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161 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2019

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EM-Fusion: Dynamic Object-Level SLAM With Probabilistic Data Association

Strecke, M., Stückler, J.

In International Conference on Computer Vision, October 2019, arXiv:1904.11781 (inproceedings)

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preprint Project page Poster [BibTex]

2019

ev Strecke, M., Stückler, J. EM-Fusion: Dynamic Object-Level SLAM With Probabilistic Data Association In International Conference on Computer Vision, October 2019, arXiv:1904.11781 (inproceedings)

preprint Project page Poster [BibTex]

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Elastic modulus affects adhesive strength of gecko-inspired synthetics in variable temperature and humidity

Mitchell, CT, Drotlef, D, Dayan, CB, Sitti, M, Stark, AY

In INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, pages: E372-E372, OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA, March 2019 (inproceedings)

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[BibTex]

pi Mitchell, CT, Drotlef, D, Dayan, CB, Sitti, M, Stark, AY Elastic modulus affects adhesive strength of gecko-inspired synthetics in variable temperature and humidity In INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, pages: E372-E372, OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA, March 2019 (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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X-ray Optics Fabrication Using Unorthodox Approaches

Sanli, U., Baluktsian, M., Ceylan, H., Sitti, M., Weigand, M., Schütz, G., Keskinbora, K.

Bulletin of the American Physical Society, APS, 2019 (article)

mms pi

[BibTex]

mms pi Sanli, U., Baluktsian, M., Ceylan, H., Sitti, M., Weigand, M., Schütz, G., Keskinbora, K. X-ray Optics Fabrication Using Unorthodox Approaches Bulletin of the American Physical Society, APS, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Microrobotics and Microorganisms: Biohybrid Autonomous Cellular Robots

Alapan, Y., Yasa, O., Yigit, B., Yasa, I. C., Erkoc, P., Sitti, M.

Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Alapan, Y., Yasa, O., Yigit, B., Yasa, I. C., Erkoc, P., Sitti, M. Microrobotics and Microorganisms: Biohybrid Autonomous Cellular Robots Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Tailored Magnetic Springs for Shape-Memory Alloy Actuated Mechanisms in Miniature Robots

Woodward, M. A., Sitti, M.

IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 35, 2019 (article)

Abstract
Animals can incorporate large numbers of actuators because of the characteristics of muscles; whereas, robots cannot, as typical motors tend to be large, heavy, and inefficient. However, shape-memory alloys (SMA), materials that contract during heating because of change in their crystal structure, provide another option. SMA, though, is unidirectional and therefore requires an additional force to reset (extend) the actuator, which is typically provided by springs or antagonistic actuation. These strategies, however, tend to limit the actuator's work output and functionality as their force-displacement relationships typically produce increasing resistive force with limited variability. In contrast, magnetic springs-composed of permanent magnets, where the interaction force between magnets mimics a spring force-have much more variable force-displacement relationships and scale well with SMA. However, as of yet, no method for designing magnetic springs for SMA-actuators has been demonstrated. Therefore, in this paper, we present a new methodology to tailor magnetic springs to the characteristics of these actuators, with experimental results both for the device and robot-integrated SMA-actuators. We found magnetic building blocks, based on sets of permanent magnets, which are well-suited to SMAs and have the potential to incorporate features such as holding force, state transitioning, friction minimization, auto-alignment, and self-mounting. We show magnetic springs that vary by more than 3 N in 750 $\mu$m and two SMA-actuated devices that allow the MultiMo-Bat to reach heights of up to 4.5 m without, and 3.6 m with, integrated gliding airfoils. Our results demonstrate the potential of this methodology to add previously impossible functionality to smart material actuators. We anticipate this methodology will inspire broader consideration of the use of magnetic springs in miniature robots and further study of the potential of tailored magnetic springs throughout mechanical systems.

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DOI [BibTex]

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Magnetically Actuated Soft Capsule Endoscope for Fine-Needle Biopsy

Son, D., Gilbert, H., Sitti, M.

Soft robotics, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New …, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Son, D., Gilbert, H., Sitti, M. Magnetically Actuated Soft Capsule Endoscope for Fine-Needle Biopsy Soft robotics, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New …, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Thrust and Hydrodynamic Efficiency of the Bundled Flagella

Danis, U., Rasooli, R., Chen, C., Dur, O., Sitti, M., Pekkan, K.

