RIPLEY: Reliable Intelligence for Precise Large-area soft robot to Environment Interaction control

Introduction

RIPLEY will pioneer the next generation of soft robots, empowering them for the first time to establish, maintain, and exploit multiple large-area contacts. Imagine assessing and fixing damages deep into a huge turbine without disassembling it. Today, this task is impossible. Five years from now, RIPLEY's intelligent soft robots will be capable of squeezing themselves into a narrow opening and reaching deep into the mechanical structure - like an octopus elegantly finding its way through a complex riff, embracing the rocks with its whole body to reach for a prey.

Current Limitations

These pragmatic outcomes will require a paradigm shift in the theory of soft robotic intelligence. Indeed, while on the one hand, soft robots are becoming increasingly capable of moving in free space, at the same time, they fall short whenever simple environment-robot interactions arise.

Critically, this limitation is the symptom of flaws in the foundations of existing theories, and research in the field finds itself in a cul-de-sac from which it cannot get out by accumulating incremental steps.

Proposed Solution

RIPLEY will solve this impasse by rebuilding soft robotic intelligence from the ground up. A new class of dynamical systems stays at the core of this disruptive innovation, driven by two key enablers:

1. Control-oriented descriptions of large-area interactions
2. Contact-aware shape parametrizations

With this mathematical framework, I will define entirely new perception and control challenges - estimation and regulation of shape, pressure, and contact areas - to which I will provide provably reliable closed-form solutions grounded in control theory.

Experience and Impact

With my fundamental contributions, I have already reshaped the understanding and application of soft robots' motor intelligence. With my experience, I will steer RIPLEY to transform soft machines again by bringing interaction-centric robots to life, unlocking applications from inspection to agriculture to healthcare.