Student Openings

If you are interested in doing a TFG or TFM under my supervision based on one of the projects described below, do not hesitate to contact me. There are grants that can be applied for, if you so wish, in order to fund your work.

Si tienes interés en hacer un TFG o TFM bajo mi dirección en alguno de los proyectos descritos aquí abajo, no dudes en contactarme. Existen becas que se pueden solicitar, si lo deseas, para financiar tu trabajo.

Project 1: Flexible and efficient group-based multirobot formation control

A multirobot formation is usually defined as a configuration where the positions of a team of robots form a target geometric shape that is prescribed in the context of a given task. Formations are useful, for example, when multirobot teams have to transport an object, enclose a phenomenon, or navigate in an environment. Formation control is the problem of making the robots move so that they acquire and/or maintain the prescribed shape. The existing algorithms addressing formation control usually assume that each robot interacts with a local set of neighboring robots. These algorithms often take inspiration from behaviors observed in nature (e.g., flocks of birds, schools of fish). 

This project will build on certain existing formation control algorithms that are based on grouping the robots in sets of mutual neighbors. The goal of the project is to extend and improve these algorithms in various respects. For example, the new algorithms to be designed in this project will use dynamically defined sets of neighbors, and they will integrate the information available from the robot interactions in flexible manners so as to generate more efficient and safer motions during the convergence toward the desired formation. Mathematical analysis, simulation tests, and real-world experiments with a team of small wheeled mobile robots will be contemplated as possible ways of validating the developed algorithms.

Project 2: Robotic manipulation of textiles based on geometric modeling of elastic deformation

Endowing robots with the ability to manipulate textile objects is valuable in diverse applications, such as the manufacturing of clothes, handling of laundry, or assistance in dressing for persons with disabilities. In some of these tasks of interest, one or multiple robotic manipulators need to bring a textile item into a desired configuration, closely controlling its shape. Prior works have successfully addressed such shape control tasks for objects that deform elastically (e.g., tires, shoe soles, flexible bars) by coupling geometric models of deformation and visual feedback.

Compared to the objects handled in these prior works, textile objects are characterized by their very high deformability. The goal of this project is to extend the control algorithms of the prior works to enable the manipulation of textile objects. New control algorithms will be developed, adapting as required the existing ones. For the purposes of validating and supporting the developed algorithms, multiple options will be considered, including mathematical analysis, simulation tests, or experiments involving real-world textile objects.