7 papers
Experience-Driven Continual Learning of Terrain Traversability for Quadruped Robots
Luca Bricarello, João Carlos Virgolino Soares, Alberto Sanchez-Delgado +2
Safe and efficient quadruped navigation over unfamiliar terrain requires predicting terrain-robot interaction before contact: geometry and visual appearance alone cannot reveal how…
Terrain-Aware Autonomous Planetary Exploration for Exteroceptive-Proprioceptive Mapping with Quadruped Scouts
Alberto Sanchez-Delgado, João Carlos Virgolino Soares, Victor Barasuol +1
Autonomous planetary exploration requires robots to navigate unknown, uneven terrain while assessing risk, traversability, and energetic cost. Quadruped scouts are well suited for…
BinWalker: Development and Field Evaluation of a Quadruped Manipulator Platform for Sustainable Litter Collection
Giulio Turrisi, Angelo Bratta, Giovanni Minelli +4
Litter pollution represents a growing environmental problem affecting natural and urban ecosystems worldwide. Waste discarded in public spaces often accumulates in areas that are d…
Towards Proprioceptive Terrain Mapping with Quadruped Robots for Exploration in Planetary Permanently Shadowed Regions
Alberto Sanchez-Delgado, João Carlos Virgolino Soares, Victor Barasuol +1
Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) near the lunar poles are of interest for future exploration due to their potential to contain water ice and preserve geological records. Their c…
Online Object-Level Semantic Mapping for Quadrupeds in Real-World Environments
Emad Razavi, Angelo Bratta, João Carlos Virgolino Soares +2
We present an online semantic object mapping system for a quadruped robot operating in real indoor environments, turning sensor detections into named objects in a global map. Durin…
Towards An Adaptive Locomotion Strategy For Quadruped Rovers: Quantifying When To Slide Or Walk On Planetary Slopes
Alberto Sanchez-Delgado, João Carlos Virgolino Soares, David Omar Al Tawil +5
Legged rovers provide enhanced mobility compared to wheeled platforms, enabling navigation on steep and irregular planetary terrains. However, traditional legged locomotion might b…
Cooperative Modular Manipulation with Numerous Cable-Driven Robots for Assistive Construction and Gap Crossing
Kevin Murphy, Joao C. V. Soares, Justin K. Yim +3
Soldiers in the field often need to cross negative obstacles, such as rivers or canyons, to reach goals or safety. Military gap crossing involves on-site temporary bridges construc…