Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41521971›Full record

Articlenpj Robotics2026

Surface-based manipulation with modular foldable robots.

Ziqiao Wang, Serhat Demirtas, Fabio Zuliani, Jamie Paik

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in npj Robotics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ziqiao Wang *Reconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Serhat Demirtas *Reconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Fabio ZulianiReconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jamie PaikReconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Intelligence lies not only in the brain (decision-making processes) but in the body (physical morphology). The morphology of robots can significantly influence how they interact with the physical world, crucial for manipulating objects in real-life scenarios. Conventional robotic manipulation strategies mainly rely on finger-shaped end effectors. However, achieving stable grasps on fragile, deformable, irregularly shaped, or slippery objects is challenging due to difficulty in establishing stable forces or geometric constraints. Here, we present surface-based manipulation strategies that diverge from classical grasping approaches, using flat surfaces as minimalist end-effectors. By adjusting surfaces' position and orientation, objects can be translated, rotated, and flipped across the surface using closed-loop control strategies. Since this method does not rely on stable grasping, it can adapt to objects of various shapes, sizes, and stiffness levels and can even manipulate the shape of deformable objects. Our results provide a new perspective for solving complex manipulation problems.

Indexed as

Mechanical engineeringSoft materials

Identifiers

PMID41521971
PMCPMC12789041

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.