Frontiers in Robotics and AI最新文献

{"title":"AcoustoBots: A swarm of robots for acoustophoretic multimodal interactions.","authors":"Narsimlu Kemsaram, James Hardwick, Jincheng Wang, Bonot Gautam, Ceylan Besevli, Giorgos Christopoulos, Sourabh Dogra, Lei Gao, Akin Delibasi, Diego Martinez Plasencia, Orestis Georgiou, Marianna Obrist, Ryuji Hirayama, Sriram Subramanian","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1537101","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1537101","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Acoustophoresis has enabled novel interaction capabilities, such as levitation, volumetric displays, mid-air haptic feedback, and directional sound generation, to open new forms of multimodal interactions. However, its traditional implementation as a singular static unit limits its dynamic range and application versatility.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This paper introduces \"AcoustoBots\" - a novel convergence of acoustophoresis with a movable and reconfigurable phased array of transducers for enhanced application versatility. We mount a phased array of transducers on a swarm of robots to harness the benefits of multiple mobile acoustophoretic units. This offers a more flexible and interactive platform that enables a swarm of acoustophoretic multimodal interactions. Our novel AcoustoBots design includes a hinge actuation system that controls the orientation of the mounted phased array of transducers to achieve high flexibility in a swarm of acoustophoretic multimodal interactions. In addition, we designed a BeadDispenserBot that can deliver particles to trapping locations, which automates the acoustic levitation interaction.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>These attributes allow AcoustoBots to independently work for a common cause and interchange between modalities, allowing for novel augmentations (e.g., a swarm of haptics, audio, and levitation) and bilateral interactions with users in an expanded interaction area.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>We detail our design considerations, challenges, and methodological approach to extend acoustophoretic central control in distributed settings. This work demonstrates a scalable acoustic control framework with two mobile robots, laying the groundwork for future deployment in larger robotic swarms. Finally, we characterize the performance of our AcoustoBots and explore the potential interactive scenarios they can enable.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1537101"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12133503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144227230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ROSA: a knowledge-based solution for robot self-adaptation.","authors":"Gustavo Rezende Silva, Juliane Päßler, S Lizeth Tapia Tarifa, Einar Broch Johnsen, Carlos Hernández Corbato","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1531743","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1531743","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autonomous robots must operate in diverse environments and handle multiple tasks despite uncertainties. This creates challenges in designing software architectures and task decision-making algorithms, as different contexts may require distinct task logic and architectural configurations. To address this, robotic systems can be designed as self-adaptive systems capable of adapting their task execution and software architecture at runtime based on their context. This paper introduces ROSA, a novel knowledge-based framework for RObot Self-Adaptation, which enables task-and-architecture co-adaptation (TACA) in robotic systems. ROSA achieves this by providing a knowledge model that captures all application-specific knowledge required for adaptation and by reasoning over this knowledge at runtime to determine when and how adaptation should occur. In addition to a conceptual framework, this work provides an open-source ROS 2-based reference implementation of ROSA and evaluates its feasibility and performance in an underwater robotics application. Experimental results highlight ROSA's advantages in reusability and development effort for designing self-adaptive robotic systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1531743"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12131011/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144217213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simultaneous text and gesture generation for social robots with small language models.","authors":"Alessio Galatolo, Katie Winkle","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1581024","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1581024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>As social robots gain advanced communication capabilities, users increasingly expect coherent verbal and non-verbal behaviours. Recent work has shown that Large Language Models (LLMs) can support autonomous generation of such multimodal behaviours. However, current LLM-based approaches to non-verbal behaviour often involve multi-step reasoning with large, closed-source models-resulting in significant computational overhead and limiting their feasibility in low-resource or privacy-constrained environments.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To address these limitations, we propose a novel method for simultaneous generation of text and gestures with minimal computational overhead compared to plain text generation. Our system does not produce low-level joint trajectories, but instead predicts high-level communicative intentions, which are mapped to platform-specific expressions. Central to our approach is the introduction of lightweight, robot-specific \"gesture heads\" derived from the LLM's architecture, requiring no pose-based datasets and enabling generalisability across platforms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We evaluate our method on two distinct robot platforms: Furhat (facial expressions) and Pepper (bodily gestures). Experimental results demonstrate that our method maintains behavioural quality while introducing negligible computational and memory overhead. Furthermore, the gesture heads operate in parallel with the language generation component, ensuring scalability and responsiveness even on small or locally deployed models.