Agile quadrupedal locomotion in animals and robots is yet to be fully understood, quantified
or achieved. An intuitive notion of agility exists, but neither a concise definition nor a common
benchmark can be found. Further, it is unclear, what minimal leve ...
Quasi-static piezoelectric actuators are used in micro-robotics due to the small displacements they can achieve, and they have been proved suitable for Self-Sensing Actuation (SSA) applications. The fabrication parameters of an actuator (i.e. morphology, s ...
A swarm of randomly moving miniature robots is an effective solution for the exploration of unknown terrains. However, the deployment of a swarm of miniature robots poses two challenges: finding an adequate locomotion strategy for fast exploration and obst ...
The technology of fiber positioning robots has been evolving in the recent years and currently lacks of a comprehensive view. This thesis aims at filling this gap. Fiber positioning robots are analyzed under different aspects: a theoretical framework, desi ...
Despite enhancements in the development of robotic systems, the energy economy of today's robots lags far behind that of biological systems. This is in particular critical for untethered legged robot locomotion. To elucidate the current stage of energy eff ...
Most current drones are designed with a static morphology aimed at exploiting a single locomotion mode. This results in limited versatility and adaptability to multi-domain environments, such as those encountered in rescue missions, agriculture and inspect ...
Humans rely on the sense of touch in almost every aspect of daily life, whether to tie shoelaces, place fingertips on a computer keyboard or find keys inside a bag. With robots moving into human-centered environment, tactile exploration becomes more and mo ...
