Mechanics and Control of Compliant Robotics

3 Units

Robots are fundamentally mechanical devices designed to function autonomously or semi-autonomously. In autonomous systems including animals and robots, one of the most important mechanical properties is stiffness. Selective compliance allows robots to grasp a wide range of objects and traverse rougher terrain. A new field of Soft Robotics aims to create robots that are robust, cheap, and safe in close proximity to humans. However, as engineers challenge themselves to make increasingly soft robots, new challenges in design and control need to be addressed. This course will provide an introduction to state of the art in robotics as cyber-physical systems from a fundamental mechanics perspective. Topics include: grasping, wearable assistive locomotion, legged locomotion, locomotion in fluids, and locomotion over soft terrain. Offered as EMAE 379 and EMAE 479 . Prereq: ( ENGR 130 or ENGR 131 or CSDS 132 or ECSE 132 ) and EMAE 181 and ECSE 304 .