01078nas a2200373 4500008004100000022001400041245007100055210006900126300000800195653001400203653001600217653001300233653002200246653002600268653001800294100001700312700001500329700001700344700001600361700001700377700001700394700001700411700001600428700001700444700001900461700001500480700001900495700002000514700001800534700001500552700001700567700002000584856010000604 2018 eng d a1070-993200aHumanoids at Work: The WALK-MAN Robot in a Postearthquake Scenario0 aHumanoids at Work The WALKMAN Robot in a Postearthquake Scenario a1-110aBuildings10aEarthquakes10aHardware10aLegged locomotion10aRobot sensing systems10aTask analysis1 aNegrello, F.1 aSettimi, A1 aCaporale, D.1 aLentini, G.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aKanoulas, D.1 aMuratore, L.1 aLuberto, E.1 aSantaera, G.1 aCiarleglio, L.1 aErmini, L.1 aPallottino, L.1 aCaldwell, D. G.1 aTsagarakis, N1 aBicchi, A.1 aGarabini, M.1 aCatalano, M. G. uhttp://118699.obes.asia/publications/humanoids-work-walk-man-robot-postearthquake-scenario.html00722nas a2200205 4500008003900000245010600039210006900145100001600214700001500230700001800245700001500263700001500278700001400293700001700307700001700324700001500341700002000356700001500376856012500391 2018 d00aTouch-Based Grasp Primitives for Soft Hands: Applications to Human-to-Robot Handover Tasks and Beyond0 aTouchBased Grasp Primitives for Soft Hands Applications to Human1 aBianchi, M.1 aAverta, G.1 aBattaglia, E.1 aRosales, C1 aBonilla, M1 aTondo, A.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aSantaera, G.1 aCiotti, S.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://118699.obes.asia/publications/touch-based-grasp-primitives-soft-hands-applications-human-robot-handover-tasks-and01761nas a2200193 4500008003900000245009400039210006900133260004100202520113300243653001301376100001701389700002001406700001701426700001701443700002001460700002301480700001501503856004901518 2017 d00aDesign and characterization of a novel high-compliance spring for robots with soft joints0 aDesign and characterization of a novel highcompliance spring for aMunich, Germany, 3-7 July 2017bIEEE3 a

Low stiffness elements have a number of applications in Soft Robotics, from Series Elastic Actuators (SEA) to torque sensors for compliant systems. In its general formulation, the design problem of elastic components is complex and depends on several variables: material properties, load range, shape factor and size constraints. Consequently, most of the spring designs presented in literature are based on heuristics or are optimized for specific working conditions. This work presents the design study and characterization of a scalable spoked elastic element with hinge tip constraints. We compared the proposed design with three existing spring principles, showing that the spoked solution is the convenient option for low-stiffness and low shape factor elastic elements. Therefore, a design analysis on the main scaling parameters of the spoked spring, namely number of spokes and type of constraints, is presented. Finally, an experimental characterization has been conducted on physical prototypes. The agreement among simulations and experimental results demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed concept.

10aRobotics1 aNegrello, F.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aGarabini, M.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aCaldwell, D. G.1 aTsagarakis, N., G.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8014029/01632nas a2200241 4500008003900000245006600039210006500105260004000170520094200210653001201152653001301164100001501177700001501192700001501207700001701222700001801239700001801257700002001275700001601295700001501311700001501326856004901341 2017 d00aDesign of an Under-Actuated Wrist Based on Adaptive Synergies0 aDesign of an UnderActuated Wrist Based on Adaptive Synergies aSingapore, 29 May-3 June 2017bIEEE3 a

An effective robotic wrist represents a key enabling element in robotic manipulation, especially in prosthetics. In this paper, we propose an under-actuated wrist system, which is also adaptable and allows to implement different under-actuation schemes. Our approach leverages upon the idea of soft synergies - in particular the design method of adaptive synergies - as it derives from the field of robot hand design. First we introduce the design principle and its implementation and function in a configurable test bench prototype, which can be used to demonstrate the feasibility of our idea. Furthermore, we report on results from preliminary experiments with humans, aiming to identify the most probable wrist pose during the pre-grasp phase in activities of daily living. Based on these outcomes, we calibrate our wrist prototype accordingly and demonstrate its effectiveness to accomplish grasping and manipulation tasks.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aCasini, S.1 aTincani, V1 aAverta, G.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aDella Santina1 aBattaglia, E.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aBianchi, M.1 aGrioli, G.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7989789/01637nas a2200229 4500008003900000245006600039210006500105260000900170300001600179520094700195100001501142700001501157700001501172700001701187700001801204700001801222700002001240700001601260700001501276700001501291856010101306 2017 d00aDesign of an under-actuated wrist based on adaptive synergies0 aDesign of an underactuated wrist based on adaptive synergies bIEEE a6679–66863 a

An effective robotic wrist represents a key en- abling element in robotic manipulation, especially in prosthetics. In this paper, we propose an under-actuated wrist system, which is also adaptable and allows to implement different under- actuation schemes. Our approach leverages upon the idea of soft synergies - in particular the design method of adaptive synergies - as it derives from the field of robot hand design. First we intro- duce the design principle and its implementation and function in a configurable test bench prototype, which can be used to demonstrate the feasibility of our idea. Furthermore, we report on results from preliminary experiments with humans, aiming to identify the most probable wrist pose during the pre-grasp phase in activities of daily living. Based on these outcomes, we calibrate our wrist prototype accordingly and demonstrate its effectiveness to accomplish grasping and manipulation tasks.

