Project Grant 1853146

This $272,617 National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) award to the University of Illinois supports fundamental research on high-dimensional proprioceptive and tactile sensing methods for soft robotic grippers. The project aims to develop a new framework, called DeepSORO, that uses embedded cameras and advanced deep learning models to provide real-time, high-resolution sensing and state estimation of the grippers' kinematics and dynamics. This research seeks to...

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...

Dextrous Robotics, Inc. received a $256,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project Grant from the National Science Foundation under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to develop automated perception capabilities for robotic chopsticks manipulating small and large objects in constrained spaces. The six-month project running from July to December 2021 aims to advance robotic grasping technologies through research on computer vision and tactile sensing that enables dexterous...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award of $275,000 to Irradiant Sensing Corporation aims to develop a novel tactile sensing technology with applications in robotics and biomedical instruments. The project will create a high-resolution, high-force-sensitivity tactile sensor that can enable robots and robotic tools to safely and precisely interact with their environment, including soft biological tissues. This...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) EAGER grant to Northeastern University provides $229,680 from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2025 to evaluate the feasibility of a soft and compressible electronic skin (e-skin) device that integrates a touch sensor with a soft electromagnetic coil-based flexible actuator. The goal is to replicate natural skin characteristics, including receptors embedded in soft tissue tightly coupled with muscles, to enable...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program award to Purdue University supports research to develop high-performance tactile sensors that can detect various sizes of objects within microseconds, comparable to human skin. The $510,542 grant, awarded on November 1, 2023, will fund the manufacturing of these sensors using 3D printing and conformal polymer coating techniques. The research aims to create a new manufacturing capability for hierarchically architected structures with...

This $2,000,000 Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program supports the development of bio-inspired robotic and prosthetic hands with human-like dexterity. The project aims to address labor shortages in manufacturing and improve quality of life for individuals with upper limb disabilities. Key research thrusts include designing customizable, reliable, and manufacturable bio-inspired sensors,...

This three-year $200,000 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research at Case Western Reserve University to develop adaptive mechanics, learning and intelligent control technologies to improve soft robotic grasping. The university researchers will work to foster innovation in soft robotics through engineering research aimed at enabling soft robotic end effectors with enhanced grasping capabilities. Building on prior work, the project...

This $549,564 federal Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program supports research at Purdue University on human-robot collaboration for controlling soft robots made of flexible or stretchable materials. The 3-year project aims to: Investigate real-time features of user workload when operating soft robotic systems to understand how robot features affect operator workload. Develop mechanical models to predict soft robot limits and prevent...

This Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund the development of advanced, vision-based tactile gel-robots capable of perceiving and manipulating soft, fragile objects. The $312,960 award will integrate fatigue-resistant photoelastic gels, stress-interpreting photometry systems, and physics-informed machine learning to enable multi-physical perception and ultra-gentle handling capabilities. This research will advance robotics in...