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Koopman Spectral Analysis Uncovers the Temporal Structure of Spontaneous Neural Events

Shao, K., Xu, Y., Logothetis, N., Shen, Z., Besserve, M.

Computational and Systems Neuroscience Meeting (COSYNE), March 2024 (poster)

ei

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Interpreting How Large Language Models Handle Facts and Counterfactuals through Mechanistic Interpretability

Ortu, F.

University of Trieste, Italy, March 2024 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

2023


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Denoising Representation Learning for Causal Discovery

Sakenyte, U.

Université de Genèva, Switzerland, December 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

2023


[BibTex]


Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Actuators
Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Actuators

Keplinger, C. M., Acome, E. L., Kellaris, N. A., Mitchell, S. K.

(US Patent 11795979B2), October 2023 (patent)

Abstract
An electro-hydraulic actuator includes a deformable shell defining an enclosed internal cavity and containing a liquid dielectric, first and second electrodes on first and second sides, respectively, of the enclosed internal cavity. An electrostatic force between the first and second electrodes upon application of a voltage to one of the electrodes draws the electrodes towards each other to displace the liquid dielectric within the enclosed internal cavity. The shell includes active and inactive areas such that the electrostatic forces between the first and second electrodes displaces the liquid dielectric within the enclosed internal cavity from the active area of the shell to the inactive area of the shell. The first and second electrodes, the deformable shell, and the liquid dielectric cooperate to form a self-healing capacitor, and the liquid dielectric is configured for automatically filling breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Efficient Sampling from Differentiable Matrix Elements

Kofler, A.

Technical University of Munich, Germany, September 2023 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


High Strain Peano Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Transducers
High Strain Peano Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Transducers

Keplinger, C. M., Wang, X., Mitchell, S. K.

(US Patent App. 18/138,621), August 2023 (patent)

Abstract
High strain hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic transducers having increased maximum theoretical and practical strains are disclosed. In particular, the actuators include electrode configurations having a zipping front created by the attraction of the electrodes that is configured orthogonally to a strain axis along which the actuators. This configuration produces increased strains. In turn, various form factors for the actuator configuration are presented including an artificial circular muscle and a strain amplifying pulley system. Other actuator configurations are contemplated that include independent and opposed electrode pairs to create cyclic activation, hybrid electrode configurations, and use of strain limiting layers for controlled deflection of the actuator.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]


Capacitive Self-Sensing for Electrostatic Transducers with High Voltage Isolation
Capacitive Self-Sensing for Electrostatic Transducers with High Voltage Isolation

Correll, N., Ly, K. D., Kellaris, N. A., Keplinger, C. M.

(US Patent App. 17/928,453), June 2023 (patent)

Abstract
Transducer systems disclosed herein include self-sensing capabilities. In particular, electrostatic transducers include a low voltage electrode and a high voltage electrode. A low voltage sensing unit is coupled with the low voltage electrode of the electrostatic transducer. The low voltage sensing unit is configured to measure a capacitance of the electrostatic transducer, from which displacement of the electrostatic transducer may be calculated. High voltage drive signals received by the high voltage electrode during actuation may be isolated from the low voltage sensing unit. The isolation may be provided by dielectric material of the electrostatic transducer, a voltage suppression component, and/or a voltage suppression module comprising a low impedance ground path. In the event of an electrical failure of the transducer, the low voltage sensing unit may be isolated from high voltages.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


High Strain Peano Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Transducers
High Strain Peano Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Transducers

Keplinger, C. M., Wang, X., Mitchell, S. K.

(US Patent 11635094), April 2023 (patent)

Abstract
High strain hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic transducers having increased maximum theoretical and practical strains are disclosed. In particular, the actuators include electrode configurations having a zipping front created by the attraction of the electrodes that is configured orthogonally to a strain axis along which the actuators. This configuration produces increased strains. In turn, various form factors for the actuator configuration are presented including an artificial circular muscle and a strain amplifying pulley system. Other actuator configurations are contemplated that include independent and opposed electrode pairs to create cyclic activation, hybrid electrode configurations, and use of strain limiting layers for controlled deflection of the actuator.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]


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Intrinsic complexity and mechanisms of expressivity of cortical neurons

Spieler, A. M.

University of Tübingen, Germany, March 2023 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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CausalEffect Estimation by Combining Observational and Interventional Data

Kladny, K.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

lds ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Towards Generative Machine Teaching

Qui, Z.

