Publications by Massimo Vespignani

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We present robot design and results from locomotion experiments with a novel, compliant quadruped robot: Cheetah-cub. The robot's leg configuration is based on a spring-loaded, panthograph-mechanism with multiple segments. A dedicated open-loop, joint-spac ...

Manipulation and transport of objects using mobile robotic platforms is a well studied field with several successful approaches. The main difficulty while using such platforms is the lack of adaptation capabilities to changes in the environment and the res ...

This paper presents dynamic characterization and control of an upper-limb rehabilitation machine aimed at improving robot performance in the interaction with the patient. An integrated approach between mechanics and control is the key issue of the paper fo ...

The design of efficient locomotion gaits for robots with many degrees of freedom is challenging and time con- suming even if optimization techniques are applied. Control parameters can be found through optimization in two ways: (i) through online optimizat ...

Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robots (SRMRs) are assemblies of autonomous robotic units, referred to as modules, joined together using active connection mechanisms. By changing the connectivity of these modules, SRMRs are able to deliberately change their ow ...

Roombots (RB) are self-reconfigurable modular robots designed to study robotic reconfiguration on a structured grid and adaptive locomotion off grid. One of the main goals of this platform is to create adaptive furniture inside living spaces such as homes ...

This work explores the use of active tails for steady-state legged-locomotion. Simple models are proposed which capture the dynamics of an idealized running system with an active tail. Analysis suggests that the control objectives of injecting energy into ...

In this paper we introduce a body-compliant Modular Snake Robot executing rolling gaits on different cylindrical geometries. In the state of the art it is considered that an active shape adaptation to the terrain while a gait is executed produces better pe ...

This manuscript proposes a method to directly transfer the features of horse walking, trotting, and galloping to a quadruped robot, with the aim of creating a much more natural (horse-like) locomotion profile. A principal component analysis on horse joint ...

This work explores the possible roles of active tails for steady-state legged-locomotion. A series of simple models are proposed which capture the dynamics of an idealized running system with an active tail. The models suggest that the control objectives o ...

Visual information is heavily used in robotics, in particular for SLAM applications. Visual SLAM algorithms depend on robust feature extraction and reliable state estimation. Quality of the visual information highly depends on how that information is captu ...

In this work we provide hands-on experience on designing and testing a self-reconfiguring modular robotic system, Roombots (RB), to be used among others for adaptive furniture. In the long term, we envision that RB can be used to create sets of furniture, ...

This paper presents the results of a study on the effect of in-series compliance on the locomotion of a simulated 8-DoF Lola-OP Modular Snake Robot with added compliant elements. We explore whether there is an optimal stiffness for gait, terrain type, or s ...

Roombots (RB) are self-reconfigurable modular robots designed to explore physical structure change by robotic reconfiguration and adaptive locomotion on structured grid environment or unstructured environment. The primary goal of RB is to create adaptive f ...

Just as their discrete counterparts, periodic or rhythmic dynamic motion primitives allow easily modulated and robust motion generation, but for periodic tasks. In this paper we present an approach for modulating periodic dynamic movement primitives based ...

The design of efficient locomotion controllers for arbitrary structures of reconfigurable modular robots is challenging because the morphology of the structure can change dynamically during the completion of a task. In this paper, we propose a new method t ...

This paper presents the results of a study on the exploitation of compliance in structures made of self-reconfigurable modular robots - Roombots. This research was driven by the following three hypotheses: (1) compliance can improve locomotion performance; ...

We present the hardware and reconfiguration experiments for an autonomous self-reconfigurable modular robot called Roombots (RB). RB were designed to form the basis for self-reconfigurable furniture. Each RB module contains three degrees of freedom that ha ...

Massimo Vespignani

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Towards Dynamic Trot Gait Locomotion—Design, Control and Experiments with Cheetah-cub, a Compliant Quadruped Robot

Collaborative Manipulation and Transport of Passive Pieces Using the Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robots Roombots

Dynamic Characterization and Interaction Control of the CBM-Motus Robot for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation

Gait Optimization for Roombots Modular Robots - Matching Simulation and Reality

Challenges in the Locomotion of Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robots

Natural User Interface for Roombots

On Designing An Active Tail For Body-Pitch Control In Legged Robots Via Decoupling Of Control Objectives

Compliant snake robot locomotion on horizontal pipes

Horse-like walking, trotting, and galloping derived from kinematic Motion Primitives (kMPs) and their application to walk/trot transitions in a compliant quadruped robot

On Designing an Active Tail for Legged Robots: Simplifying Control via Decoupling of Control Objectives

Where to place cameras on a snake robot: Focus on camera trajectory and motion blur

Roombots: A Hardware Perspective on 3D Self-Reconfiguration and Locomotion with a Homogeneous Modular Robot

Role of Compliance on the Locomotion of a Reconfigurable Modular Snake Robot

Natural user interface for lighting control: Case study on desktop lighting using modular robots

Rich periodic motor skills on humanoid robots: Riding the pedal racer

Automatic Generation of Reduced CPG Control Networks for Locomotion of Arbitrary Modular Robot Structures

An experimental study on the role of compliant elements on the locomotion of the self-reconfigurable modular robots Roombots

Simplifying Control through Active Tail Use

Locomotion through Reconfiguration based on Motor Primitives for Roombots Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robots