Project Grant 1637656

This SBIR Phase I Project Grant, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program, aims to develop a novel robotic arm architecture with enhanced reach, payload capacity, and affordability. The $304,952 award to Sol Robotics, Inc. will fund the creation of a robotic arm system that uses proprietary linear actuation technology in a parallel truss configuration to overcome limitations of traditional robot arms. The project...

This four-year, $603,183 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) will support the development of shape-based remote manipulation technologies at Northwestern University. The goals of the research are to overcome limitations in haptic feedback and dexterous control for remote presence systems through innovations in multi-finger haptic interfaces, geometric modeling of grasped objects, and shape-based control...

This three-year, $500,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering program aims to develop strategies for robotic manipulation without prior shape models of objects. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will receive funding to design a state-estimation and task planning system that combines neural network perception with uncertainty modeling. This will enable robots to operate in less restrictive, real-world environments like...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems will fund the development of shape-based remote manipulation technologies and educational outreach activities totaling $606,545. Under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070), the award supports four key objectives over a four-year period from September 2022 to August 2026. First, the grantees at Florida A&M University will develop a remote manipulation...

MORPHOSIS: Modeling and Control for Robotic and Programmable High-Dimensional Shape-Morphing Structures Arizona State University (ASU) received a $375,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. This collaborative research initiative delivers fundamental scientific research and engineering development focused on...

This $1,264,792 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) aims to develop a highly flexible and adaptable robotic arm called COBRA (Continuum Bioinspired Robotic Assistant) to assist people with disabilities or who use wheelchairs with daily tasks. The research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute focuses on creating soft, lightweight, and safe robots inspired by origami that can handle complex manipulations like picking up items or opening...

The National Science Foundation awarded North Carolina State University $729,000 under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program to develop smart skins for robotic prosthetic hands. The three-year project grant, awarded on September 1, 2022 and set to conclude on August 31, 2025, will fund research to fundamentally understand adaptive tactile interactions between shape-morphing robotic skins and grasped objects. Researchers will pursue three thrusts: understanding contact...

This $150,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports fundamental research at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to develop new robotic manipulation capabilities for safely and reliably handling fragile objects. The research aims to establish an understanding of the synergy between vision and touch sensing, and to create a control method based on object properties that can optimize robotic manipulation for a variety...

This $349,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports research at Rice University to develop new robotics capabilities under uncertainty. The NSF Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation is funding this three-year award through its Engineering program (CFDA 47.041). Specifically, the researchers will establish generic frameworks for robot manipulation systems to self-identify using exploratory motions while maintaining stability. By changing the traditional...

This three-year, $243,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program, will fund research to develop smart skins for robotic prosthetic hands. The grantee, Villanova University in Pennsylvania, will collaborate with researchers across the country to fundamentally understand adaptive tactile interactions between shape-morphing robotic skins and grasped objects. This will...