Recent advancements in open-vocabulary 3D querying have achieved remarkable progress. However, existing approaches such as LERF and LangSplat still rely heavily on specific query text for accurate 3D target identification. They fail to accurately comprehend fuzzy query text (which describes a target's properties, functions, or traits rather than naming it directly), causing localization mistakes and poor 3D segmentation results. In this work, we introduce a novel task—open-vocabulary 3D fuzzy query—which aims to locate and generate precise 3D target masks based on fuzzy query text, a capability that is crucial for building a 3D intelligent system. To address this challenge, we proposeFuzzy Language Gaussian Splatting (FL-GS), a framework consisting of three key stages: We first leverage a multimodal large language model (MLLM) to identify and localize potential targets in representative views based on fuzzy query text, thereby generating initial masks using the segment anything model (SAM). Subsequently, we compute the pairwise similarity between all target masks and construct an undirected, unweighted graph, from which the maximum clique is identified, thus obtaining the most probable correct masks, referred to as refined masks. Finally, we propose single-dimensional mask encoding to efficiently achieve precise 3D target masks through supervision with refined masks. Furthermore, we manually annotated two key datasets and established a benchmark for this new task. Experimental results clearly demonstrate that FL-GS outperforms existing methods in open-vocabulary 3D fuzzy querying.

Ensuring safe interaction between humans and robots is an important challenge in robotics. In recent years, researchers have developed many different soft robots. One possibility to reach this goal is to integrate mechanical springs into their joints. The forthcoming generation of soft robots will be adaptable for joint stiffness to accommodate various tasks. Consequently, the development of variable stiffness joints (VSA) has become crucial. Among the prevalent approaches for stiffness adjustment, lever mechanisms have been implemented in numerous variable stiffness joints. Nonetheless, the integration of the lever technology into VSA often faces challenges in achieving a compact design. This paper introduces a new mechanically compact design for a novel lever-cam based variable stiffness joint, which has been patent under the grand by the german Patentamt.

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are important tools for scientific research applications. The use of power line communication (PLC) in AUVs enables power and signals to be transmitted simultaneously over the power line, which can reduce the need for communication lines and simplify the charging connection to the supply vessel. However, most existing dc PLC methods perform limited bitrate that cannot meet AUVs’ requirements. This article proposes a novel high-bitrate PLC method using pulse position modulation. The transmitter superposes modulated signals directly on the dc bus through a half-bridge circuit and two coupled inductors while the receiver reads the data by detecting the level of voltage ripples. This allows for easy modulation and demodulation processes and eliminates the cost of a dedicated PLC chip and analog-to-digital converter. A two-module experimental platform with 1 Mbps communication rate was established and the feasibility of the proposed method has been verified.

In this paper a novel full state feedback approach for control of compliant actuated robot with nonlinear spring characteristics is presented. A multi-DOF elastic robot arm is a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) under-actuated system. By the new novel controller, which is based on motor coordinate transformation and motor inertia shaping, the MIMO system can be converted into a set of decoupled single-input single-output (SISO) systems. Using full state feedback controller, we can configurate the poles of each SISO system. The controller is validated by an 3-DOF elastic robot with nonlinear spring characteristics in simulation of MATLAB/Simulink.