Explanipedia

A Hermetic, Transparent Soft Growing Vine Robot System for Pipe Inspection Open

William E. Heap, Yimeng Qin, K.J. Hammond, Aruna Bayya, Heesan Kong , et al. · 2025

Rehabilitation of aging pipes requires accurate condition assessment and mapping far into the pipe interiors. Soft growing vine robot systems are particularly promising for navigating confined, sinuous paths such as in pipes, but are curre…

Smartphone-based App to Assess Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Open

Rachel A. G. Adenekan, Adeyinka E. Adenekan, Kenneth K Leung, Srikanth Muppidi, Sarada Sakamuri , et al. · 2025

Background Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects approximately 50% of individuals with diabetes and is a risk factor for amputations. Unfortunately, foot exams and screening tools are inconsistent and miss early-stage nerve damage. …

Effect of Haptic Feedback on Avoidance Behavior and Visual Exploration in Dynamic VR Pedestrian Environment Open

Kyosuke Ishibashi, Atsushi Saito, Zin Y. Tun, L.E. Ray, Megan C. Coram , et al. · 2025

Human crowd simulation in virtual reality (VR) is a powerful tool with potential applications including emergency evacuation training and assessment of building layout. While haptic feedback in VR enhances immersive experience, its effect …

Loop closure grasping: Topological transformations enable strong, gentle, and versatile grasps Open

Kentaro Barhydt, O. Godson Osele, Sreela Kodali, Cosima du Pasquier, Chase M. Hartquist , et al. · 2025

Grasping mechanisms must both create and subsequently hold grasps that permit safe and effective object manipulation. Existing mechanisms address the different functional requirements of grasp creation and grasp holding using a single morp…

Flying Vines: Design, Modeling, and Control of a Soft Aerial Robotic Arm Open

Rianna Jitosho, Crystal Winston, Shuo Yang, Jinxin Li, Maxwell Ahlquist , et al. · 2025

Aerial robotic arms aim to enable inspection and environment interaction in otherwise hard-to-reach areas from the air. However, many aerial manipulators feature bulky or heavy robot manipulators mounted to large, high-payload aerial vehic…

A Study of Perceived Safety for Soft Robotics in Caregiving Tasks Open

Cosima du Pasquier, Jennifer Grannen, Chuer Pan, SA Huber, Aliyah Smith , et al. · 2025

In this project, we focus on human-robot interaction in caregiving scenarios like bathing, where physical contact is inevitable and necessary for proper task execution because force must be applied to the skin. Using finite element analysi…

Localization of Vibrotactile Stimuli on the Face Open

Shivani Guptasarma, Allison M. Okamura, Monroe Kennedy · 2025

The face remains relatively unexplored as a target region for haptic feedback, despite providing a considerable surface area consisting of highly sensitive skin. There are promising applications for facial haptic feedback, especially in ca…

Force-Aware Autonomous Robotic Surgery Open

Alaa Eldin Abdelaal, J. Fang, Tricia Reinhart, Juan Armando Mejía, Tony Z. Zhao , et al. · 2025

This work demonstrates the benefits of using tool-tissue interaction forces in the design of autonomous systems in robot-assisted surgery (RAS). Autonomous systems in surgery must manipulate tissues of different stiffness levels and hence …

Multi-level mechanical modeling and computational design framework for weft knitted fabrics Open

Cosima du Pasquier, Sehui Jeong, P. Y. Liu, Susan Williams, Allison M. Okamura , et al. · 2025

This work presents a multi-level modeling and design framework for weft knitted fabrics, beginning with a volumetric finite element analysis capturing their mechanical behavior from fundamental principles. Incorporating yarn-level data, it…

Effect of Performance Feedback Timing on Motor Learning for a Surgical Training Task Open

Mary Kate Gale, Kailana Baker-Matsuoka, Ilana Nisky, Allison M. Okamura · 2025

This work demonstrates that multi-sensory error feedback delivered in real time leads to better training outcomes as compared to the same feedback delivered after task completion. This novel method of training may enable surgical trainees …