1 aCasini, S.1 aTincani, V1 aAverta, G.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aDella Santina1 aBattaglia, E.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aBianchi, M.1 aGrioli, G.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://118699.obes.asia/publications/design-under-actuated-wrist-based-adaptive-synergies.html-001991nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245010900055210006900164260001200233300001200245490000700257520121600264653001201480653001301492100002101505700001701526700001601543700001801559700001801577700001701595700001401612700001501626700002001641856006401661 2017 eng d a1939-141200aAn Integrated Approach to Characterize the Behavior of a Human Fingertip in Contact with a Silica Window0 aIntegrated Approach to Characterize the Behavior of a Human Fing c01/2017 a123-1290 v103 a

Understanding the mechanisms of human tactual perception represents a challenging task in haptics and humanoid robotics. A classic approach to tackle this issue is to accurately and exhaustively characterize the mechanical behavior of human fingertip. The output of this characterization can then be exploited to drive the design of numerical models, which can be used to investigate in depth the mechanisms of human sensing. In this work, we present a novel integrated measurement technique and experimental set up for in vivo characterization of the deformation of the human fingertip at contact, in terms of contact area, force, deformation, and pressure distribution. The device presented here compresses the participant's fingertip against a flat surface, while the aforementioned measurements are acquired and experimental parameters such as velocity, finger orientation, and displacement (indentation) controlled. Experimental outcomes are then compared and integrated with the output of a 3D finite element (FE) model of the human fingertip, built upon existing validated models. The agreement between numerical and experimental data represents a validation for our approach.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aD'Angelo, M., L.1 aCannella, F.1 aBianchi, M.1 aD'Imperio, M.1 aBattaglia, E.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aRossi, G.1 aBicchi, A.1 aCaldwell, D. G. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=757958202024nas a2200181 4500008003900000245006600039210006200105260004600167520136700213653001201580653001301592100001601605700001801621700001701639700001501656700001501671856015601686 2016 d00aA Wearable Fabric-based Display for Haptic Multi-Cue Delivery0 aWearable Fabricbased Display for Haptic MultiCue Delivery aPhiladelphia, USA, April 8-11, 2016bIEEE3 a

Softness represents one of the most informative

haptic properties, which plays a fundamental role in both

everyday tasks and more complex procedures. Thus, it is not

surprising that much effort has been devoted to designing haptic

systems able to suitably reproduce this information. At the

same time, wearability has gained an increasing importance as

a novel paradigm to enable a more effective and naturalistic

human robot interaction. Capitalizing upon our previous works

on grounded softness devices, in this paper we present the

Wearable Fabric Yielding Display (W-FYD), a fabric-based

tactile display for multi-cue delivery that can be worn by

user’s finger. W-FYD enables to implement both passive and

active tactile exploration. Different levels of stiffness can be

reproduced by modulating the stretching state of a fabric

through two DC motors. An additional vertical degree of

freedom is implemented through a lifting mechanism, which

enables to convey softness stimuli to the user’s finger pad.

Furthermore, a sliding effect on the finger can be also induced.

Experiments with humans show the effectiveness of W-FYD for

haptic multi-cue delivery.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aBianchi, M.1 aBattaglia, E.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aCiotti, S.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/searchresult.jsp?queryText=A%20Wearable%20Fabric-based%20Display%20for%20Haptic%20Multi-Cue%20Delivery&newsearch=true06962nas a2200181 4500008004500000245008700045210006900132260004000201300001000241520637400251653001206625653001306637100001606650700001706666700001406683700001506697856006806712 2015 engldsh 00aA Novel Tactile Display for Softness and Texture Rendering in Tele-Operation Tasks0 aNovel Tactile Display for Softness and Texture Rendering in Tele aChicago, USA, 22-25 June 2015bIEEE a49-563 a

Softness and texture high-frequency information represent fundamental haptic properties for every day life activities and environment tactual exploration. While several displays have been produced to convey either softness or high-frequency information, there is no or little evidence of systems that are able to reproduce both these properties in an integrated fashion. This aspect is especially crucial in medical tele-operated procedures, where roughness and stiffness of human tissues are both important to correctly identify given pathologies through palpation (e.g. in tele-dermatology). This work presents a fabric yielding display (FYD-pad), a fabric-based tactile display for softness and texture rendering. The system exploits the control of two motors to modify both the stretching state of the elastic fabric forsoftness rendering and to convey texture information on the basis of accelerometer-based data. At the same time, the measurement of the contact area can be used to control remote or virtual robots. In this paper, we discuss the architecture of FYD-pad and the techniques used for softness and texturereproduction as well as for synthesizing probe-surface interactions from real data. Tele-operationexamples and preliminary experiments with humans are reported, which show the effectiveness of the device in delivering both softness and texture information.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aBianchi, M.1 aPoggiani, M.1 aSerio, A.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7177690