ISARLab’s Post

Rob Shepherd, PhD, MBA, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering leading Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab, has developed biohybrid robots powered by fungi, specifically oyster mushrooms, by integrating fungal mycelium with robotic systems to sense and respond to environmental stimuli. These robots demonstrated basic tasks, like moving toward or away from light, and show potential for advanced chemical detection, surpassing synthetic sensors in sensitivity. The research highlights future applications in agriculture and environmental monitoring while addressing challenges like interpreting fungal signals and sustaining the fungi’s lifecycle through regrowth techniques. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gVVhDbka

Imaging radar can be one of useful solution for agricutural machine and construction equipment area.

For all science and innovation enthusiasts, don’t miss our group leader, Johannes T. B. (Bas) Overvelde, on the radio show NTR Wetenschap – Nacht van de Wetenschap! On the night from Wednesday, December 11th to Thursday, December 12th, he’ll share fascinating insights into the world of #softrobotics. These robots operate using principles from physics and engineering—forget sensors and batteries! Soft robots, for example, use simple components like the plastic valves found in ketchup bottles. Who would have thought that was possible…. Interested in this technique? Read our news item: https://lnkd.in/e4s3hika

🐕🪜 “A quadruped robot climbing ladders? That’s next-level locomotion!” 🔥 RSL (Robotic Systems Lab) at ETH Zürich has been hard at work pushing the boundaries of what robots like ANYmal can do. Their latest research shows how quadrupedal robots can successfully climb ladders with a 90% success rate in real-world trials—opening up new possibilities for navigating complex environments! #RoboticsResearch #ANYmal #LadderClimbing #LeggedRobots #Robots

I'm going to be attending the 2024 edition of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) next month on behalf of Frontiers in Robotics and AI. I have plenty of availability for meetings, so feel free to reach out to me to discuss the journal, your research or anything else! We launched our Field Robotics section back in 2021. Amongst many other topics, it seeks to provide a robot-powered answer to the question of achieving future food security. How do we increase our global production capacity while managing the impacts of climate change, arable land availability and health & safety concerns? For IROS 2024 we have partnered with two workshops tackling this from different angles. · Autonomous Robotic Systems in Aquaculture: Research Challenges and Industry Needs – Led by Prof. Eleni Kelasidi based at SINTEF, Norway Workshop: https://lnkd.in/d8sztaCe Research Topic: https://fro.ntiers.in/AQUA · AI and Robotics for Smart Agriculture – Led by Prof. Yongliang Qiao from the University of Adelaide, Australia Workshop: https://lnkd.in/dGkuc9YX Research Topic: https://fro.ntiers.in/FARM

🎉 I’m thrilled to announce that our paper, “Geometric Tracking Control of Omnidirectional Multirotors for Aggressive Maneuvers,” has been published by IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)! 🔍 In this work, we propose a novel tracking controller for an omnidirectional multirotor that considers rotor dynamics and does not require additional rotor state measurements. This enables more precise tracking of aggressive maneuvers—especially important for aerial vehicles operating in dynamic environments. Our experimental results demonstrate a significant improvement in trajectory tracking compared with a baseline controller. 🙏 A huge thanks to my co-authors Dr. Sheng Cheng, Zhuohuan Wu, and Prof. Naira Hovakimyan from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Jaeyoung Lim and Prof. Roland Siegwart from ETH Zürich for their guidance and collaboration. Curious how it all works? 📄 Paper: https://lnkd.in/gCz3ztAP 📚 arXiv: https://lnkd.in/gTrEs-Jm 🎥 Video: https://lnkd.in/guxAp4C7 Stay tuned for further results and upcoming projects!

I am so thankful to W. Garth Smith and the membership of the WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy for supporting the establishment of this new Distinguished Professorship in the Department. I am so happy for my friend and colleague, Dr. Yu Gu who is so highly deserving of this recognition!! Please read to learn more about this awesome news! #wvurobotics #LetsGo

Fun research project out of Shandong University From their abstract: "We designed a bipedal robot with quadrotor-assisted locomotion. The objective is to enhance the robot's motion performance through quadrotor assistance rather than achieving multimodal locomotion. In the prototype design, we improved the rigidity and compactness of the knee joint actuator by modifying the cantilever structure of the planetary carrier in the reducer to a bridge-like design. A simple motion control strategy was then developed to enable the robot to perform standing, walking, and jumping motions. Experimental results demonstrate that quadrotor assistance significantly improves both the stability and motion performance of the bipedal robot." Read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/e_EB7ERP

Innovative solutions are needed to tackle the complex dynamics of belt-pulley XY positioning mechanisms, which are crucial in various industries such as robotics, precision manufacturing, and materials science. In this article, researchers have developed a novel numerical approach to simulate the nonlinear dynamics of these mechanisms, shedding light on the role of friction and its impact on system performance. To access the full article and learn more about this groundbreaking research, please visit https://lnkd.in/dJZKJaW2 #mechanicalengineering #beltpulleysystem #Research

I am thrilled to announce that I'll be presenting our latest paper -- coauthored with my advisors Cindy Grimm and Joseph Davidson -- about 🤖 robotic fruit harvesting at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation #ICRA2024 in Yokohama, 🏯 Japan. May 13th-17th 2024: “Dynamic evaluation of a suction-based gripper for fruit picking using a physical twin.” Abstract: — We present and evaluate a novel suction-based gripper designed for fruit picking. This work is motivated by common problems observed in field trials of robotic harvesting: Calibration/perception errors, workspace obstacles, fruit swinging/moving when contacted, and varying stem and branch stiffnesses. The gripper consists of three suction-cups located on the palm, along with in-hand perception. To evaluate the gripper, we developed a physical proxy that approximates a realistic apple-stem-branch dynamic system. We performed 756 apple picks on the proxy with varying branch stiffness, stem strength, and gripper pose (yaw, roll and offset w.r.t. the apple). Our results show that grasping performance improves when the gripper yaw w.r.t. the apple has two suction cups on the bottom of the apple and one suction cup on top. Even with ±15mm offset, at least two suction cups engaged with the apple 80% of the time, regardless of branch stiffness. Moreover, the gripper withstands ±20mm offset when it approaches the apple near its equator. Supplementary media on my website www.avelasquez.xyz Supported by #NSF and #Fulbright-Colombia