Demands for pneumatic-driven soft robots are constantly rising for various applications. However, they are often designed manually due to the lack of systematic methods. Moreover, design-dependent characteristics of pneumatic actuation pose distinctive challenges. This paper provides a compact MATLAB code, named SoRoTop, and its various extensions for designing pneumatic-driven soft robots using topology optimization. The code uses the method of moving asymptotes as the optimizer and builds upon the approach initially presented in Kumar et al.(Struct Multidiscip Optim 61 (4): 1637-1655, 2020). The pneumatic load is modeled using Darcy's law with a conceptualized drainage term. Consistent nodal loads are determined from the resultant pressure field using the conventional finite element approach. The robust formulation is employed, i.e., the eroded and blueprint design descriptions are used. A min-max optimization problem is formulated using the output displacements of the eroded and blueprint designs. A volume constraint is imposed on the blueprint design, while the eroded design is used to apply a conceptualized strain energy constraint. The latter constraint aids in attaining optimized designs that can endure the applied load without compromising their performance. Sensitivities required for optimization are computed using the adjoint-variable method. The code is explained in detail, and various extensions are also presented. It is structured into pre-optimization, MMA optimization, and post-optimization operations, each of which is comprehensively detailed. The paper also illustrates the impact of load sensitivities on the optimized designs. SoRoTop is provided in Appendix A and is available with extensions in the supplementary material and publicly at \url{//github.com/PrabhatIn/SoRoTop}.
This paper focuses on coordinating a robot swarm orbiting a convex path without collisions among the individuals. The individual robots lack braking capabilities and can only adjust their courses while maintaining their constant but different speeds. Instead of controlling the spatial relations between the robots, our formation control algorithm aims to deploy a dense robot swarm that mimics the behavior of tornado schooling fish. To achieve this objective safely, we employ a combination of a scalable overtaking rule, a guiding vector field, and a control barrier function with an adaptive radius to facilitate smooth overtakes. The decision-making process of the robots is distributed, relying only on local information. Practical applications include defensive structures or escorting missions with the added resiliency of a swarm without a centralized command. We provide a rigorous analysis of the proposed strategy and validate its effectiveness through numerical simulations involving a high density of unicycles.
The ability of a soft robot to perform specific tasks is determined by its contact configuration, and transitioning between configurations is often necessary to reach a desired position or manipulate an object. Based on this observation, we propose a method for controlling soft robots that involves defining a graph of configuration spaces. Different agents, whether learned or not (convex optimization, expert trajectory, and collision detection), use the structure of the graph to solve the desired task. The graph and the agents are part of the prior knowledge that is intuitively integrated into the learning process. They are used to combine different optimization methods, improve sample efficiency, and provide interpretability. We construct the graph based on the contact configurations and demonstrate its effectiveness through two scenarios, a deformable beam in contact with its environment and a soft manipulator, where it outperforms the baseline in terms of stability, learning speed, and interpretability.
The dependence of Natural Language Processing (NLP) intelligent software on Large Language Models (LLMs) is increasingly prominent, underscoring the necessity for robustness testing. Current testing methods focus solely on the robustness of LLM-based software to prompts. Given the complexity and diversity of real-world inputs, studying the robustness of LLMbased software in handling comprehensive inputs (including prompts and examples) is crucial for a thorough understanding of its performance. To this end, this paper introduces RITFIS, a Robust Input Testing Framework for LLM-based Intelligent Software. To our knowledge, RITFIS is the first framework designed to assess the robustness of LLM-based intelligent software against natural language inputs. This framework, based on given threat models and prompts, primarily defines the testing process as a combinatorial optimization problem. Successful test cases are determined by a goal function, creating a transformation space for the original examples through perturbation means, and employing a series of search methods to filter cases that meet both the testing objectives and language constraints. RITFIS, with its modular design, offers a comprehensive method for evaluating the robustness of LLMbased intelligent software. RITFIS adapts 17 automated testing methods, originally designed for Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based intelligent software, to the LLM-based software testing scenario. It demonstrates the effectiveness of RITFIS in evaluating LLM-based intelligent software through empirical validation. However, existing methods generally have limitations, especially when dealing with lengthy texts and structurally complex threat models. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive analysis based on five metrics and provided insightful testing method optimization strategies, benefiting both researchers and everyday users.
We have presented a fast method for solving a specific type of block four-by-four saddlepoint problem arising from the finite element discretization of the generalized 3D Stokes problem. We analyze the eigenvalue distribution and the eigenvectors of the preconditioned matrix. Furthermore, we suggested utilizing the preconditioned global conjugate gradient method (PGCG) as a block iterative solver for handling multiple right-hand sides within the sub-system and give some new convergence results. Numerical experiments have shown that our preconditioned iterative approach is very efficient for solving the 3D Stokes problem
A major challenge in computed tomography is reconstructing objects from incomplete data. An increasingly popular solution for these problems is to incorporate deep learning models into reconstruction algorithms. This study introduces a novel approach by integrating a Fourier neural operator (FNO) into the Filtered Backprojection (FBP) reconstruction method, yielding the FNO back projection (FNO-BP) network. We employ moment conditions for sinogram extrapolation to assist the model in mitigating artefacts from limited data. Notably, our deep learning architecture maintains a runtime comparable to classical filtered back projection (FBP) reconstructions, ensuring swift performance during both inference and training. We assess our reconstruction method in the context of the Helsinki Tomography Challenge 2022 and also compare it against regular FBP methods.
