Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 20 of 53 for “"soft robots"”.
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Towards Morphology-Agnostic Control for Soft Robots
The advent of soft robots promises to fundamentally shift the landscape of robotic systems as they offer several advantages over the current paradigm of rigid bodies. Most notably, they provide adaptability to uncertain environments and look to bridge the gap between humans and machines. However, …
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Vision-based proprioception and tactile sensing for soft robots
Soft pneumatic manipulators are attractive for industrial and human-interactive tasks because of their inherent compliance, yet practical deployment demands accurate proprioception and tactile feedback. This thesis introduces a compact, vision-based sensing framework that delivers both modalities …
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Geraniaceae seed-inspired soft robots for environmental actuation and sensing
… exploration of the domain of sustainable soft robotics, wherein innovation converges with ecological accountability. At the outset, the fundamental definition of sustainability is rigorously analyzed, elucidating its role in sustainable technologies. A compelling exigency for robots that …
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Design, fabrication, and control of soft robots with fluidic elastomer actuators
… autonomous robotic systems can be created with soft elastomer bodies powered by fluids. In this thesis we innovate in the design, fabrication, control, and experimental validation of both single and multi-segment soft fluidic elastomer robots. First, this thesis describes an autonomous fluidic …
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Design, Fabrication, and Data-Driven Locomotion Control of Modular Reconfigurable Soft Robots
… challenges for the implementation of mobile robots include high costs and an inability to reach the level of adaptabilityand efficiency seen in animals. Newer subfields like soft robotics and modular reconfigurablerobots hold exciting potential to address both challenges. When combined, the …
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Jacobian-based control of soft robots for manipulation using implicit surface models
Soft robot hands offer numerous advantages over rigid ones for manipulation, including robustness and safety. Yet, compared to rigid robots, soft robots are characterized by continuous mechanics, and finite-element approximations with many degrees of freedom present a significant obstacle for …
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Compliant, Large-Strain, and Self-Sensing Twisted String Actuators with Applications to Soft Robots
… transmission system that has been implemented in robots for high force output and efficiency. The basic components of a TSA are a motor, strings, and a load (to keep the strings in tension). The twisting of the strings shortens their length to generate linear contraction. Due to their high force …
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Co-Optimization and Co-Learning Methods for Automated Design of Rigid and Soft Robots
… a major barrier to creating similarly adept robots is the design process itself. Each aspect of robot design, including the (physical) body (e.g. actuation, sensing, geometry, materials) and the (cyber) brain (e.g. control, proprioception) is typically not integrated in a single design …
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Building and controlling fluidically actuated soft robots : from open loop to model-based control
This thesis describes the creation and control of soft robots made of deformable elastomer materials and powered by fluidics. We embed soft fluidic actuators into self-contained soft robotic systems, such as fish for underwater exploration or soft arms for dynamic manipulation. We present models …
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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Driven Origami-Inspired Large-Elongation Soft Robot Modules
Soft robots have gained popularity in recent years, especially in fields spanning medicine, space, to assistive robotics. Unlike traditionally rigid robots, soft robots offer inherent safety and a robust design. Furthermore, modular reconfigurable soft robots, which are robots composed of repeating …
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Vision-based proprioception of a soft robotic finger with tactile sensing
Over the past decade, the development of soft robots has significantly progressed. Today, soft robots have a variety of usages in multiple fields, ranging from surgical robotics to prostheses to human-robot interaction. These robots are more versatile, adaptable, safe, robust, and dexterous than …
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Vision-based Proprioceptive and Force Sensing for Soft Robotic Actuator
Developing reliable control strategies for soft robots requires advances in soft robot perception. Due to their near-infinite degrees of freedom, obtaining useful sensory feedback from soft robots remains a long-standing challenge. Moreover, sensorization methods must be co-developed with more …
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Low-cost soft sensors and robots for leak detection in operating water pipes
… test validations of such a solution. I developed soft robots for early detection of leaks in water pipes when the water service is on. This work introduces four key contributions: (1) Design, fabrication and field validations of soft robots for operating water pipes (2) Design, fabrication and …
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Design and analysis of a soft spiral gripper
Continuum robots have been gaining popularity in recent years for their umpteen advantages. Soft robots are a class of continuum robots which are made of squishy materials which have the added benefit of being innocuous to humans. Soft robotic grippers are one of the major application of soft …
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Bio-inspired soft robotic systems: Exploiting environmental interactions using embodied mechanics and sensory coordination
… great precision, reliability, and dexterity, robots remain incapable of performing basic manipulation tasks that humans take for granted. Manipulation in unstructured environments continues to be acknowledged as a significant challenge. Soft robotics, the use of less rigid materials in robots, …
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A Soft Robotic System for Mechanical Assistance to the Diaphragm
… like speech, swallowing, and mobility. Soft robots are ideal to assist in complex biological functions like the contraction of the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic mechanical assistance using implantable soft robots has shown promising results in restoring respiratory function. However, the the …
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Tailoring Artificial Muscles for the Design and Development of Soft Underwater Robots
Soft robots made out of highly deformable materials have many degrees of freedom similar to animals found in nature, and such robots are essential for numerous applications in harsh environments. Recently, soft robots are favored over rigid structures for their highly compliant material, high …
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Embeddable micro pinch valve for localized pressure control on modular pneumatic soft robotic arm
The advantages of soft robots include being able to manipulate delicate objects, adaptive to uncertain and dynamic task-environments and interacting with human in an intrinsically friendly manner. These merits make them potentially useful in the nuclear industry, where robots have to handle …
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Soft, Compliant Tactile Robotic Manipulators
When we look to the future of soft robotics and manipulation, we begin to look towards sensory-rich and compliant grasping mechanisms. Not only do we want to capitalize on the significant advantages in safety and adaptability that soft robots have, we also want to incorporate high-resolution …
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A high-deformation electric soft robotic gripper via handed shearing auxetics
… of a new class of electrically-driven soft robotic actuators built from handed shearing auxetics (HSAs). Soft robots - robots made out of more compliant materials such as rubber and silicone - are significantly more robust and safer than their rigid-bodied counterparts due to their …
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