Welcome to the M3 Robotics Lab<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
Compliance is an intrinsic aspect of nearly all biological systems. However, until recently, traditional robotics has focused more on rigid structures with discrete numbers of links and actuators (whether in series or parallel). More recently, soft robotics has become a popular area of research as it provides a level of safety for human\/robot interaction that rigid systems cannot provide. However, there are many situations where robotic systems need the ability to switch between being highly compliant and offering rigidity as they interact with their environment (including human operators). In the effort to develop tunably compliant mechanisms and robotics systems, the M3 Robotics Lab is focused on:<\/p>\n
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- High degrees of *<\/strong><\/em>: Estimation and control for systems where there are high degrees of freedom, high degrees of actuation or underactuation, and\/or high degrees of sensor information.<\/li>\n
- Tunably compliant mechanism<\/strong><\/em>: Using smart materials to actively control mechanism compliance, often coupled with traditional robotic actuation schemes.<\/li>\n
- Applications in medical robotics<\/strong><\/em>: The goal of many medical devices is to deftly navigate to a location within the body and then interact with tissues at the target location. Travel to the treatment site requires dexterity and compliance, while interactions at the target site require higher levels of rigidity. Medical robotics provides an ideal testbed for validating the previous two principles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We take an approach of design, model, estimation, and control, where we focus on both analytical and theoretical understanding as well as experimental validation and demonstration. While the primary focus of the research in high degree of freedom systems with tunable compliance is in the area of medical robotics and biomedical systems, these same principles have the potential for employ in manufacturing scenarios, space robotics, and home robotics.<\/p>\n
The M3 Robotics Lab is directed by Prof. John Swensen<\/a>, and is part of a growing group of robotics researchers and students<\/a> at Washington State University.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEmily Allen successfully defends her PhD disseration!<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJul. 13 2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlee.taylor<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Today Emily Allen successfully defended her PhD dissertation on DESIGN AND MODELING OF A PNEU-SMA SOFT ROBOTIC CATHETER DEVICE USING RESISTANCE-BASED MODELING OF NITINOL SPRINGS<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Congratulations, Dr. Allen!<\/strong><\/p>\n Read Story<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFan’s Paper on Predictive Model for Stylet-and-Tube Steerable Needles is Accepted for a Presentation at IROS 2020<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug. 06 2020<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmahdieh.babaiasl<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Fan’s Paper entitled “Resultant Radius of Curvature of Stylet-and-Tube Steerable Needles<\/a>” is accepted for an oral presentation at International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The abstract of this paper is as follows:<\/p>\n
Steerable needles<\/a> have been widely researched in recent years, and they have multiple potential roles in the medical area.<\/p>\n
The flexibility and capability of avoiding obstacles allow the steerable needles<\/a> to be applied in the biopsy, drug delivery and other medical applications that require a high degree of freedom and control accuracy.<\/p>\n
Radius of … » More …<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Read Story<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMahdieh and Fan Defended Their Theses on Fracture-directed Steerable Needles<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug. 06 2020<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmahdieh.babaiasl<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
On Wednesday July 22nd, Mahdieh Babaiasl<\/a> has successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “Waterjet Fracture-directed Steerable Needles<\/a>“.
![\"Mahdieh](\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/909\/2020\/08\/Babaiasl-Announcement.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe abstract of the thesis as follows:<\/p>\n
Robotic needle steering<\/a> is a proposed method in the literature for controlling long flexible needles through curved paths in the soft tissue. Needle steering<\/a> is proven to be effective in correction … » More …<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Read Story<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFracture-directed Waterjet Needle Steering: Design, Modeling, and Path Planning Accepted for Proceedings of BioRob 2020<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFan’s Paper on Predictive Model for Stylet-and-Tube Steerable Needles is Accepted for a Presentation at IROS 2020<\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug. 06 2020<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmahdieh.babaiasl<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
- Tunably compliant mechanism<\/strong><\/em>: Using smart materials to actively control mechanism compliance, often coupled with traditional robotic actuation schemes.<\/li>\n