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Menger, Dehlia (author)Soft robots, characterised by compliant mechanisms (CMs) made from low-stiffness materials, offer improved adaptability compared to traditional, rigid robots. These CMs are often actuated by pressure loads. Moreover, soft robots provide new possibilities in the area of robotics. They can be used in search and rescue and interact safely in...master thesis 2024
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Bhatti, Ghanishtha (author)Soft robots are characterized by compliant elements that introduce heightened kinematic complexity compared to their rigid counterparts. Such systems, with infinite degrees of freedom, are inherently underactuated, making precise real-time shape regulation a challenging task. Model-based controllers, utilizing tractable reduced-order modelling...master thesis 2024
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Pustina, P. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Boyer, Frederic (author), De Luca, Alessandro (author), Renda, Federico (author)Suitable representations of dynamical systems can simplify their analysis and control. On this line of thought, this article aims to answer the following question: Can a transformation of the generalized coordinates under which the actuators directly perform work on a subset of the configuration variables be found? We not only show that the...journal article 2024
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Chen, Qianyi (author), Schott, D.L. (author), Jovanova, J. (author)Soft grippers show adaptability and flexibility in grasping irregularly shaped and fragile objects. However, the low loading capacity and less deformation limit the soft gripper for developing large-scale applications. To overcome these limitations, we propose a new concept of a soft actuator with engineered smart particles. The proposed soft...journal article 2024
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Pinskier, Josh (author), Wang, Xing (author), Liow, Lois (author), Xie, Yue (author), Kumar, Prabhat (author), Langelaar, Matthijs (author), Howard, David (author)Soft grippers are ideal for grasping delicate, deformable objects with complex geometries. Universal soft grippers have proven effective for grasping common objects, however complex objects or environments require bespoke gripper designs. Multi-material printing presents a vast design-space which, when coupled with an expressive computational...journal article 2024
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Caradonna, Daniele (author), Pierallini, M. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Angelini, Franco (author), Bicchi, Antonio (author)Soft robots enable safe and robust operations in unstructured environments. However, the nonlinearities of their continuum structure complicate the accomplishment of classic robotic tasks, such as pick and place. In this work, we propose the R-Soft Inverted Pendulum, a Soft Inverted Pendulum (SIP) actuated only by a revolute joint at the base...journal article 2024
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Berselli, Giovanni (author), Catalano, Manuel (author), Frecker, Mary (author), Herder, J.L. (author), Hopkins, Jonathan B. (author)Compliant mechanisms (CMs), along with soft robotics devices formed therewith, may be defined as engineering systems achieving force and motion transmission via the deflection of flexible members. CMs have increasingly gained a strong foothold in the scientific arena owing to their hinge-less nature, shock resistance, potential single-piece...contribution to periodical 2024
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Stella, F. (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Hughes, Josie (author)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...journal article 2024
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Castañeda, Theophil Spiegeler (author), Horstman, Bart (author), Capsi-Morales, Patricia (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Piazza, Cristina (author)Adopting compliant structures holds the potential to enhance the robustness and interaction capabilities of the next generation of bionic limbs. Although researchers have proficiently explored this approach in the design of artificial hands, they devoted little attention to the development of more proximal joints. This work presents a...conference paper 2024
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Stölzle, Maximilian (author), Baberwal, S. (author), Rus, Daniela (author), Coyle, Shirley (author), Della Santina, C. (author)Integrating Brain-Machine Interfaces into non-clinical applications like robot motion control remains difficult - despite remarkable advancements in clinical settings. Specifically, EEG-based motor imagery systems are still error-prone, posing safety risks when rigid robots operate near humans. This work presents an alternative pathway towards...conference paper 2024
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Koudstaal, Loulou (author)The MLD massage is a key component of a lymphedema patient’s treatment. Currently, research is ongoing manifesting a transition from system care to self-care by designing robotic sleeves that are able to perform an effective and safe MLD massage enabling the patient to gain a sense of empowerment and ownership over their treatment and time. This...master thesis 2023
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van Veggel, Stein (author)In the field of soft robotics, rigid joints and links are replaced by soft, deformable elements, This causes soft continuum robot arms to excel in unpredictable environments, but to face challenges during control and shape reconstruction. The sensing ability present in octopus suckers provides inspiration for solutions. Octopuses employ their...master thesis 2023
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Horstman, Bart (author)This study introduces a new design for the drivetrain of a robotic ball. An application for the robotic ball is a rehabilitation device for young children. With these children, movement can be stimulated in a more intuitive way when a robotic ball is used compared to other training programs. Since the ball will be kicked and played with, an...master thesis 2023
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Tavio Y Cabrera, Emilio (author)Soft robots have the potential to accelerate robotiza- tion in areas that are complex and impractical for hard robots. The use of soft materials results in a safe and flexible design that is unattainable for hard robots. However, this attribute results in the need for new control approaches and strategies. Hybrid controllers are a relative...master thesis 2023
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van Löben Sels, Mees (author)Effectively controlling and exploiting the natural dynamics of Articulated Soft Robots for energy-efficient motions remains challenging. In literature, the problem is often split in two; in energy-efficient motion planning and structure-preserving control, where the focus is on one, and the other is largely disregarded. This work aims to unify...master thesis 2023
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Guurink, Koen (author)Building a distributed fluidic actuation system is a challenge due to every actuator needs its own control valve. Due to this, an n by an array of actuators needs n 2 number of valves. A logic network of valves provides a solution by reducing the number of valves needed to operate such distributed fluidic actuation system. These compliant...master thesis 2023
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Field Model Identification and Control of a Mobile Electromagnet for Remote Actuation of Soft RobotsRiccardi, A. (author), Furtado, Guilherme P. (author), Sikorski, Jakub (author), Vendittelli, Marilena (author), Misra, Sarthak (author)The actuation of miniaturized robots through external magnetic fields has great potential for medical applications. The controllability properties of the miniaturized robots are affected by magnetic field generation modality. In this work, the magnetic field of a mobile electromagnet, notably capable to generate a desired magnetic field in...journal article 2023
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Pierallini, M. (author), Stella, F. (author), Angelini, Franco (author), Deutschmann, Bastian (author), Hughes, Josie (author), Bicchi, Antonio (author), Garabini, Manolo (author), Della Santina, C. (author)Fully exploiting soft robots' capabilities requires devising strategies that can accurately control their movements with the limited amount of control sources available. This task is challenging for reasons including the hard-to-model dynamics, the system's underactuation, and the need of using a prominent feedforward control action to...journal article 2023
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Kortman, V.G. (author), Sakes, A. (author), Endo, Gen (author), Breedveld, P. (author)Gripping slippery and flexible tissues during minimal invasive surgery (MIS) is often challenging using a conventional tissue gripper. A force grip has to compensate for the low friction coefficient between the gripper’s jaws and the tissue surface. This study focuses on the development of a suction gripper. This device applies a pressure...journal article 2023
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Trumic, Maja (author), Della Santina, C. (author), Jovanovic, Kosta (author), Fagiolini, Adriano (author)This letter investigates the stability properties of the soft inverted pendulum with affine curvature - a template model for nonlinear control of underactuated soft robots. We look at how changes in physical parameters affect stability and equilibrium. We give conditions under which zero dynamics corresponding to a collocated choice of the...journal article 2023