Micromachines, 10, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Danis, U., Rasooli, R., Chen, C., Dur, O., Sitti, M., Pekkan, K. Thrust and Hydrodynamic Efficiency of the Bundled Flagella Micromachines, 10, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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The near and far of a pair of magnetic capillary disks

Koens, L., Wang, W., Sitti, M., Lauga, E.

Soft Matter, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Koens, L., Wang, W., Sitti, M., Lauga, E. The near and far of a pair of magnetic capillary disks Soft Matter, 2019 (article)

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Multifarious Transit Gates for Programmable Delivery of Bio‐functionalized Matters

Hu, X., Torati, S. R., Kim, H., Yoon, J., Lim, B., Kim, K., Sitti, M., Kim, C.

Small, Wiley Online Library, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Hu, X., Torati, S. R., Kim, H., Yoon, J., Lim, B., Kim, K., Sitti, M., Kim, C. Multifarious Transit Gates for Programmable Delivery of Bio‐functionalized Matters Small, Wiley Online Library, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Multi-functional soft-bodied jellyfish-like swimming

Ren, Z., Hu, W., Dong, X., Sitti, M.

Nature communications, 10, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

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Welcome to Progress in Biomedical Engineering

Sitti, M.

Progress in Biomedical Engineering, 1, IOP Publishing, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Sitti, M. Welcome to Progress in Biomedical Engineering Progress in Biomedical Engineering, 1, IOP Publishing, 2019 (article)

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Mechanics of a pressure-controlled adhesive membrane for soft robotic gripping on curved surfaces

Song, S., Drotlef, D., Paik, J., Majidi, C., Sitti, M.

Extreme Mechanics Letters, Elsevier, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

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Graphene oxide synergistically enhances antibiotic efficacy in Vancomycin resistance Staphylococcus aureus

Singh, V., Kumar, V., Kashyap, S., Singh, A. V., Kishore, V., Sitti, M., Saxena, P. S., Srivastava, A.

ACS Applied Bio Materials, ACS Publications, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Singh, V., Kumar, V., Kashyap, S., Singh, A. V., Kishore, V., Sitti, M., Saxena, P. S., Srivastava, A. Graphene oxide synergistically enhances antibiotic efficacy in Vancomycin resistance Staphylococcus aureus ACS Applied Bio Materials, ACS Publications, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Review of emerging concepts in nanotoxicology: opportunities and challenges for safer nanomaterial design

Singh, A. V., Laux, P., Luch, A., Sudrik, C., Wiehr, S., Wild, A., Santamauro, G., Bill, J., Sitti, M.

Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Singh, A. V., Laux, P., Luch, A., Sudrik, C., Wiehr, S., Wild, A., Santamauro, G., Bill, J., Sitti, M. Review of emerging concepts in nanotoxicology: opportunities and challenges for safer nanomaterial design Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Multifunctional and biodegradable self-propelled protein motors

Pena-Francesch, A., Giltinan, J., Sitti, M.

Nature communications, 10, Nature Publishing Group, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Pena-Francesch, A., Giltinan, J., Sitti, M. Multifunctional and biodegradable self-propelled protein motors Nature communications, 10, Nature Publishing Group, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Cohesive self-organization of mobile microrobotic swarms

Yigit, B., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M.

arXiv preprint arXiv:1907.05856, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Yigit, B., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M. Cohesive self-organization of mobile microrobotic swarms arXiv preprint arXiv:1907.05856, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Visual-Inertial Mapping with Non-Linear Factor Recovery

Usenko, V., Demmel, N., Schubert, D., Stückler, J., Cremers, D.

2019, arXiv:1904.06504 (misc)

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[BibTex]

ev Usenko, V., Demmel, N., Schubert, D., Stückler, J., Cremers, D. Visual-Inertial Mapping with Non-Linear Factor Recovery 2019, arXiv:1904.06504 (misc)

[BibTex]

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Learning to Disentangle Latent Physical Factors for Video Prediction

Zhu, D., Munderloh, M., Rosenhahn, B., Stückler, J.

