RoboTac
Lab

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Topics of Interest

(but not limited to)

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Human Sense of Touch and Embodiment

• Touch physiology: from skin to brain, and its role in embodied intelligence

• Haptic perception and sensory-motor integration

• Action-perception loops for adaptive behavior

• Perception for learning in an embodied context

• Insights from human embodiment for robotic interactive and predictive perception

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Tactile Sensing Technologies for Embodied Robots

• Conformable, compliant, and biomimetic materials

• Features enabled by embodied tactile sensors

• Sensor effects, self-healing properties, and strategies for robust robotic embodiment

• Sensor skins: design, fabrication, and integration for embodied manipulation

• Integration and read-out strategies in physically embodied robots

• Enabling technologies for fully integrated, multimodal robotic systems

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Embodied Visuo-Tactile & Language: Perception, Interaction, and Exploration

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• Exploitation of contact constraints and novel contact models in embodied contexts

• Object perception and exploration through touch and vision

• Tactile information processing and feature learning for embodied reasoning

• Tactile-based object modeling, localization, shape reconstruction, and classification

• Integration of vision and touch sensing with foundation models (LLMs, multimodal models) for reasoning, prediction, and planning

• Modeling and representation of embodied, multimodal sensory modalities

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Embodied Visuo-Tactile & Language: Grasping and Manipulation

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• Slip detection, grasp planning, and stability assessment in embodied systems

• Soft, in-hand, and whole-body manipulation

• Tactile-vision integration for predictive planning and control

• Embodied skill transfer, tactile transfer learning, and learning from human demonstrations

• Multi-robot manipulation, coordination, and collaborative assembly with embodied reasoning

• Whole-body, multi-contact planning and control

• Design and characterization of contact-exploiting, compliant robotic hands

• Leveraging foundation models to enhance dexterous manipulation, high-level task reasoning, and adaptive control

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Sponsors