IEEE Transactions on Robotics最新文献

{"title":"4CNet: A Diffusion Approach to Map Prediction for Decentralized Multirobot Exploration","authors":"Aaron Hao Tan;Siddarth Narasimhan;Goldie Nejat","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666133","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666133","url":null,"abstract":"Mobile robots in unknown cluttered environments with irregularly shaped obstacles often face energy and communication challenges which directly affect their ability to explore these environments. Existing heuristic and learning-based map prediction methods are unable to generalize to irregular obstacles and uneven terrain, as they rely on single-pass architectures that cannot iteratively refine map predictions or incorporate uncertainty under limited communication and energy constraints. On the other hand, diffusion models perform multipass denoising to reconstruct high-fidelity maps from partial observations, enabling accurate predictions in resource constrained settings. In this article, we introduce a novel deep learning architecture, confidence-aware contrastive conditional consistency model (<italic>4CNet</i>), for robot map prediction during decentralized, resource-limited multirobot exploration. <italic>4CNet</i> uniquely incorporates: 1) a conditional consistency model for map prediction in unstructured unknown regions, 2) a contrastive map-trajectory pretraining framework for a trajectory encoder that extracts spatial information from the trajectories of nearby robots during map prediction, and 3) a confidence network to measure the uncertainty of map prediction for effective exploration under resource constraints. We incorporate <italic>4CNet</i> within our proposed robot exploration with map prediction architecture, <italic>4CNet-E.</i> We then conduct extensive comparison studies with <italic>4CNet-E</i> and state-of-the-art heuristic and learning methods to investigate both map prediction and exploration performance in environments consisting of irregularly shaped obstacles and uneven terrain. Results showed that <italic>4CNet-E</i> obtained statistically significant higher prediction accuracy and area coverage with varying environment sizes, number of robots, energy budgets, and communication limitations when compared to database and learning-based methods. Hardware experiments were performed and validated the applicability and generalizability of <italic>4CNet-E</i> in both unstructured indoor and real natural outdoor environments.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1371-1388"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146230831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patterned Assembly of Multibiological Robots With Global Input","authors":"Gang Huang;Yuchen Chen;Yang Wu;Songlin Zhuang;Mingsi Tong;Huijun Gao","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666152","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666152","url":null,"abstract":"Engineered assembloids fabricated from tissue spheroids hold immense promise for developmental biology, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine. However, fabricating heterogeneous assembloids with precise spatial patterning remains a critical bottleneck, often reliant on manual pipetting that lacks scalability and reproducibility. While magnetic microrobotics, which transforms spheroids into controllable robots, offers a noninvasive alternative, it faces a fundamental challenge: the global input of magnetic actuation. A single command moves all robots simultaneously, leading to coupled motion and frequent assembly failures. Here, we present a collaborative control framework that overcomes this limitation by leveraging local constraints and a novel motion decoupling strategy. We reformulate the high-dimensional, coupled multirobot planning problem into a low-dimensional aggregate space, effectively transforming the assembly task into a dynamic sequential decision problem. This framework, coupled with a graph-based dynamic path optimization algorithm, enables deterministic, collision-free assembly. Experimental validation demonstrates a 78.57% higher success rate and a 33.20% higher assembly efficiency compared to conventional strategies. This work establishes a foundational engineering principle for assembloid fabrication, transitioning the process from a qualitative experiments to a controllable and programmable engineering discipline, thereby unlocking the potential for deterministic construction of complex biological structures.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1290-1308"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146208929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimode Pneumatic Artificial Muscles Driven by Hybrid Positive–Negative Pressure","authors":"Siyuan Feng;Ruoyu Feng;Shuguang Li","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666154","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3666154","url":null,"abstract":"Artificial muscles embody human aspirations for engineering lifelike robotic movements. This article introduces an architecture for inflatable fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles (IN-FOAMs). A typical IN-FOAM consists of an inflatable skeleton enclosed within an outer skin, which can be driven using a combination of positive and negative pressures (e.g., compressed air and vacuum). IN-FOAMs are manufactured using low-cost heat-sealable sheet materials through heat-pressing and heat-sealing processes. Thus, they can be ultra-thin when not actuated, making them flexible, lightweight, and portable. The skeleton patterns are programmable, enabling a variety of motions, including contracting, bending, twisting, and rotating, based on specific skeleton designs. We conducted comprehensive experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies to investigate IN-FOAM’s basic mechanical behavior and properties. The results show that IN-FOAM’s output force and contraction can be tuned through multiple operation modes with the applied hybrid positive–negative pressure. In addition, we propose multilayer skeleton structures to enhance the contraction ratio further, and we demonstrate a multichannel skeleton approach that allows the integration of multiple motion modes into a single IN-FOAM. These findings indicate that IN-FOAMs hold great potential for future applications in flexible wearable devices and compact soft robotic systems.