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This paper introduces a new method for estimating the penetration of the end effector and the parameters of a soft body using a collaborative robotic arm. This is possible using the dimensionality reduction method that simplifies the Hunt-Crossley model. The parameters can be found without a force sensor thanks to the information of the robotic arm controller. To achieve an online estimation, an extended Kalman filter is employed, which embeds the contact dynamic model. The algorithm is tested with various types of silicone, including samples with hard intrusions to simulate cancerous cells within a soft tissue. The results indicate that this technique can accurately determine the parameters and estimate the penetration of the end effector into the soft body. These promising preliminary results demonstrate the potential for robots to serve as an effective tool for early-stage cancer diagnostics., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to IROS2024

Accurate dynamic models are crucial for many robotic applications. Traditional approaches to deriving these models are based on the application of Lagrangian or Newtonian mechanics. Although these methods provide a good insight into the physical behaviour of the system, they rely on the exact knowledge of parameters such as inertia, friction and joint flexibility. In addition, the system is often affected by uncertain and nonlinear effects, such as saturation and dead zones, which can be difficult to model. A popular alternative is the application of Machine Learning (ML) techniques - e.g., Neural Networks (NNs) - in the context of a "black-box" methodology. This paper reports on our experience with this approach for a real-life 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) manipulator. Specifically, we considered several NN architectures: single NN, multiple NNs, and cascade NN. We compared the performance of the system by using different policies for selecting the NN hyperparameters. Our experiments reveal that the best accuracy and performance are obtained by a cascade NN, in which we encode our prior physical knowledge about the dependencies between joints, complemented by an appropriate optimisation of the hyperparameters., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to CASE 2024

Mountain slopes are perfect examples of harsh environments in which humans are required to perform difficult and dangerous operations such as removing unstable boulders, dangerous vegetation or deploying safety nets. A good replacement for human intervention can be offered by climbing robots. The different solutions existing in the literature are not up to the task for the difficulty of the requirements (navigation, heavy payloads, flexibility in the execution of the tasks). In this paper, we propose a robotic platform that can fill this gap. Our solution is based on a robot that hangs on ropes, and uses a retractable leg to jump away from the mountain walls. Our package of mechanical solutions, along with the algorithms developed for motion planning and control, delivers swift navigation on irregular and steep slopes, the possibility to overcome or travel around significant natural barriers, and the ability to carry heavy payloads and execute complex tasks. In the paper, we give a full account of our main design and algorithmic choices and show the feasibility of the solution through a large number of physically simulated scenarios.