A major challenge to deploying robots widely is navigation in human-populated environments, commonly referred to as social robot navigation. While the field of social navigation has advanced tremendously in recent years, the fair evaluation of algorithms t ...
The human sense of touch converts skin deformations into electrical impulses, enabling functional tasks such as object recognition and manipulation. Providing haptic information is crucial for improving usability in applications like prosthetics. Soft actu ...
Bridging the performance gap between robotics and biological systems demands significant advancements across multiple domains, including mechanical design, control theory, modeling, and artificial intelligence. In this thesis, I will introduce innovative m ...
For robots to operate in unstructured environments, they are required to interact with objects through contact. Those contacts may be used to push objects to the side, deform objects, or manipulate objects in-hand. This thesis addresses the problem of cont ...
Photorealistic synthetic data and novel rendering techniques significantly advanced computer vision research. However, datasets focused on computer vision applications cannot be easily applied to robotics because they typically lack physics-related informa ...
Modular robotics link the reliability of a centralised system with the adaptivity of a decentralised system.
It is difficult for a robot with a fixed shape to be able to perform many different types of tasks.
As the task space grows, the number of functi ...
Robots outside of the fenced factories have to deal with continuously changing environment, this requires fast and flexible modes of control. Planning methods or complex learning models can find optimal paths in complex surroundings, but they are computati ...
Harmful chemical compounds are released daily in warehouses, chemical plants and during environmental emergencies.
Their uncontrolled dispersion contributes to the pollution of the atmosphere and threatens human and animal lives.
When gas leaks occur, the ...
This doctoral thesis navigates the complex landscape of motion coordination and formation control within teams of rotary-wing Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). Prompted by the intricate demands of real-world applications such as search and rescue or surveillan ...
Planning multicontact motions in a receding horizon fashion requires a value function to guide the planning with respect to the future, e.g., building momentum to traverse large obstacles. Traditionally, the value function is approximated by computing traj ...
Social insects, such as ants, termites, and honeybees, have evolved sophisticated societies where the collaborative efforts of "simple" individuals can lead to the emergence of complex dynamics. The reliance of each organism on the collective is so great t ...
Biohybrid systems in which robotic lures interact with animals have become compelling tools for probing and identifying the mechanisms underlying collective animal behavior. One key challenge lies in the transfer of social interaction models from simulatio ...
This article summarizes the recent advancements in the design, fabrication, and control of microrobotic devices for the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. With a focus on diverse actuation methods, we discuss how advancements in materials science ...
This paper builds up the skill of impact aware non prehensile manipulation through a hitting motion by allowing the robot arm to come in contact with the environment with parts other than its end effector. Hitting with other joints allows us to manipulate ...
Given the patchy nature of gas plumes and the slow response of conventional gas sensors, the use of mobile robots for Gas Source Localization (GSL) tasks presents significant challenges. These aspects increase the difficulties in obtaining gas measurements ...
Shape-changing robots adapt their own morphology to address a wider range of functions or environments than is possible with a fixed or rigid structure. Akin to biological organisms, the ability to alter shape or configuration emerges from the underlying m ...
Robotics is entering our daily lives. The discipline is increasingly crucial in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and rescue operations, impacting our food, health, and planet. At the same time, it is becoming evident that robotic research must embrace ...
There is a growing trend towards designing learning activities featuring robots as collaborative exercises where children work together to achieve the activity objectives, generating interactions that can trigger learning processes. Witnessing such activit ...
Gender inequality is a widespread problem in our society. It can manifest itself in many ways and contexts, and starting as early as primary school. While an increasing number of initiatives aim at tackling gender biases and inequalities, few of them are a ...
In various robotics applications, the selection of function approximation methods greatly influences the feasibility and computational efficiency of algorithms. Tensor Networks (TNs), also referred to as tensor decomposition techniques, present a versatile ...