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1351-1370"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146208800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Design and Implementation of an Anthropomorphic Robotic Hand With Key Kinematic Properties of the Human Hand","authors":"Dai Chu;Jiaji Ma;Siyuan Chen;Jiarui Zhang;Zhiyi Huang;Jinhao Yang;Chang He;Wenbin Chen;Baiyang Sun;Caihua Xiong","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3663977","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3663977","url":null,"abstract":"Designing an anthropomorphic robotic hand with few actuators while replicating the dexterous motion capabilities of the human hand remains a challenging problem. In this work, a kinematic synergy analysis method is proposed to identify joints with high motion independence and to quantify the synergistic motion characteristics of joints with strong motion dependence. Based on these findings, design principles for intrafinger and interfinger coupling–compliance mechanisms are developed, enabling the mechanical embodiment of joint kinematic synergies within and between fingers. Furthermore, a design principle for anthropomorphic robotic hands that reduces actuator count while retaining diverse motion functions is formulated. This principle is embodied in a 12-actuator, 21-joint prototype named SX-Hand, featuring a flexible thumb and an articulated palm. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that SX-Hand achieves the maximum score in the Kapandji test, performs all 33 grasp types defined in the comprehensive GRASP taxonomy, and executes dexterous in-hand manipulations. The proposed approach provides an effective conceptual and technical route for reproducing rich motion functions with reduced actuation, offering valuable guidance for the development of efficient anthropomorphic robotic hands and other bionic systems.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1254-1274"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146161234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Formal Specification and Control Synthesis of Autonomous Robots Using Rulebooks","authors":"Tichakorn Wongpiromsarn;Konstantin Slutsky;Emilio Frazzoli","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3663976","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3663976","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents a formal specification framework for planning and control of autonomous robots, focusing on the challenge of managing complex tradeoffs among multiple potentially conflicting objectives. These include hierarchical relationships and noncomparable objectives, some of which may be too complex to be captured by standard additive cost functions. We leverage the <italic>rulebook</i> formalism to represent such objectives and their relationships and formulate two control synthesis problems: single-strategy synthesis, which seeks one optimal strategy, and complete synthesis, which computes the full set of optimal strategies with respect to a rulebook, analogous to the Pareto front in multiobjective planning. We show that our formulation generalizes existing temporal logic-based and optimization-based planning and control, providing a unifying framework across robotics, formal methods, control theory, and operation research. For single-strategy synthesis, we identify tractable subclasses and present a polynomial-time algorithm that accommodates richer combinations of objectives than prior work. For complete synthesis, we introduce an algorithm to compute all optimal solutions and analyze its computational complexity. In both cases, we present case studies that include complex multiobjective planning problems and demonstrate the practical effectiveness of our approach compared to existing methods.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1330-1350"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146161233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Pill Bug-Inspired Two-Mode Mobile Robot Covered With Sliding Curvy Shells","authors":"Jieyu Wang;Yingzhong Tian;Fengfeng Xi;Damien Chablat;Gaoke Ren;Yinjun Zhao","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661723","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661723","url":null,"abstract":"This study introduces a novel mobile robot inspired by the pill bug that offers dual locomotion modes, shape morphing, and protective sliding curved shells. The proposed design includes two primary mobility modes: walking and active rolling, providing flexibility and adaptability to navigate various terrains. Through a systematic approach involving type and dimensional synthesis, an underlying morphing mechanism is created to replicate the distinctive shapes of a pill bug’s body. This mechanism features a single-input-multiple-output structure designed using multiloop coupled mechanisms that mimic the natural body motion of pill bugs. To ensure surface protection while allowing relative sliding between shell segments, curved shells are attached to the tracer points of the mechanism. For active switching between rolling and walking modes, two adaptive one-degree-of-freedom legs are integrated into the morphing mechanism. By manipulating speed differences between these legs, steering capabilities are achieved to ensure smooth transitions between locomotion modes.