Embodied Dexterity Group

Design for interaction in challenging environments

Header Right

Left: Simple, robust, compliant hands enable this humanoid diver, Ocean One, to perform both wrap grasps and precision pinching. Photo credit: Frederic Osada and Teddy Seguin, DRASSM / Stanford University. Right: Students in the Augmenting Human Dexterity class fit a prosthesis during the Jacobs Design Showcase in Fall 2018. Photo credit: Adriel Olmos, CITRIS, UC Berkeley.

Home

Welcome to EDG.

Key words: Dexterous manipulation; Robotics; Bioinspired design; Soft and multi-material mechanisms; Skin contact conditions; Tactile sensing and haptics.

Robots face a rapidly expanding range of potential applications, including remote exploration, search-and-rescue, surgery and household assistance. In many of these cases, the focus of interaction is via the robot’s end-effectors. However, current manipulators have limited capabilities in comparison to their biological counterparts. Our group is interested in improving robot dexterity through building end-effectors with embodied intelligence and robustness, especially for challenging unstructured environments. This includes the design of (1) novel grippers and hands, (2) touch perception for autonomous or teleoperated interventions and (3) bioinspired manipulation strategies. This vision includes the advancement of relevant design analysis tools and the validation of concepts by applying technologies in the field.

Follow us on Facebook, Youtube, or Twitter to get the latest updates.