In German Conference on Pattern Recognition (GCPR), 2019, to appear (inproceedings)

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dataset & evaluation code video preprint [BibTex]

ev Zhu, D., Munderloh, M., Rosenhahn, B., Stückler, J. Learning to Disentangle Latent Physical Factors for Video Prediction In German Conference on Pattern Recognition (GCPR), 2019, to appear (inproceedings)

dataset & evaluation code video preprint [BibTex]

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Mobile microrobots for active therapeutic delivery

Erkoc, P., Yasa, I. C., Ceylan, H., Yasa, O., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M.

Advanced Therapeutics, Wiley Online Library, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Erkoc, P., Yasa, I. C., Ceylan, H., Yasa, O., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M. Mobile microrobots for active therapeutic delivery Advanced Therapeutics, Wiley Online Library, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Shape-encoded dynamic assembly of mobile micromachines

Alapan, Y., Yigit, B., Beker, O., Demirörs, A. F., Sitti, M.

Nature, 18, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Alapan, Y., Yigit, B., Beker, O., Demirörs, A. F., Sitti, M. Shape-encoded dynamic assembly of mobile micromachines Nature, 18, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Microfluidics Integrated Lithography‐Free Nanophotonic Biosensor for the Detection of Small Molecules

Sreekanth, K. V., Sreejith, S., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M., Lim, C. T., Singh, R.

Advanced Optical Materials, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Sreekanth, K. V., Sreejith, S., Alapan, Y., Sitti, M., Lim, C. T., Singh, R. Microfluidics Integrated Lithography‐Free Nanophotonic Biosensor for the Detection of Small Molecules Advanced Optical Materials, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Gecko-inspired composite microfibers for reversible adhesion on smooth and rough surfaces

Drotlef, D., Dayan, C., Sitti, M.

In INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, pages: E58-E58, OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA, 2019 (inproceedings)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Drotlef, D., Dayan, C., Sitti, M. Gecko-inspired composite microfibers for reversible adhesion on smooth and rough surfaces In INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, pages: E58-E58, OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA, 2019 (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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ENGINEERING Bio-inspired robotic collectives

Sitti, M.

Nature, 567, pages: 314-315, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, England, 2019 (article)

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[BibTex]

pi Sitti, M. ENGINEERING Bio-inspired robotic collectives Nature, 567, pages: 314-315, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, England, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Robust Humanoid Locomotion Using Trajectory Optimization and Sample-Efficient Learning

Yeganegi, M. H., Khadiv, M., Moosavian, S. A. A., Zhu, J., Prete, A. D., Righetti, L.

Proceedings International Conference on Humanoid Robots, IEEE, 2019 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2019 (conference)

Abstract
Trajectory optimization (TO) is one of the most powerful tools for generating feasible motions for humanoid robots. However, including uncertainties and stochasticity in the TO problem to generate robust motions can easily lead to intractable problems. Furthermore, since the models used in TO have always some level of abstraction, it can be hard to find a realistic set of uncertainties in the model space. In this paper we leverage a sample-efficient learning technique (Bayesian optimization) to robustify TO for humanoid locomotion. The main idea is to use data from full-body simulations to make the TO stage robust by tuning the cost weights. To this end, we split the TO problem into two phases. The first phase solves a convex optimization problem for generating center of mass (CoM) trajectories based on simplified linear dynamics. The second stage employs iterative Linear-Quadratic Gaussian (iLQG) as a whole-body controller to generate full body control inputs. Then we use Bayesian optimization to find the cost weights to use in the first stage that yields robust performance in the simulation/experiment, in the presence of different disturbance/uncertainties. The results show that the proposed approach is able to generate robust motions for different sets of disturbances and uncertainties.

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https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.04616 [BibTex]

mg Yeganegi, M. H., Khadiv, M., Moosavian, S. A. A., Zhu, J., Prete, A. D., Righetti, L. Robust Humanoid Locomotion Using Trajectory Optimization and Sample-Efficient Learning Proceedings International Conference on Humanoid Robots, IEEE, 2019 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2019 (conference)

https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.04616 [BibTex]

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Peptide-Induced Biomineralization of Tin Oxide (SnO2) Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Applications

Singh, A. V., Jahnke, T., Xiao, Y., Wang, S., Yu, Y., David, H., Richter, G., Laux, P., Luch, A., Srivastava, A., Saxena, P. S., Bill, J., Sitti, M.

Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology, 19, American Scientific Publishers, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Singh, A. V., Jahnke, T., Xiao, Y., Wang, S., Yu, Y., David, H., Richter, G., Laux, P., Luch, A., Srivastava, A., Saxena, P. S., Bill, J., Sitti, M. Peptide-Induced Biomineralization of Tin Oxide (SnO2) Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Applications Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology, 19, American Scientific Publishers, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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Electromechanical actuation of dielectric liquid crystal elastomers for soft robotics

Davidson, Z., Shahsavan, H., Guo, Y., Hines, L., Xia, Y., Yang, S., Sitti, M.

Bulletin of the American Physical Society, APS, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Davidson, Z., Shahsavan, H., Guo, Y., Hines, L., Xia, Y., Yang, S., Sitti, M. Electromechanical actuation of dielectric liquid crystal elastomers for soft robotics Bulletin of the American Physical Society, APS, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

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3D Birds-Eye-View Instance Segmentation

Elich, C., Engelmann, F., Kontogianni, T., Leibe, B.

In German Conference on Pattern Recognition (GCPR), 2019, arXiv:1904.02199, to appear (inproceedings)

ev

[BibTex]

ev Elich, C., Engelmann, F., Kontogianni, T., Leibe, B. 3D Birds-Eye-View Instance Segmentation In German Conference on Pattern Recognition (GCPR), 2019, arXiv:1904.02199, to appear (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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Learning to Navigate Endoscopic Capsule Robots

Turan, M., Almalioglu, Y., Gilbert, H. B., Mahmood, F., Durr, N. J., Araujo, H., Sarı, A. E., Ajay, A., Sitti, M.

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 4, 2019 (article)

pi

[BibTex]

pi Turan, M., Almalioglu, Y., Gilbert, H. B., Mahmood, F., Durr, N. J., Araujo, H., Sarı, A. E., Ajay, A., Sitti, M. Learning to Navigate Endoscopic Capsule Robots IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 4, 2019 (article)

[BibTex]

2018

Thumb xl screenshot 2018 5 9 swimming back and forth using planar flagellar propulsion at low reynolds numbers khalil 2018 adv ...
Swimming Back and Forth Using Planar Flagellar Propulsion at Low Reynolds Numbers

Khalil, I. S. M., Tabak, A. F., Hamed, Y., Mitwally, M. E., Tawakol, M., Klingner, A., Sitti, M.

Advanced Science, 5(2):1700461, 2018 (article)

Abstract
Abstract Peritrichously flagellated Escherichia coli swim back and forth by wrapping their flagella together in a helical bundle. However, other monotrichous bacteria cannot swim back and forth with a single flagellum and planar wave propagation. Quantifying this observation, a magnetically driven soft two‐tailed microrobot capable of reversing its swimming direction without making a U‐turn trajectory or actively modifying the direction of wave propagation is designed and developed. The microrobot contains magnetic microparticles within the polymer matrix of its head and consists of two collinear, unequal, and opposite ultrathin tails. It is driven and steered using a uniform magnetic field along the direction of motion with a sinusoidally varying orthogonal component. Distinct reversal frequencies that enable selective and independent excitation of the first or the second tail of the microrobot based on their tail length ratio are found. While the first tail provides a propulsive force below one of the reversal frequencies, the second is almost passive, and the net propulsive force achieves flagellated motion along one direction. On the other hand, the second tail achieves flagellated propulsion along the opposite direction above the reversal frequency.

pi

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2018

pi Khalil, I. S. M., Tabak, A. F., Hamed, Y., Mitwally, M. E., Tawakol, M., Klingner, A., Sitti, M. Swimming Back and Forth Using Planar Flagellar Propulsion at Low Reynolds Numbers Advanced Science, 5(2):1700461, 2018 (article)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Universal Custom Complex Magnetic Spring Design Methodology

Woodward, M. A., Sitti, M.

IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 54(1):1-13, October 2018 (article)

Abstract
A design methodology is presented for creating custom complex magnetic springs through the design of force-displacement curves. This methodology results in a magnet configuration, which will produce a desired force-displacement relationship. Initially, the problem is formulated and solved as a system of linear equations. Then, given the limited likelihood of a single solution being feasibly manufactured, key parameters of the solution are extracted and varied to create a family of solutions. Finally, these solutions are refined using numerical optimization. Given the properties of magnets, this methodology can create any well-defined function of force versus displacement and is model-independent. To demonstrate this flexibility, a number of example magnetic springs are designed; one of which, designed for use in a jumping-gliding robot's shape memory alloy actuated clutch, is manufactured and experimentally characterized. Due to the scaling of magnetic forces, the displacement region which these magnetic springs are most applicable is that of millimeters and below. However, this region is well situated for miniature robots and smart material actuators, where a tailored magnetic spring, designed to compliment a component, can enhance its performance while adding new functionality. The methodology is also expendable to variable interactions and multi-dimensional magnetic field design.

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DOI [BibTex]

pi Woodward, M. A., Sitti, M. Universal Custom Complex Magnetic Spring Design Methodology IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 54(1):1-13, October 2018 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

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Leveraging Contact Forces for Learning to Grasp

Merzic, H., Bogdanovic, M., Kappler, D., Righetti, L., Bohg, J.

arXiv, September 2018, Submitted to ICRA'19 (article) Submitted

Abstract
Grasping objects under uncertainty remains an open problem in robotics research. This uncertainty is often due to noisy or partial observations of the object pose or shape. To enable a robot to react appropriately to unforeseen effects, it is crucial that it continuously takes sensor feedback into account. While visual feedback is important for inferring a grasp pose and reaching for an object, contact feedback offers valuable information during manipulation and grasp acquisition. In this paper, we use model-free deep reinforcement learning to synthesize control policies that exploit contact sensing to generate robust grasping under uncertainty. We demonstrate our approach on a multi-fingered hand that exhibits more complex finger coordination than the commonly used two- fingered grippers. We conduct extensive experiments in order to assess the performance of the learned policies, with and without contact sensing. While it is possible to learn grasping policies without contact sensing, our results suggest that contact feedback allows for a significant improvement of grasping robustness under object pose uncertainty and for objects with a complex shape.

am mg

video arXiv [BibTex]

am mg Merzic, H., Bogdanovic, M., Kappler, D., Righetti, L., Bohg, J. Leveraging Contact Forces for Learning to Grasp arXiv, September 2018, Submitted to ICRA'19 (article) Submitted

video arXiv [BibTex]

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Programmable collective behavior in dynamically self-assembled mobile microrobotic swarms

B Yigit, , Y Alapan, , Sitti, M.

Advanced Science, July 2018 (article)

Abstract
Collective control of mobile microrobotic swarms is indispensable for their potential high-impact applications in targeted drug delivery, medical diagnostics, parallel micromanipulation, and environmental sensing and remediation. Lack of on-board computational and sensing capabilities in current microrobotic systems necessitates use of physical interactions among individual microrobots for local physical communication and cooperation. Here, we show that mobile microrobotic swarms with well-defined collective behavior can be designed by engineering magnetic interactions among individual units. Microrobots, consisting of a linear chain of self-assembled magnetic microparticles, locomote on surfaces in response to a precessing magnetic field. Control over the direction of precessing magnetic field allows engineering attractive and repulsive interactions among microrobots and, thus, collective order with well-defined spatial organization and parallel operation over macroscale distances (~ 1 cm). These microrobotic swarms can be guided through confined spaces, while preserving microrobot morphology and function. These swarms can further achieve directional transport of large cargoes on surfaces and small cargoes in bulk fluids. Described design approach, exploiting physical interactions among individual robots, enables facile and rapid formation of self-organized and reconfigurable microrobotic swarms with programmable collective order.

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link (url) [BibTex]

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3D-Printed Biodegradable Microswimmer for Drug Delivery and Targeted Cell Labeling

Hakan Ceylan, , I. Ceren Yasa, , Oncay Yasa, , Ahmet Fatih Tabak, , Joshua Giltinan, , Sitti, M.

bioRxiv, pages: 379024, July 2018 (article)

