麻豆视频

Continuum robots bend continuously along their length, which makes them ideal for navigating confined spaces but makes it hard to know their exact shape and the forces acting on them. We develop mechanics-based models and probabilistic state estimation methods that fuse these models with sensor data, giving reliable estimates of a robot's full shape, pose, and strain, including for systems of multiple cooperating continuum robots.

Selected Publications

• Lilge, S., Barfoot, T., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2024). State estimation for continuum multirobot systems on SE(3). IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 41, 905-925.
• Lilge, S., Barfoot, T. D., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2022). Continuum robot state estimation using Gaussian process regression on SE(3). The International Journal of Robotics Research, 41, 1099-1120.
• Rao, P., Peyron, Q., Lilge, S., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2021). How to model tendon-driven continuum robots and benchmark modelling performance. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 7, 630245.

We design and build new continuum robot architectures, such as parallel continuum robots, where several flexible, tendon-driven kinematic chains work together to move a shared end-effector. These designs combine the dexterity of continuum robots with improved stiffness and payload. Our modelling work captures their behaviour so they can be accurately simulated and controlled.

Selected Publications

• Lilge, S., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2022). Kinetostatic modeling of tendon-driven parallel continuum robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 39, 1563-1579.
• B枚ttcher, G., Lilge, S., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2021). Design of a reconfigurable parallel continuum robot with tendon-actuated kinematic chains. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6, 1272-1279.

To move safely through cluttered and confined environments, continuum robots must control not only their tip but their entire shape. We develop model predictive controllers and planning methods that satisfy shape and environmental constraints, coordinate multiple robot arms, and support intuitive teleoperation by human operators, for example in surgical applications.

Selected Publications

• Hachen, M., Shentu, C., Lilge, S., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2025). A non-linear model predictive task-space controller satisfying shape constraints for tendon-driven continuum robots. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 10, 2438-2445.
• Zhang, H. J., Lilge, S., Chikhaoui, M. T., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2022). Cooperative control of dual-arm concentric tube continuum robots. In 2022 International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS) (pp. 1-6).
• Black, D., Lilge, S., Fellmann, C., Reinschluessel, A. V., Kreuer, L., Nabavi, A., Hahn, H. K., Kikinis, R., & Burgner-Kahrs, J. (2019). Auditory display for telerobotic transnasal surgery using a continuum robot. Journal of Medical Robotics Research, 4, 1950004.

We develop algorithms that allow mobile robots to navigate reliably and autonomously in unstructured, real-world environments, from off-road terrain to changing weather and seasons, and to work safely alongside people. Our research covers perception, localization, path following, and control, with a focus on long-term autonomy in conditions where conventional approaches struggle.

Selected Publications

• Boxan, M., Jeanson, G., Krawciw, A., Daum, E., Qiao, X., Lilge, S., Barfoot, T. D., & Pomerleau, F. (2026). FoMo: A multi-season dataset for robot navigation in For锚t Montmorency. The International Journal of Robotics Research.
• Qiao, X., Krawciw, A., Lilge, S., & Barfoot, T. D. (2025). Radar teach and repeat: Architecture and initial field testing. In 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (pp. 13021-13027).
• Krawciw, A., Antonyshyn, L., Lilge, S., Olmedo, N., Rehmatullah, F., Desjardins-Goulet, M., Toupin, P., & Barfoot, T. D. (2025). Sharing the load: Autonomous multi-rover cargo transport. arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.18766.