Stanford Seminar - Robots that aren't afraid of contact, an embodied approach

The speaker discusses the concept of "robots that aren't afraid of contact" in the field of mechanical design. They present two specific projects that demonstrate the use of tactile sensing and environmental interaction in robotic manipulation. The first project focuses on the development of suction cups that have built-in haptic sensing capabilities. The suction cups use differential pressure measurements to determine the contact conditions and adjust their grasp accordingly. The second project explores the use of acoustic sensing in soft structures, such as fingers, to detect changes in curvature and contact state. The speaker highlights the importance of resilience, adaptability, and active sensing in robotic systems. They also discuss the potential for using acoustic sensory information as a means of communication between robots.