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Publications

Submitted

  1. K. Schäffer, C. Pohl, M. Doerfler, B. Goodwine, and M. McGuinness, "Design and Modeling of a Spider Monkey Tail-Inspired Robot," submitted.
  2. C. McFarland and M. McGuinness, "Modeling Collapse of Steered Vine Robots Under Their Own Weight," submitted. PDF
  3. C. McFarland*, A. Alvarez Valdivia*, S. Taher, N. Hanson†, and M. McGuinness†, "On Steerability Factors for Growing Vine Robots," submitted. PDF

2026

  1. S. Lorca Godoy, C. McFarland, M. Val, A. Alvarez Valdivia, N. Hanson, and M. McGuinness, "Distributed Acoustic Localization Array Deployed Using a Soft Everting Vine Robot," in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2026, accepted. PDF Video
  2. A. Alvarez Valdivia, R. Reeve, A. Dhawan, C. McFarland, C. Council, M. McGuinness, and N. Hanson, "Gotta Grow Fast: Design and Benchmarking of a Tip Mount for High Speed Vine Robots," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 11, no. 8, 2026, pp. 9827-9834. Paper PDF Video
  3. A. E. Laudenslager, N. Hanson, and M. McGuinness, "Evaluating Accuracy of Vine Robot Shape Sensing with Distributed Inertial Measurement Units," in IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, 2026, accepted. PDF
  4. K. Schäffer, I. Bales, H. Zhang, and M. McGuinness, "Fabric Pneumatic Artificial Muscle-Based Head-Neck Exosuit: Design, Modeling, and Evaluation," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2026, accepted. PDF Video
  5. C. McFarland, "Vine Robot Field Testing, Modeling, and Teleoperation for Urban Search and Rescue," PhD Dissertation, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2026. PDF
  6. C. Council, M. McGuinness, and N. Hanson, "The Future of Rescue is Soft," Crisis Response Journal, vol. 20, no. 4, 2026, pp. 92-95.

2025

  1. C. Frost, C. Council, M. McGuinness, and N. Hanson, "RubbleSim: A Photorealistic Structural Collapse Simulator for Confined Space Mapping," in IEEE International Conference on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics, 2025, pp. 215-220. Paper PDF
  2. A. E. Laudenslager, "IMU-Based Shape Sensing of Field-Ready Vine Robots for Urban Search and Rescue," MS Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2025. PDF
  3. G. Park*, K. Schäffer*, and M. M. Coad, "Soft Everting Prosthetic Hand and Comparison with Existing Body-Powered Terminal Devices," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2025, pp. 1-7. *Indicates equal contribution Paper PDF Video

2024

  1. C. McFarland*, A. Dhawan*, R. Kumari, C. Council, M. M. Coad†, and N. Hanson†, "Field Insights for Portable Vine Robots in Urban Search and Rescue," in IEEE International Conference on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics, 2024, pp. 190-197.  * † Indicates equal contribution Paper PDF Video
  2. C. McFarland, F. Fuentes, A. Fick, L. H. Blumenschein, and M. M. Coad, "Why Robots Should Grow Like Vines," Frontiers for Young Minds, vol. 12, no. 1371267, pp. 1-8, 2024. Paper PDF
  3. K. Schäffer, U. Fallon, and M. M. Coad, "Stretchable Pneumatic Sleeve for Adaptable, Low-Displacement Anchoring in Exosuits," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2024, pp. 912-918. Paper PDF Video
  4. T. Zheng, C. McFarland, M. M. Coad, and H. Lin, "Estimating Infinite-Dimensional Continuum Robot States From the Tip," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2024, pp. 572-578. Paper PDF Video
  5. K. Schäffer, Y. Ozkan-Aydin, and M. M. Coad, "Soft Wrist Exosuit Actuated by Fabric Pneumatic Artificial Muscles," IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 718-732, 2024. Paper PDF Video
  6. Y. A. Oquendo, M. M. Coad, S. M. Wren, T. S. Lendvay, I. Nisky, A. M. Jarc, A. M. Okamura, and Z. Chua, "A Comparison of Haptic Guidance and Haptic Error Amplification in a Virtual Surgical Robotic Training Environment," IEEE Transactions on Haptics, pp. 1-12, 2024. Paper PDF

2023

  1. M. R. Mitchell, C. McFarland, and M. M. Coad, "Soft Air Pocket Force Sensors for Large Scale Flexible Robots," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2023, pp. 1-8. Paper PDF Video
  2. M. C. Doerfler, K. Schäffer, and M. M. Coad, "Hybrid Soft-Rigid Continuum Robot Inspired by Spider Monkey Tail," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2023, pp. 1-6. Paper PDF Video
  3. C. McFarland and M. M. Coad, "Collapse of Straight Soft Growing Inflated Beam Robots Under Their Own Weight," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2023, pp. 1-8. Paper PDF Video

