Publications by Dario Floreano

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Autonomous control of ultra-light indoor microflyers is a difficult and largely unsolved task because of the strong limitations on the kind of sensors that can be embedded. We propose a new approach for altitude control of a 10-gram microflyer, where altit ...

Flying robots are becoming increasingly widespread, not only as remote‐vision agents but also as tools capable of physically interacting with our world. As robots fly closer to obstacles, the likelihood of collision rises. While collision resilience soluti ...

A swarm-bot is a robotic entity built of several autonomous mobile robots (called s-bots) physically connected together. This form of collective robotics exploits robot interactions both at the behavioral and physical levels. The goal of this paper is to a ...

In this paper we introduce a new robotic system, called swarm-bot. The system consists of a swarm of mobile robots with the ability to connect to/disconnect from each other to self-assemble into different kinds of structures. First, we describe our vision and the goals of the project. Then we present preliminary results on the formation of patterns obtained from a grid-world simulation of the system.

This paper explores the capabilities of continuous time recurrent neural networks (CTRNNs) to display reinforcement learning-like abilities on a set of T-Maze and double T-Maze navigation tasks, where the robot has to locate and "remember'' the position of a reward-zone. The "learning'' comes about without modifications of synapse strengths, but simply from internal network dynamics, as proposed by [12]. Neural controllers are evolved in simulation and in the simple case evaluated on a real robot. The evolv

A highly versatile soft gripper that can handle an unprecedented range of object types is developed based on a new design of dielectric elastomer actuators employing an interdigitated electrode geometry, simultaneously maximizing both electroadhesion and e ...

In this paper we investigate a novel approach to the evolutionary development of autonomous situated agents based on the assumption that the neural mechanisms underlying ontogenetic learning are themselves developed and shaped by evolutionary process. A genetic algorithm is used to evolve neural structures that can be continuously modified during life according to the mechanisms specified in the genotype. The evolutionary process is carried out on a real mobile robot. The analysis of one of the best evolved

Decentralized deployment of drone swarms usually relies on inter-agent communication or visual markers that are mounted on the vehicles to simplify their mutual detection. This letter proposes a vision-based detection and tracking algorithm that enables gr ...

In the attempt to build adaptive and intelligent machines, roboticists have looked at neuroscience for more than half a century as a source of inspiration for perception and control. More recently, neuroscientists have resorted to robots for testing hypoth ...

Multicopters stand to revolutionize parcel delivery because of their capability to operate in areas with unsuitable road infrastructure and precisely maneuver in cluttered environments. However, current multicopters for delivery can be dangerous for people ...

Autonomous navigation in obstacle-dense indoor environments is very challenging for flying robots due to the high risk of collisions, which may lead to mechanical damage of the platform and eventual failure of the mission. While conventional approaches in ...

Tesla was hoping to produce 5,000 new Model 3 electric cars each week in 2018. So far, it has failed to manufacture even half that number. Questioned on the matter, the company's CEO, Elon Musk,

Tensegrity structures have garnered significant attention due tounmatched low mass per load bearing unit and programable stiffness. However, traditional fabrication methods often rely on labor‐intensive manual assembly, which becomes particularly demanding for complex tensegrities requiring precise pretensioning equilibrium. While recent advances have improved fabrication of simple tensegrity modules, large and intricate tensegrities remain difficult to produce. In this article, we present a fabrication met

Electro-adhesive clutches have become effective tools for variable stiffness functions in many robotic systems due to their light weight, high speed and strong brake force. In this paper, we present a novel, tubular design of an electro-adhesive clutch. Ou ...

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), a soft actuator technology, hold great promise for biomimetic underwater robots. The high-voltages required to drive DEAs can however make them challenging to use in water. This paper demonstrates a method to create D ...

Vision Tape is a novel class of flexible compound-eye-like linear vision sensor dedicated to motion extraction and proximity estimation. This novel sensor possesses intrinsic mechanical flexibility that provides wide-range adaptive shape, allowing adjustable field of view as well as integration with numerous substrates and curvatures. Vision Tape extracts Optic Flow of the visual scene to calculate the motion vector, which allows proximity estimation based on the motion parallax principle.

Aerial Robotics are interesting and useful tools because they have some intrinsic advantages over ground and water based systems, like the possibility to observe things from above or to locomote without being perturbed by obstacles and rough terrain. Howev ...

It has been suggested that long-range lateral connections in the cortex play a contextual role in that they modulate the gain of the response to primary receptive field input. In the first part of this paper I show that a network with a set of such pre-wired connections has a short-term dynamics that enhances and stabilizes coherent information defined across multiple, non-overlapping receptive fields. In the second part, I suggest a simple Hebbian rule that can develop the required pattern of synaptic stre

Increased fatigue of pilots during long flights can place both humans and machine at high risk. In this paper, we describe our research on a SymBodic (SYMbiotic BODies) system designed to minimize pilot fatigue in a simulated 48 hour mission. The system de ...

In a team of autonomous drones, individual knowledge about the relative location of teammates is essential. Existing relative positioning solutions for teams of small drones mostly rely on external systems such as motion tracking cameras or GPS satellites ...

Dario Floreano

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Vision-based Altitude and Pitch Estimation for Ultra-light Indoor Microflyers

Collision‐Resilient Winged Drones Enabled by Tensegrity Structures

Superlinear Physical Performances in a SWARM-BOT

SWARM-BOT: Pattern Formation in a Swarm of Self-Assembling Mobile Robots

Exploring the T-Maze: Evolving Learning-Like Robot Behaviors using CTRNNs

Versatile soft grippers with intrinsic electroadhesion based on multifunctional polymer actuators

Evolution of Plastic Neurocontrollers for Situated Agents

Vision-based Drone Flocking in Outdoor Environments

Robotics and Neuroscience

An origami-inspired cargo drone

Contact-based navigation for an autonomous flying robot

Tesla’s problem: overestimating automation, underestimating humans

3D‐Printing Aided Rapid Prototyping of Pretensioned Tensegrity Structures for Robotic Applications

Electro-Adhesive Tubular Clutch for Variable-Stiffness Robots

Biomimetic Underwater Robots Based on Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

Vision Tape - a novel class of flexible vision sensor for robots and humans

A Simple and Robust Fixed-Wing Platform for Outdoor Flying Robot Experiments

Extraction of Coherent Information from Non-Overlapping Receptive Fields

Enhancing Pilot Performance with a SymBodic System

On-Board Relative Bearing Estimation for Teams of Drones Using Sound