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our approach supports the use of Small Language Models for multimodal generation, offering an effective alternative to existing high-resource methods. By abstracting gesture generation and eliminating reliance on platform-specific motion data, we enable broader applicability in real-world, low-resource, and privacy-sensitive HRI settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1581024"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12122315/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144200515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial: Advancements in AI-driven multimodal interfaces for robot-aided rehabilitation.","authors":"Christian Tamantini, Kevin Patrice Langlois, David Rodriguez Cianca, Loredana Zollo","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1605418","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1605418","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1605418"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12119299/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144183468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial: Advances in modern intelligent surgery: from computer-aided diagnosis to medical robotics.","authors":"Zhe Min, Rui Song, Changsheng Li, Jax Luo","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1620551","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1620551","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1620551"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12117187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144175371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A hybrid tendon-driven continuum robot that avoids torsion under external load.","authors":"Maria Paula Huertas Niño, Mohamed Boutayeb, Dominique Martinez","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1576209","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1576209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tendon-driven continuum robots usually consists of several actuators and cables pulling a flexible backbone. The tendon path alongside the backbone allows to perform complex movements with high dexterity. Yet, the integration of multiple tendons adds complexity and the lack of rigidity makes continuum robots susceptible to torsion whenever an external force or load is applied. This paper proposes a reduced complexity, hybrid tendon-driven continuum robot (HTDCR) that avoids undesired torsion under external load. Bending of the HTDCR is achieved from a single tendon with lateral joints alongside the backbone acting as mechanical constraint on the bending plane. A rotary base then provides an additional degree of freedom by allowing full rotation of the arm. We developed a robot prototype with control law based on a constant curvature model and validated it experimentally with various loads on the tip. Body deviation outside the bending plane is negligible (mm range), thereby demonstrating no torsional deformation. Tip deflection within the bending plane is smaller than the one obtained with a 4-tendon driven continuum robot. Moreover, tip deflection can be accurately estimated from the load and motor input which paves the way to possible compensation. All together, the experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the HTDCR with 450 g payload which makes it suitable in agricultural tasks such as fruit and vegetable harvesting.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1576209"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12116320/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144175370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Consideration of communication in human-machine interaction for cooperative trajectory planning.","authors":"Julian Schneider, Balint Varga, Sören Hohmann","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1568402","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1568402","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Interactive human-machine systems aim to significantly enhance performance and reduce human workload by leveraging the combined strengths of humans and automated systems. In the state of the art, human-machine cooperation (HMC) systems are modeled in various interaction layers, e.g., the decision layer, trajectory layer, and action layer. The literature usually focuses on the action layer, assuming that there is no need for a consensus at the decision or trajectory layers. Only few studies deal with the interaction at the trajectory layer. None of the previous work has systematically examined the structure of communication for interaction between humans and machines beyond the action layer. Therefore, this paper proposes a graph representation based on a multi-agent system theory for human-machine cooperation. For this purpose, a layer model for human-machine cooperation from the literature is converted into a graph representation. Using our novel graph representation, the existence of communication loops can be demonstrated, which are necessary for emancipated cooperation. In contrast, a leader-follower structure does not possess a closed loop in this graph representation. The choice of the communication loop for emancipated cooperation is ambiguous and can take place via various closed loops at higher layers of human-machine interactions, which open new possibilities for the design of emancipated cooperative control systems. In a simulation, it is shown that emancipated cooperation is possible via three variants of communication loops and that a consensus on a common trajectory is found in each case. The results indicate that taking into account cooperative strategies at the trajectory layer can enhance the performance and effectiveness of human-machine systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1568402"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12089044/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing needle puncture detection using high-pass filtering and diffuse reflectance.","authors":"Rachael L'Orsa, Anupam Bisht, Linhui Yu, Kartikeya Murari, Garnette R Sutherland, David T Westwick, Katherine J Kuchenbecker","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1429327","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1429327","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Chest trauma or disease progression can lead to tension pneumothorax, a condition where mounting pressurization of the pleural cavity (the space between the chest wall and the lungs) leads rapidly to cardiac arrest. In pre-hospital settings, tension pneumothorax is treated by venting the pleural cavity via a needle introduced through the chest wall. Very high failure rates (up to 94.1%) have been reported for pre-hospital needle decompression, however, and the procedure can result in the accidental puncture of critical thoracic tissues because it is performed blind. Instrumented needles could help operators more reliably identify when the tool has entered the target space.