2022

  1. N. G. Badillo Perez and M. M. Coad, "Self-Propelled Soft Everting Toroidal Robot for Navigation and Climbing in Confined Spaces," in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2022, pp. 5409-5415. Paper PDF Video
  2. I. Exarchos, K. Wang, B. H. Do, F. Stroppa, M. M. Coad, A. M. Okamura, and C. K. Liu, "Task-Specific Design Optimization and Fabrication for Inflated-Beam Soft Robots with Growable Discrete Joints," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2022, pp. 7145-7151. Paper PDF

2021

  1. W. E. Heap, N. D. Naclerio, M. M. Coad, S. Jeong, and E. W. Hawkes, "Soft Retraction Device and Internal Camera Mount for Everting Vine Robots," in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2021, pp. 4959-4965. Paper PDF Video Finalist for IROS 2021 Best Application Paper Award
  2. M. M. Coad, "Design, modeling, and control of vine robots for exploration of unknown environments," PhD thesis, Stanford University, 2021. Thesis PDF Presentation
  3. A. M. Gruebele*, A. C. Zerbe*, M. M. Coad, A. M. Okamura, and M. R. Cutkosky, "Distributed Sensor Networks Deployed Using Soft Growing Robots," in IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, 2021, pp. 66-73. Paper PDF Video *Indicates equal contribution Finalist for RoboSoft 2021 Best Paper Award

2020

  1. L. H. Blumenschein, M. M. Coad, D. A. Haggerty, A. M. Okamura, and E. W. Hawkes, "Design, modeling, control, and application of everting vine robots," Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 7, p. 548266, 2020. Paper PDF
  2. S. Jeong*, M. M. Coad*, L. H. Blumenschein, M. Luo, U. Mehmood, J. Kim, A. M. Okamura, and J. Ryu, "A Tip Mount for Transporting Sensors and Tools using Soft Growing Robots," in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2020, pp. 8781-8788. Paper PDF Video Presentation *Indicates equal contribution Finalist for IROS 2020 Best Paper Award in Robot Mechanisms and Design
  3. F. Stroppa, M. Luo, K. Yoshida, M. M. Coad, L. H. Blumenschein, and A. M. Okamura, "Human Interface for Teleoperated Object Manipulation with a Soft Growing Robot," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2020, pp. 726-732. Paper PDF Presentation Finalist for ICRA 2020 Best Paper Award in Human-Robot Interaction
  4. M. M. Coad, R. P. Thomasson, L. H. Blumenschein, N. S. Usevitch, E. W. Hawkes, and A. M. Okamura, "Retraction of Soft Growing Robots without Buckling," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 2115-2122, 2020. Paper PDF Video Presentation
  5. M. M. Coad, L. H. Blumenschein, S. Cutler, J. A. Reyna Zepeda, N. D. Naclerio, H. El-Hussieny, U. Mehmood, J. Ryu, E. W. Hawkes, and A. M. Okamura, "Vine Robots: Design, Teleoperation, and Deployment for Navigation and Exploration," IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 120-132, 2020. Paper PDF Video Presentation Winner of RAM Best Paper Award for 2020

2019

  1. F. Stroppa, M. Luo, G. Gerboni, M. M. Coad, J. Walker, and A. M. Okamura, "Human-Centered Control of a Growing Soft Robot for Object Manipulation," in IEEE World Haptics Conference Work-In-Progress, 2019. PDF
  2. Y. A. Oquendo, Z. Chua, M. M. Coad, I. Nisky, A. Jarc, S. Wren, T. S. Lendvay, and A. M. Okamura, "Robot-Assisted Surgical Training Over Several Days in a Virtual Surgical Environment with Divergent and Convergent Force Fields," in Hamlyn Symposium, 2019. PDF

2018

  1. N. Enayati, A. M. Okamura, A. Mariani, E. Pellegrini, M. M. Coad, G. Ferrigno, and E. De Momi, "Robotic Assistance-as-Needed for Enhanced Visuomotor Learning in Surgical Robotics Training: An Experimental Study," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2018, pp. 6631-6636. Paper Video

2017

  1. M. M. Coad, A. M. Okamura, S. Wren, Y. Mintz, T. Lendvay, A. M. Jarc, and I. Nisky, "Training in Divergent and Convergent Force Fields During 6-DOF Teleoperation with a Robot-Assisted Surgical System," in IEEE World Haptics Conference, 2017, pp. 195-200. Paper