Object properties perceived through the tactile sense, such as weight, friction, and slip, greatly influence motor control during manipulation tasks. However, the provision of tactile information during robotic training in neurorehabilitation has not been well explored. Therefore, we designed and evaluated a tactile interface based on a two-degrees-of-freedom moving platform mounted on a hand rehabilitation robot that provides skin stretch at four fingertips, from the index through the little finger. To accurately control the rendered forces, we included a custom magnetic-based force sensor to control the tactile interface in a closed loop. The technical evaluation showed that our custom force sensor achieved measurable shear forces of +-8N with accuracies of 95.2-98.4% influenced by hysteresis, viscoelastic creep, and torsional deformation. The tactile interface accurately rendered forces with a step response steady-state accuracy of 97.5-99.4% and a frequency response in the range of most activities of daily living. Our sensor showed the highest measurement-range-to-size ratio and comparable accuracy to sensors of its kind. These characteristics enabled the closed-loop force control of the tactile interface for precise rendering of multi-finger two-dimensional skin stretch. The proposed system is a first step towards more realistic and rich haptic feedback during robotic sensorimotor rehabilitation, potentially improving therapy outcomes.
Motion detection is a primary task required for robotic systems to perceive and navigate in their environment. Proposed in the literature bioinspired neuromorphic Time-Difference Encoder (TDE-2) combines event-based sensors and processors with spiking neural networks to provide real-time and energy-efficient motion detection through extracting temporal correlations between two points in space. However, on the algorithmic level, this design leads to loss of direction-selectivity of individual TDEs in textured environments. Here we propose an augmented 3-point TDE (TDE-3) with additional inhibitory input that makes TDE-3 direction-selectivity robust in textured environments. We developed a procedure to train the new TDE-3 using backpropagation through time and surrogate gradients to linearly map input velocities into an output spike count or an Inter-Spike Interval (ISI). Our work is the first instance of training a spiking neuron to have a specific ISI. Using synthetic data we compared training and inference with spike count and ISI with respect to changes in stimuli dynamic range, spatial frequency, and level of noise. ISI turns out to be more robust towards variation in spatial frequency, whereas the spike count is a more reliable training signal in the presence of noise. We performed the first in-depth quantitative investigation of optical flow coding with TDE and compared TDE-2 vs TDE-3 in terms of energy-efficiency and coding precision. Results show that on the network level both detectors show similar precision (20 degree angular error, 88% correlation with ground truth). Yet, due to the more robust direction-selectivity of individual TDEs, TDE-3 based network spike less and hence is more energy-efficient. Reported precision is on par with model-based methods but the spike-based processing of the TDEs provides allows more energy-efficient inference with neuromorphic hardware.
Deep generative models are key-enabling technology to computer vision, text generation, and large language models. Denoising diffusion probabilistic models (DDPMs) have recently gained much attention due to their ability to generate diverse and high-quality samples in many computer vision tasks, as well as to incorporate flexible model architectures and a relatively simple training scheme. Quantum generative models, empowered by entanglement and superposition, have brought new insight to learning classical and quantum data. Inspired by the classical counterpart, we propose the quantum denoising diffusion probabilistic model (QuDDPM) to enable efficiently trainable generative learning of quantum data. QuDDPM adopts sufficient layers of circuits to guarantee expressivity, while it introduces multiple intermediate training tasks as interpolation between the target distribution and noise to avoid barren plateau and guarantee efficient training. We provide bounds on the learning error and demonstrate QuDDPM's capability in learning correlated quantum noise model, quantum many-body phases, and topological structure of quantum data. The results provide a paradigm for versatile and efficient quantum generative learning.
This paper presents a statistical forward model for a Compton imaging system, called Compton imager. This system, under development at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, is a variant of Compton cameras with a single type of sensors which can simultaneously act as scatterers and absorbers. This imager is convenient for imaging situations requiring a wide field of view. The proposed statistical forward model is then used to solve the inverse problem of estimating the location and energy of point-like sources from observed data. This inverse problem is formulated and solved in a Bayesian framework by using a Metropolis within Gibbs algorithm for the estimation of the location, and an expectation-maximization algorithm for the estimation of the energy. This approach leads to more accurate estimation when compared with the deterministic standard back-projection approach, with the additional benefit of uncertainty quantification in the low photon imaging setting.
From robots that replace workers to robots that serve as helpful colleagues, the field of robotic automation is experiencing a new trend that represents a huge challenge for component manufacturers. The contribution starts from an innovative vision that sees an ever closer collaboration between Cobot, able to do a specific physical job with precision, the AI world, able to analyze information and support the decision-making process, and the man able to have a strategic vision of the future.