Abstract
Miniaturization of interventional medical devices can leverage minimally invasive technologies by enabling operational resolution at cellular length scales with high precision and repeatability. Untethered micron-scale mobile robots can realize this by navigating and performing in hard-to-reach, confined and delicate inner body sites. However, such a complex task requires an integrated design and engineering strategy, where powering, control, environmental sensing, medical functionality and biodegradability need to be considered altogether. The present study reports a hydrogel-based, biodegradable microrobotic swimmer, which is responsive to the changes in its microenvironment for theranostic cargo delivery and release tasks. We design a double-helical magnetic microswimmer of 20 micrometers length, which is 3D-printed with complex geometrical and compositional features. At normal physiological concentrations, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) enzyme can entirely degrade the microswimmer body in 118 h to solubilized non-toxic products. The microswimmer can respond to the pathological concentrations of MMP-2 by swelling and thereby accelerating the release kinetics of the drug payload. Anti-ErbB 2 antibody-tagged magnetic nanoparticles released from the degraded microswimmers serve for targeted labeling of SKBR3 breast cancer cells to realize the potential of medical imaging of local tissue sites following the therapeutic intervention. These results represent a leap forward toward clinical medical microrobots that are capable of sensing, responding to the local pathological information, and performing specific therapeutic and diagnostic tasks as orderly executed operations using their smart composite material architectures.

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DOI Project Page [BibTex]

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Robust Physics-based Motion Retargeting with Realistic Body Shapes

Borno, M. A., Righetti, L., Black, M. J., Delp, S. L., Fiume, E., Romero, J.

Computer Graphics Forum, 37, pages: 6:1-12, July 2018 (article)

Abstract
Motion capture is often retargeted to new, and sometimes drastically different, characters. When the characters take on realistic human shapes, however, we become more sensitive to the motion looking right. This means adapting it to be consistent with the physical constraints imposed by different body shapes. We show how to take realistic 3D human shapes, approximate them using a simplified representation, and animate them so that they move realistically using physically-based retargeting. We develop a novel spacetime optimization approach that learns and robustly adapts physical controllers to new bodies and constraints. The approach automatically adapts the motion of the mocap subject to the body shape of a target subject. This motion respects the physical properties of the new body and every body shape results in a different and appropriate movement. This makes it easy to create a varied set of motions from a single mocap sequence by simply varying the characters. In an interactive environment, successful retargeting requires adapting the motion to unexpected external forces. We achieve robustness to such forces using a novel LQR-tree formulation. We show that the simulated motions look appropriate to each character’s anatomy and their actions are robust to perturbations.

mg ps

pdf video Project Page Project Page [BibTex]

mg ps Borno, M. A., Righetti, L., Black, M. J., Delp, S. L., Fiume, E., Romero, J. Robust Physics-based Motion Retargeting with Realistic Body Shapes Computer Graphics Forum, 37, pages: 6:1-12, July 2018 (article)

pdf video Project Page Project Page [BibTex]

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Innate turning preference of leaf-cutting ants in the absence of external orientation cues

Endlein, T., Sitti, M.

Journal of Experimental Biology, The Company of Biologists Ltd, June 2018 (article)

Abstract
Many ants use a combination of cues for orientation but how do ants find their way when all external cues are suppressed? Do they walk in a random way or are their movements spatially oriented? Here we show for the first time that leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex lundii) have an innate preference of turning counter-clockwise (left) when external cues are precluded. We demonstrated this by allowing individual ants to run freely on the water surface of a newly-developed treadmill. The surface tension supported medium-sized workers but effectively prevented ants from reaching the wall of the vessel, important to avoid wall-following behaviour (thigmotaxis). Most ants ran for minutes on the spot but also slowly turned counter-clockwise in the absence of visual cues. Reconstructing the effectively walked path revealed a looping pattern which could be interpreted as a search strategy. A similar turning bias was shown for groups of ants in a symmetrical Y-maze where twice as many ants chose the left branch in the absence of optical cues. Wall-following behaviour was tested by inserting a coiled tube before the Y-fork. When ants traversed a left-coiled tube, more ants chose the left box and vice versa. Adding visual cues in form of vertical black strips either outside the treadmill or on one branch of the Y-maze led to oriented walks towards the strips. It is suggested that both, the turning bias and the wall-following are employed as search strategies for an unknown environment which can be overridden by visual cues.

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link (url) DOI [BibTex]

pi Endlein, T., Sitti, M. Innate turning preference of leaf-cutting ants in the absence of external orientation cues Journal of Experimental Biology, The Company of Biologists Ltd, June 2018 (article)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]