Embodied AI Radar — Hardware & Open-Source Robotshttps://hu-zlatan.github.io/embodied-ai-radar/topics/hardware.xml2026-10-29T00:00:00ZEmbodied AI RadarMulti-Agent Reinforcement Learning of Co-Adaptive Hip Exoskeleton Control (MARL-Exo) for Metabolic Energy Reductionhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.374412026-10-28T00:00:00ZObjective: This study aims to determine whether a hip-exoskeleton policy trained in simulation, by co-adapting with a musculoskeletal human model under a metabolic-energy reward, reduces the metabolic cost of walking in new users without per-user tuning, and how mechanical-power shaping affects the learned assistance. Methods: We developed MARL-Exo, a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework in which a full-body human model (304 muscle actuators; randomized anatomy, gait, and speed) and a bilateral hip-exoskeleton policy are trained concurrently in two stages. The exoskeleton observes …From 12 to 200 Demonstrations: How ACT, Diffusion Policy, SmolVLA and $\pi_{0.5}$ Scale on a Low-Cost Armhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.371702026-10-28T00:00:00ZWe trained four widely used imitation-learning policies, ACT, Diffusion Policy, SmolVLA and $\pi_{0.5}$, on nested subsets of 12, 25, 50, 100 and 200 teleoperated demonstrations of one pick-and-place task with distractor objects, using one fixed training recipe per policy. Every trained model was then run on a physical SO-101 arm on a fixed set of object placements: 1,340 scored episodes in 126 blocks. ACT, trained from scratch, rose from 1 success in 40 episodes at 12 demonstrations to 37 in 40 at 100. $\pi_{0.5}$ with its action expert fine-tuned was the best policy when data was scarce (16 …State estimation for a hybrid rigid-continuum space manipulator systemhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.370432026-10-28T00:00:00ZSpacecraft-mounted robotic manipulators can support long-term operability of orbiting assets by conducting tasks such as on-orbit assembly, repair, upgrade, and refueling. In this context, the integration of continuum/soft robotic mechanisms into space manipulator designs promises to reduce stowage volume and mass, as well as to improve operational safety through the inherent mechanical compliance of soft structures. This work presents a novel state reconstruction pipeline for a hybrid soft-rigid space manipulator, in which the distal link is a tendon-driven continuum robot. The estimation …From Biological Curves to Soft Modular Robots: Learning-Based Inverse Design with Uncertainty-Guided Refinementhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.366812026-10-28T00:00:00ZAnimals exhibit diverse shape-changing behaviors, from the undulatory swimming of eels to the arching movements of inchworms. Reproducing these biological shapes with modular soft robots offers a promising approach to developing versatile bioinspired robotic systems. However, translating a desired shape into a feasible robotic configuration remains challenging. Existing cable-driven modular soft robots rely on computationally expensive physics-based modeling and combinatorial search for inverse design, making it difficult to efficiently reproduce diverse target shapes. To address this …VecTile: A Low-Cost Flexible Tactile Array for 3-DoF Force Sensinghttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.314722026-10-23T00:00:00ZTactile sensing provides robots with contact information difficult to obtain from vision alone. Shear force is particularly important for understanding tangential contact, guiding corrective motions, and maintaining grasp stability, yet flexible and low-cost tactile arrays often measure only normal force. We introduce VecTile, a low-cost, 6 mm thin, flexible tactile array capable of three-axis force sensing. VecTile combines a piezoresistive layer with passive silicone nubs that convert normal and shear forces into distinguishable pressure patterns. The sensor can be fabricated in-house …Whole-Body Motion Guided Reference Generation for Uncertainty-Aware Compliant Assistancehttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.313022026-10-23T00:00:00ZExoskeletons have shown great potential for augmenting human physical capabilities, yet generating reliable assistance remains challenging because human motion patterns and interaction requirements vary substantially in practice. To address this problem, a dual-loop assistance strategy is proposed to couple multimodal exoskeleton trajectory generation with variable admittance control, where trajectory variance links the outer-loop generator and the inner-loop controller. The generator synthesizes future exoskeleton trajectories through denoising, primarily using whole-body human motion and …XoNav: An Exoskeleton as a Personalized Haptic Interface for Assisted Navigationhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.272712026-10-21T00:00:00ZWalking without vision requires timely, unambiguous guidance, yet many wearable aids encode directions as audio or vibrotactile signals that users must