About

The research in our lab uses advanced data science techniques to understand how water, plants, geology and climate interact in a tightly coupled system – and how humans are changing this system.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Embedded system
• Geometry
• Electrical engineering
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Structural engineering

Selected publications

• A Multimodal, Enveloping Soft Gripper: Shape Conformation, Bioinspired Adhesion, and Expansion-Driven Suction

  IEEE Transactions on Robotics · 2020 · 137 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence

  A key challenge in robotics is to create efficient methods for grasping objects with diverse shapes, sizes, poses, and properties. Grasping with hand-like end effectors often requires careful selection of hand orientation and finger placement. Here, we present a fingerless soft gripper capable of efficiently generating multiple grasping modes. It is based on a soft, cylindrical accordion structure containing coupled, parallel fluidic channels, which are controlled via pressure supplied from a single fluidic port. Inflation opens the gripper orifice for enveloping an object, while deflation allows it to produce grasping forces. The interior is patterned with a gecko-like skin that increases friction, enabling the gripper to lift objects weighing up to 20 N. Our design ensures that fragile objects, such as eggs, can be safely handled, by virtue of a wall buckling mechanism. In reverse, the gripper can be deflated to reach into an opening or orifice then inflated to grasp objects with handles or cavities. The gripper may also integrate a lip that enables it to form a seal and, upon inflating, to generate suction for lifting objects with flat surfaces. In this article, we describe the design and fabrication of this device and present an analytical model of its behavior when operated from a single fluidic port. In experiments, we demonstrate its ability to grasp diverse objects, and show that its performance is well described by our model. Our findings show how a fingerless soft gripper can efficiently perform a variety of grasping operations. Such devices could improve the ability of robotic systems to meet applications in areas of great economic and societal importance.

  DOI

• Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics

  Soft Robotics · 2020 · 150 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Mechanical engineering

  Pascals. We demonstrate their versatility for actuating a variety of bodies or structures, and in configurations that perform multiaxis actuation, including bending and shape change. As we also show, FFMS can be used to exert forces on body tissues for wearable and biomedical applications. We demonstrate several potential use cases, including a miniature steerable robot, a glove for grasp assistance, garments for applying compression to the extremities, and devices for actuating small body regions or tissues via localized skin stretch.

  DOI

Recent grants

• CPS: Breakthrough: From Whole-Hand Tactile Imaging to Interactive Simulation

  NSF · $408k · 2015–2018

• CAREER: Making Tactile Waves: Somatosensation as Elastic Wave Propagation

  NSF · $539k · 2018–2023

• I-Corps: Smart Compression Garments for Fitness and Athletics

  NSF · $50k · 2020–2021

• CPS: Breakthrough: From Whole-Hand Tactile Imaging to Interactive Simulation

  NSF · $500k · 2015–2016

• CHS: Small: ETouch - Amplifying the Sense of Touch

  NSF · $500k · 2015–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Jeremy R. Cooperstock

  McGill University

  37 shared

• Vincent Hayward

  Institut Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique

  34 shared

• Yitian Shao

  Harbin Institute of Technology

  30 shared

• Shantonu Biswas

  California NanoSystems Institute

  24 shared

• Bruno L. Giordano

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  23 shared

• Alvin Law

  Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology

  18 shared

• Stephen McAdams

  15 shared

• Thanh Nho

  UNSW Sydney

  15 shared

Labs

• The Tague Team LabPI

Awards & honors

• John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Visual Arts (2016)
• Making Visible the Invisible (permanent installation at Seat…
• Creative Capital Foundation support
• Daniel Langlois Foundation for the Arts, Science and Technol…
• Canada Council for the Arts support

Similar researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara

• Craig Hawkerh-169
• Richard Mayerh-147
• Guillermo C. Bazanh-141
• Steven P. DenBaarsh-124
• Kenneth S. Kosikh-120