Background Utility pipes are a crucial component of public health and safety infrastructure, and it is critical to conduct regular inspections to ensure functionality. Currently, most pipes are inspected by human operators, which can pose safety concerns as well as inaccuracy and limited accessibility. As an alternative, in-pipe robots are increasingly...

Background Drones have provided significant improvements for industries including surveillance, research, and agriculture with their highly advanced aerial abilities. They provide enhanced safety and security measures and allow critical tasks to be completed remotely. Drones enable goods to be transported rapidly to remote areas with little infrastructure...

In the realm of quadrupedal locomotion, there's a growing interest in understanding the concept of passive leg stiffness. This stiffness, when tuned correctly, can significantly influence a robot's locomotion dynamics and performance. However, integrating passive stiffness into quadruped robots has been challenging due to complexities in design,...

Background Actuation and transmission through soft robotic systems has been studied extensively in recent years. Soft actuators, unlike traditional rigid-body robotic systems, can be deformed to subsequently alter body shapes and drive robots by stimulating or deforming soft materials. While many soft actuators have been developed to drive soft robots...