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1275-1289"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Observability-Enhanced Target Motion Estimation via Bearing-Box: Theory and MAV Applications","authors":"Yin Zhang;Zian Ning;Shiyu Zhao","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661714","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661714","url":null,"abstract":"Monocular vision-based target motion estimation is a fundamental challenge in numerous applications. This work introduces a novel bearing-box approach that fully leverages modern 3-D detection measurements that are widely available nowadays but have not been well explored for motion estimation so far. Unlike existing methods that rely on restrictive assumptions, such as isotropic target shape and lateral motion, our bearing-box estimator can estimate both the target's motion and its physical size without these assumptions by exploiting the information buried in a 3-D bounding box. When applied to multirotor micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), the estimator yields an interesting advantage: it further removes the need for higher order motion assumptions by exploiting the unique coupling between MAV's acceleration and thrust. This is particularly significant, as higher order motion assumptions are widely believed to be necessary in state-of-the-art bearing-based estimators. We support our claims with rigorous observability analyzes and extensive experimental validation, demonstrating the estimator's superior performance in real-world scenarios","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1213-1232"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"C$^{*}$: A Coverage Path Planning Algorithm for Unknown Environments Using Rapidly Covering Graphs","authors":"Zongyuan Shen;James P. Wilson;Shalabh Gupta","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661719","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661719","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents a novel sample-based algorithm, called C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, for real-time coverage path planning (CPP) of unknown environments. C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> is built upon the concept of a rapidly covering graph (RCG), which is incrementally constructed during robot navigation via progressive sampling of the search space. By using efficient sampling and pruning techniques, the RCG is constructed to be a minimum-sufficient graph, where its nodes and edges form the potential waypoints and segments of the coverage trajectory, respectively. The RCG tracks the coverage progress, generates the coverage trajectory, and helps the robot escape from the dead-end situations. To minimize coverage time, C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> produces the desired back-and-forth coverage pattern, while adapting to the traveling salesman problem-based optimal coverage of local isolated regions, called coverage holes, which are surrounded by obstacles and covered regions. It is analytically proven that C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> provides complete coverage of unknown environments. The algorithmic simplicity and low computational complexity of C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> make it easy to implement and suitable for real-time on-board applications. The performance of C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> is validated by, first, extensive high-fidelity simulations and, second, laboratory experiments using an autonomous robot. C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> yields near optimal trajectories, and a comparative evaluation with seven existing CPP methods demonstrates significant improvements in performance in terms of coverage time, number of turns, trajectory length, and overlap ratio, while preventing the formation of coverage holes. Finally, C<inline-formula><tex-math>$^{*}$</tex-math></inline-formula> is comparatively evaluated on two different CPP applications using, first, energy-constrained robots and, second, multirobot teams.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1233-1253"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Locomotion Dynamics of an Underactuated Three-Link Robotic Vehicle","authors":"Leonid Raz;Yizhar Or","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661720","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3661720","url":null,"abstract":"The wheeled three-link snake robot is a well-known example of an underactuated system modeled using nonholonomic constraints, preventing lateral slippage (skid) of the wheels. A kinematically controlled configuration assumes that both joint angles are directly prescribed as phase-shifted periodic input. In another configuration of the robot, only one joint is periodically actuated while the second joint is passively governed by a visco-elastic torsion spring. In our work, we constructed the two configurations of the wheeled robot and conducted motion experiments under different actuation inputs. Analysis of the motion tracking measurements reveals a significant amount of wheels’ skid, in contrast to the assumptions used in standard nonholonomic models. Therefore, we propose modified dynamic models, which include wheels’ skid and viscous friction forces, as well as rolling resistance. After parameter fitting, these dynamic models reach good agreement with the motion measurements, including effects of input's frequency on the mean speed and net displacement per period. This illustrates the importance of incorporating wheels’ skid and friction into the system's model.","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"42 ","pages":"1198-1212"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"2025 Index IEEE Transactions on Robotics","authors":"","doi":"10.1109/TRO.2026.3658985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2026.3658985","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50388,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","volume":"41 ","pages":"6728-6810"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=11368765","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146082050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}