translate into movement. We present XoNav, a four-actuator hip exoskeleton that renders guidance cues directly at the hip joints. It renders an Advance cue and two-level Braking cues through sagittal-plane actuators and two-level Steering cues through frontal-plane actuators. A bilateral LSTM-based gait-state classifier uses two thigh-mounted IMUs to identify gait states, enabling haptic cues to be delivered in coordination with the wearer's …A Human-in-the-Loop Comparison of Proportional Control and Adaptive Gravity Compensation in Elbow EMG-Driven Exoskeletonshttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.264452026-10-20T00:00:00ZElectromyography (EMG)-driven control enables wearable robots to assist users based on their neuromuscular activity. Upper-limb exoskeletons typically rely on proportional myoelectric control (PMC), which amplifies user effort but may compromise stability at high assistance levels. EMG-driven adaptive gravity compensation (AGC) offers a promising alternative, counterbalancing gravitational torques while continuously adapting to neuromuscular activity. However, these approaches have not been systematically compared in a human-in-the-loop setting. This study evaluates five control algorithms: …Adaptive Bendpoint Formation in Octopus-Inspired Soft Continuum Armshttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.255852026-10-20T00:00:00ZOctopuses exhibit a powerful form of embodied intelligence from a highly adaptable soft body. One key mechanism is the ability to instantiate bending points at any location along the arm, which enables performant and dexterous behaviours. Taking inspiration from the octopus for its dexterity, this study focuses on changing the curvature of a tendon-actuated arm by adaptively changing the anchoring end-point along the arm. An array of inflatable shells is integrated into the arm, where inflating a shell causes an increase in friction at the location, jamming the tendon and creating a temporary …Hardware-as-Regularization: Enhancing Data Consistency in Imitation Learning via an Adjustable Passive Compliant Leader Armhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.229772026-10-19T00:00:00ZLow-cost passive leader arms enable scalable data collection for imitation learning, but their lack of restoring forces leaves redundant joints unconstrained, yielding highly inconsistent joint-space trajectories. We address this with a low-cost passive joint module (an adjustable mechanical clutch and a 3D-printed spiral spring) that pulls each joint toward a user-defined neutral posture. This passive restoring force acts as a physical prior equivalent to joint-space $L_2$ regularization (``Hardware-as-Regularization''), improving kinematic consistency with shorter completion time than an …Pedicel-Targeted Strawberry Harvesting via Imitation Learning on a Low-Cost Teleoperated Robotic Armhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.227652026-10-19T00:00:00ZPrecise pedicel-targeted grasping in strawberry harvesting remains a critical bottleneck due to the pedicel's small diameter (1.3-3 mm), color similarity with surrounding foliage, and precise force control required for clean abscission zone detachment. As a market-grade crop, strawberry aesthetic value makes bruise-free pedicel detachment essential over direct fruit grasping. Classical approaches struggle to unify vision models, motion planning, and contact manipulation into a robust framework, particularly in occluded canopy environments. Therefore, this work presents a visuomotor imitation …Design and Characterization of a Unified Continuum Robot Actuation Platformhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.197982026-10-14T00:00:00ZContinuum robots enable dexterous access to confined spaces in applications such as minimally invasive surgery and industrial inspection. However, their actuation systems are often custom-designed for specific robot architectures and tasks, limiting reuse across publications, institutions, and applications. This paper presents a unified actuation platform that decouples actuation hardware and software from continuum robot design. The platform provides modular actuation across continuum robot classes, scales to a large number of degrees of freedom (DOFs), and integrates with conventional …Force Sensor-Based Picking Pattern Analysis and Two-Jaw Gripper Design for Cherry Tomato Robotic Harvesting in Greenhousehttps://arxiv.org/abs/2610.181602026-10-13T00:00:00ZRobotic harvesting of cherry tomatoes in greenhouses remains challenging due to dense fruit clusters, delicate skin, and the need for gentle yet effective detachment. This study presents a force-data-driven framework for autonomous cherry tomato harvesting that integrates six-axis force/torque sensing, a bio-inspired compliant gripper, and deployment on a mobile robotic platform. A wearable ATI six-axis force/torque sensor mounted on the index finger captured kinetic signatures of three elemental picking patterns (gripping, twisting, and lateral pulling) across 150 manual trials (50 per …