BSA -- Bi-Stiffness Actuation for optimally exploiting intrinsic compliance and inertial coupling effects in elastic joint robots
Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI), Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学慕尼黑机器人与机器智能研究院（MIRMI））；Omar Al-Mukhtar University (OMU)（奥马尔·穆赫塔尔大学（OMU））
Dennis Ossadnik, Mehmet C. Yildirim, Fan Wu, Abdalla Swikir, Hugo T. M. Kussaba, Saeed Abdolshah, Sami Haddadin
Compliance in actuation has been exploited to generate highly dynamic maneuvers such as throwing that take advantage of the potential energy stored in joint springs. However, the energy storage and release could not be well-timed yet. On the contrary, for multi-link systems, the natural system dynamics might even work against the actual goal. With the introduction of variable stiffness actuators, this problem has been partially addressed. With a suitable optimal control strategy, the approximate decoupling of the motor from the link can be achieved to maximize the energy transfer into the distal link prior to launch. However, such continuous stiffness variation is complex and typically leads to oscillatory swing-up motions instead of clear launch sequences. To circumvent this issue, we investigate decoupling for speed maximization with a dedicated novel actuator concept denoted Bi-Stiffness Actuation. With this, it is possible to fully decouple the link from the joint mechanism by a switch-and-hold clutch and simultaneously keep the elastic energy stored. We show that with this novel paradigm, it is not only possible to reach the same optimal performance as with power-equivalent variable stiffness actuation, but even directly control the energy transfer timing. This is a major step forward compared to previous optimal control approaches, which rely on optimizing the full time-series control input.
Co-optimizing Physical Reconfiguration Parameters and Controllers for an Origami-inspired Reconfigurable Manipulator
Colorado State University（科罗拉多州立大学）；University of Massachusetts Amherst（马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校）；Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences（曼宁信息与计算机科学学院）
Variable Aerodynamic Damping Actuation via Co-Contraction: A Structural Analogy with Variable Stiffness Actuation
Robotics and Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science Faculty（代尔夫特理工大学机器人与机电系，电气工程，数学和计算机科学系）；Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering（罗马萨皮恩扎大学计算机、控制与管理工程系）
Energy-efficient tunable-stiffness soft robots using second moment of area actuation
Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, University of Southampton（南安普顿大学南安普顿海洋与海事研究所）；Alan Turing Institute（艾伦·图灵研究所）；Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo（东京大学生产技术研究所）
Data-driven Feedback Control of Lattice Structures with Localized Actuation and Sensing
Czech Technical University in Prague（布拉格捷克技术大学）；Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague（布拉格捷克技术大学电气工程学院）；Center for Bits and Atoms, Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院比特与原子中心）
Robust Collision Detection for Robots with Variable Stiffness Actuation by Using MAD-CNN: Modularized-Attention-Dilated Convolutional Neural Network
Khalifa University Center for Autonomous and Robotic Systems, Khalifa University（哈利法大学自主与机器人系统中心，哈利法大学）；Advanced Research and Innovation Center, Khalifa University（哈利法大学高级研究与创新中心）
The Quadruped Soft Tail: Compliant Grasping and Swabbing for Contamination Surveys in Harsh Environments
Mechatronics, Robotics and Operation Section, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)（欧洲核子研究中心（CERN）机电一体化、机器人与操作部门）；Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)（挪威科技大学（NTNU）工程控制论系）
Muscle Coactivation in the Sky: Geometry and Pareto Optimality of Energy vs. Aerodynamic Promptness and Multirotors as Variable Stiffness Actuators
Robotics and Mechatronics Department, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (EEMCS) Faculty（代尔夫特理工大学机器人与机电系）；Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering（罗马萨皮恩扎大学计算机、控制与管理工程系）
Optimal Control for Clutched-Elastic Robots: A Contact-Implicit Approach
Chair of Robotics and Systems Intelligence（机器人与系统智能主席席位）；Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI)（慕尼黑机器人与机器智能研究所）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）
Ultra-slender Coaxial Antagonistic Tubular Robot for Ambidextrous Manipulation
West China Hospital of Medicine, Sichuan University（四川大学华西医学院）；Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering, South China University of Technology（华南理工大学伍舜明智能工程学院）；School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China（电子科技大学机械与电气工程学院）；School of Mechanical Engineering, Sichuan University（四川大学机械工程学院）；Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院香港创新研究院人工智能与机器人中心）
Shape Sensing of Variable Stiffness Soft Robots using Electrical Impedance Tomography
软机器人系统通过减少与软组织的接触创伤以及在微创手术中通过曲折路径实现入路，提供了优于传统刚性系统的益处。然而，软体机器人固有的可变形性使其形状的准确建模承担更大的责任，并且在实现术中形状感测方面面临更大的挑战。在这里，我们提出了一种本体感受（自感知）软致动器，具有导电工作流体。来自多达六个电极的电阻抗测量使得能够使用电阻抗断层扫描（EIT）进行断层扫描重建。研制了一种新的频分复用（FDM）EIT系统，能够测量66 dB SNR和20 ms的时间分辨率。两个自由度的设计：液压铰链致动器和气动手指致动器与液压梁的概念进行了研究。这两种情况都表明，阻抗测量可用于推断形状变化，并且在致动期间重建的EIT图像显示出相对于每个自由度（DOF）的不同模式。虽然观察到一些机械滞后，但测量和所得图像的可重复性很高。结果表明，作为一种低成本，低姿态的形状传感器在软体机器人的FDM-EIT的潜力。
Model Predictive Path Integral Control of I2RIS Robot Using RBF Identifier and Extended Kalman Filter
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University（机械工程系和计算感知与机器人实验室，约翰霍普金斯大学）；Department of Computer Science and Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University（计算机科学系和计算感知与机器人实验室，约翰霍普金斯大学）；Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University（计算感知与机器人实验室，约翰霍普金斯大学）；Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital（威尔默眼科研究所，约翰霍普金斯医院）
Design of an In-Pipe Robot with Contact-Angle-Guided Kinematic Decoupling for Crosstalk-Suppressed Locomotion
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Thrust, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)（香港科技大学（广州）机器人与自主系统学域）；Department of Engineering, Shinshu University（信州大学工学部）；College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology（北京化工大学信息科学与技术学院）