Sealing the Deal: Effects of Fabrication Parameters on the Performance of Textile Pneumatic Haptic Actuators Open

Megan C. Coram, Allison M. Okamura, Cosima du Pasquier · 2024

Textile pneumatic actuators can provide useful wearable haptic feedback when embedded in gloves, armbands, and other smart garments. Here we investigate actuators fabricated from thermoplastic coated textiles. We measure the effects of fab…

Music Mode: Transforming Robot Movement into Music Increases Likability and Perceived Intelligence Open

Catie Cuan, Emre Fisher, Allison M. Okamura, T. Engbersen · 2024

As robots enter everyday spaces like offices, the sounds they create affect how they are perceived. We present “Music Mode,” a novel mapping between a robot’s joint motions and sounds, programmed by artists and engineers to make the robot …

Spatial Summation of Localized Pressure for Haptic Sensory Prostheses Open

Sreela Kodali, Cihualpilli Camino Cruz, Thomas C. Bulea, Kevin S Rao Diana Bharucha-Goebel, Alexander T. Chesler , et al. · 2024

A host of medical conditions, including amputations, diabetes, stroke, and genetic disease, result in loss of touch sensation. Because most types of sensory loss have no pharmacological treatment or rehabilitative therapy, we propose a hap…

Interactive Multi-Robot Flocking with Gesture Responsiveness and Musical Accompaniment Open

Catie Cuan, Kyle Jeffrey, Kim Kleiven, Adrian Li, Emre Fisher , et al. · 2024

For decades, robotics researchers have pursued various tasks for multi-robot systems, from cooperative manipulation to search and rescue. These tasks are multi-robot extensions of classical robotic tasks and often optimized on dimensions s…

phloSAR: a Portable, High-Flow Pressure Supply and Regulator Enabling Untethered Operation of Large Pneumatic Soft Robots Open

Maxwell Ahlquist, Rianna Jitosho, Jiawen Bao, Allison M. Okamura · 2024

Pneumatic actuation benefits soft robotics by facilitating compliance, enabling large volume change, and concentrating actuator weight away from the end-effector. However, portability is compromised when pneumatic actuators are tethered to…

Reliability of Smartphone-Based Vibration Threshold Measurements Open

Rachel A. G. Adenekan, Kyle T. Yoshida, Anis Benyoucef, Alejandrina Gonzalez Reyes, Adeyinka E. Adenekan , et al. · 2024

Smartphone-based measurement platforms can collect data on human sensory function in an accessible manner. We developed a smartphone app that measures vibration perception thresholds by commanding vibrations with varying amplitudes and rec…

A Comparative Analysis of Smartphone and Standard Tools for Touch Perception Assessment Across Multiple Body Sites Open

Rachel A. G. Adenekan, Alejandrina Gonzalez Reyes, Kyle T. Yoshida, Sreela Kodali, Allison M. Okamura , et al. · 2024

Tactile perception plays an important role in activities of daily living, and it can be impaired in individuals with certain medical conditions. The most common tools used to assess tactile sensation, the Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments and…

Shared-Control Teleoperation Paradigms on a Soft-Growing Robot Manipulator Open

Fabio Stroppa, Mario Selvaggio, Nathaniel Agharese, Ming Luo, Laura H. Blumenschein , et al. · 2023

Haptic Guidance and Haptic Error Amplification in a Virtual Surgical Robotic Training Environment Open

Yousi A. Oquendo, Margaret M. Coad, Sherry M. Wren, Thomas S. Lendvay, Ilana Nisky , et al. · 2023

Teleoperated robotic systems have introduced more intuitive control for minimally invasive surgery, but the optimal method for training remains unknown. Recent motor learning studies have demonstrated that exaggeration of errors helps trai…

Relief of post-stroke spasticity with acute vibrotactile stimulation: controlled crossover study of muscle and skin stimulus methods Open

