Vink, P. (author)Sitting comfort is an important factor for passengers in selecting cars, airlines, etc. This paper proposes a soft robotic module that can be integrated into the seat cushion to provide better comfort experiences to passengers. Building on rapid manufacturing technologies and a data-driven approach, the module can be controlled to sense the...journal article 2022
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Stella, F. (author), Obayashi, Nana (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Hughes, Josie (author)The control possibilities for soft robots have long been hindered by the lack of accurate yet computationally treatable dynamic models of soft structures. Polynomial curvature models propose a solution to this quest for continuum slender structures. Nevertheless, the results produced with this class of models have been so far essentially...journal article 2022
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Li, Shuguang (author), Awale, Samer A. (author), Bacher, Katharine E. (author), Buchner, Thomas J. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Wood, Robert J. (author), Rus, Daniela (author)Today's use of large-scale industrial robots is enabling extraordinary achievement on the assembly line, but these robots remain isolated from the humans on the factory floor because they are very powerful, and thus dangerous to be around. In contrast, the soft robotics research community has proposed soft robots that are safe for human...journal article 2022
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Elfferich, J.F. (author), Dodou, D. (author), Della Santina, C. (author)Nowadays, harvesting delicate and high-value fruits, vegetables and edible fungi requires a large input of manual human labor. The relatively low wages and many health problems the workforce faces make this profession increasingly unpopular. Meanwhile, robotic systems that selectively harvest crops are being developed. Whilst the moving platform...review 2022