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This paper investigates technical approaches to provide such support; we created an experimental system that acquires needle force and position signals, as well as the diffuse backscattered reflectance from white light carried to and collected from the needle's tip via two in-bore optical fibers. Data collection occurred while two experimenters inserted a bevel-tipped percutaneous needle into an <i>ex vivo</i> porcine rib section simulating human chest anatomy. Four data-driven puncture-detection (DDPD) algorithms from the literature, which are appropriate for use with the variable tool velocities produced by manual insertions, were applied to the resulting data set offline. Grid search was performed across key signal-processing parameters, high-pass filters (HPFs) were applied to examine their impact on puncture detection, and a first exploration of multimodal (ensemble) methods was performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Combining high-pass filters with DDPD methods resulted in a 2.7-fold improvement (from 8.2% to 21.9%) in the maximum overall precision (MOP) produced by force signals. Applying this HPF + DDPD scheme to reflectance data streams yielded a peak MOP of 36.4%, and combining reflectance with force generated the best MOP overall (42.1%); these results represent 4.4-fold and 5.1-fold improvements, respectively, over the best MOP produced by the traditional application of DDPD algorithms to force signals alone.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These results strongly support the utility of high-pass filters combined with both reflectance-only and multimodal reflectance-plus-force data-driven puncture-detection schemes for needle decompression applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1429327"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12090360/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Learning computer-aided manufacturing from demonstration: a case study with probabilistic movement primitives in robot wood carving.","authors":"Daniel Schäle, Martin F Stoelen, Erik Kyrkjebø","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1569476","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1569476","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) tools are a key component in many digital fabrication workflows, translating digital designs into machine instructions to manufacture physical objects. However, conventional CAM tools are tailored for standard manufacturing processes such as milling, turning or laser cutting, and can therefore be a limiting factor - especially for craftspeople and makers who want to employ non-standard, craft-like operations. Formalizing the tacit knowledge behind such operations to incorporate it in new CAM-routines is inherently difficult and often not feasible for the ad hoc incorporation of custom manufacturing operations in a digital fabrication workflow. In this paper, we address this gap by exploring the integration of Learning from Demonstration (LfD) into digital fabrication workflows, allowing makers to establish new manufacturing operations by providing manual demonstrations. To this end, we perform a case study on robot wood carving with hand tools, in which we integrate probabilistic movement primitives (ProMPs) into Rhino's Grasshopper environment to achieve basic CAM-like functionality. Human demonstrations of different wood carving cuts are recorded via kinesthetic teaching and modeled by a mixture of ProMPs to capture correlations between the toolpath parameters. The ProMP model is then exposed in Grasshopper, where it functions as a translator from drawing input to toolpath output. With our pipeline, makers can create simplified 2D drawings of their carving patterns with common CAD tools and then seamlessly generate skill-informed 6 degree-of-freedom carving toolpaths from them, all in the same familiar CAD environment. We demonstrate our pipeline on multiple wood carving applications and discuss its limitations, including the need for iterative toolpath adjustments to address inaccuracies. Our findings illustrate the potential of LfD in augmenting CAM tools for specialized and highly customized manufacturing tasks. At the same time, the question of how to best represent carving skills for flexible and generalizable toolpath generation remains open and requires further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1569476"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12088953/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exoskeletons for the rehabilitation of temporomandibular disorders: a comprehensive review.","authors":"Paul-Otto Müller, Robert Sader, Oskar von Stryk","doi":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1492275","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frobt.2025.1492275","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite the many technological advancements in exoskeletons for the rehabilitation of lower or upper limbs, there has been limited exploration of their application in treating temporomandibular disorders, a set of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions affecting the masticatory system. By collecting data, implementing assisting and resisting training routines, and encouraging active patient engagement, exoskeletons could provide controlled and individualized exercise with flexibility in time and location to aid in the recovery or improvement of jaw mobility and function. Thus, they might offer a valuable alternative or complement to conservative physiotherapy. In this context, the review aims to draw attention to rehabilitating temporomandibular disorders with the help of exoskeletons by looking at the advantages and opportunities these devices potentially provide. After stating the requirements and resulting scientific challenges in various fields and discussing the state of the art, existing research gaps and deficiencies will be discussed, highlighting areas where further research and development is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":47597,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Robotics and AI","volume":"12 ","pages":"1492275"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12081923/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144095489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}