Caitlyn Seim, Bingxian Chen, Chuzhang Han, David Vacek, Laura Song Wu , et al. · 2023

Background Prior work suggests that vibratory stimulation can reduce spasticity and hypertonia. It is unknown which of three predominant approaches (stimulation of the spastic muscle, antagonist muscle, or cutaneous regions) most reduces t…

Wearable Sensory Substitution for Proprioception via Deep Pressure Open

Sreela Kodali, Brian B. Vuong, Thomas C. Bulea, Alexander T. Chesler, Carsten G. Bönnemann , et al. · 2023

We propose a sensory substitution device that communicates one-degree-of-freedom proprioceptive feedback via deep pressure stimulation on the arm. The design is motivated by the need for a feedback modality detectable by individuals with a…

Stiffness Change for Reconfiguration of Inflated Beam Robots Open

Brian H. Do, Shuai Wu, Ruike Renee Zhao, Allison M. Okamura · 2023

Active control of the shape of soft robots is challenging. Despite having an infinite number of passive degrees of freedom (DOFs), soft robots typically only have a few actively controllable DOFs, limited by the number of degrees of actuat…

Design and Evaluation of Haptic Guidance in Ultrasound-Based Needle-Insertion Procedures Open

Michael Raitor, Cara M. Nunez, Philipp J. Stolka, Allison M. Okamura, Heather Culbertson · 2023

Haptic feedback may improve user performance in ultrasound-based needle-insertion procedures and shows promise in training for needle-insertion tasks and other medical procedures where guidance is required.

Modeling and Control of a 5-DOF Parallel Continuum Haptic Device Open

Margaret Koehler, Thor Morales Bieze, Alexandre Kruszewski, Allison M. Okamura, Christian Duriez · 2023

International audience

Finite Element Modeling of Pneumatic Bending Actuators for Inflated-Beam Robots Open

Cosima du Pasquier, Sehui Jeong, Allison M. Okamura · 2023

Inflated-beam soft robots, such as tip-everting vine robots, can control curvature by contracting one beam side via pneumatic actuation. This work develops a general finite element modeling approach to characterize their bending. The model…

Wearable Sensory Substitution for Proprioception via Deep Pressure Open

Sreela Kodali, Brian B. Vuong, Thomas C. Bulea, Alexander T. Chesler, Carsten G. Bönnemann , et al. · 2023

We propose a sensory substitution device that communicates one-degree-of-freedom proprioceptive feedback via deep pressure stimulation on the arm. The design is motivated by the need for a feedback modality detectable by individuals with a…

Music Mode: Transforming Robot Movement into Music Increases Likability and Perceived Intelligence Open

Catie Cuan, Emre Fisher, Allison M. Okamura, T. Engbersen · 2023

As robots enter everyday spaces like offices, the sounds they create affect how they are perceived. We present Music Mode, a novel mapping between a robot's joint motions and sounds, programmed by artists and engineers to make the robot ge…

Configuration and Fabrication of Preformed Vine Robots Open

Nathaniel Agharese, Allison M. Okamura · 2023

Vine robots are a class of soft continuum robots that grow via tip eversion, allowing them to move their tip without relying on reaction forces from the environment. Constructed from compliant materials such as fabric and thin, flexible pl…

A Modular 3-Degrees-of-Freedom Force Sensor for Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Open

Zonghe Chua, Allison M. Okamura · 2023

Effective force modulation during tissue manipulation is important for ensuring safe, robot-assisted, minimally invasive surgery (RMIS). Strict requirements for in vivo applications have led to prior sensor designs that trade off ease of m…

Exploring Human Response Times to Combinations of Audio, Haptic, and Visual Stimuli from a Mobile Device Open

Kyle T. Yoshida, Joel X. Kiernan, Allison M. Okamura, Cara M. Nunez · 2023

Auditory, haptic, and visual stimuli provide alerts, notifications, and information for a wide variety of applications ranging from virtual reality to wearable and hand-held devices. Response times to these stimuli have been used to assess…

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