Technical University of Munich, Germany, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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ArchiSound: Audio Generation with Diffusion

Schneider, F.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, January 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Generation and Quantification of Spin in Robot Table Tennis

Dittrich, A.

University of Stuttgart, Germany, January 2023 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Microfibers with mushroom-shaped tips for optimal adhesion

Sitti, M., Aksak, B.

2023, US Patent 11,613,674 (patent)

pi

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Magnetic trap system and method of navigating a microscopic device
Magnetic trap system and method of navigating a microscopic device

Son, D., Ugurlu, M., Bluemer, P., Sitti, M.

2023, US Patent App. 17/871,598 (patent)

pi

[BibTex]


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Dry adhesives and methods for making dry adhesives

M Sitti, M. M. B. A.

2023, US Patent 11,773,298, 2023 (patent)

pi

[BibTex]

2022


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DRY ADHESIVES AND METHODS FOR MAKING DRY ADHESIVES

Metin Sitti, Michael Murphy, Burak Aksak

December 2022, US Patent App. 17/895,334, 2022 (patent)

pi

[BibTex]

2022


[BibTex]


Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Transducers Harnessing Zipping Mechanism
Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Transducers Harnessing Zipping Mechanism

Keplinger, C. M., Acome, E. L., Kellaris, N. A., Mitchell, S. K., Morrissey, T. G.

(US Patent 11486421B2), November 2022 (patent)

Abstract
Hydraulically-amplified, self-healing, electrostatic transducers that harness electrostatic and hydraulic forces to achieve various actuation modes. Electrostatic forces between electrode pairs of the transducers generated upon application of a voltage to the electrode pairs draws the electrodes in each pair towards each other to displace a liquid dielectric contained within an enclosed internal cavity of the transducers to drive actuation in various manners. The electrodes and the liquid dielectric form a self-healing capacitor whereby the liquid dielectric automatically fills breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown. Due to the resting shape of the cavity, a zipping-mechanism allows for selectively actuating the electrodes to a desired extent by controlling the voltage supplied.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Pumps
Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Pumps

Mitchell, S. K., Acome, E. L., Keplinger, C. M.

(US Patent App. 17/635,339), October 2022 (patent)

Abstract
A pumping system includes a conduit with an inlet region and an outlet region and a first pump coupled with the conduit between the inlet region and the outlet region. The first pump includes a first actuator chamber configured to house at least a first actuator, a first pump chamber aligned along a longitudinal axis of the conduit, wherein the first pump chamber is in fluid communication with the inlet region and the outlet region, and a first flexible diaphragm separating the first actuator chamber from the first pump chamber. Methods for operating the pumping system are also disclosed.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Investigating Independent Mechanisms in Neural Networks

Liang, W.

Université Paris-Saclay, France, October 2022 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Causality, causal digital twins, and their applications

Schölkopf, B.

Machine Learning for Science: Bridging Data-Driven and Mechanistic Modelling (Dagstuhl Seminar 22382), (Editors: Berens, Philipp and Cranmer, Kyle and Lawrence, Neil D. and von Luxburg, Ulrike and Montgomery, Jessica), September 2022 (talk)

ei

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

link (url) DOI [BibTex]


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Multi-Target Multi-Object Manipulation using Relational Deep Reinforcement Learning

Feil, M.

Technnical University Munich, Germany, September 2022 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Independent Mechanism Analysis for High Dimensions

Sliwa, J.

University of Tübingen, Germany, September 2022, (Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience) (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Actuators
Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic Actuators

Keplinger, C. M., Acome, E. L., Kellaris, N. A., Mitchell, S. K.

(US Patent 11408452), August 2022 (patent)

Abstract
An electro-hydraulic actuator includes a deformable shell defining an enclosed internal cavity and containing a liquid dielectric, first and second electrodes on first and second sides, respectively, of the enclosed internal cavity. An electrostatic force between the first and second electrodes upon application of a voltage to one of the electrodes draws the electrodes towards each other to displace the liquid dielectric within the enclosed internal cavity. The shell includes active and inactive areas such that the electrostatic forces between the first and second electrodes displaces the liquid dielectric within the enclosed internal cavity from the active area of the shell to the inactive area of the shell. The first and second electrodes, the deformable shell, and the liquid dielectric cooperate to form a self-healing capacitor, and the liquid dielectric is configured for automatically filling breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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On the Adversarial Robustness of Causal Algorithmic Recourse

Dominguez-Olmedo, R.

University of Tübingen, Germany, August 2022 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Independent Mechanism Analysis in High-Dimensional Observation Spaces

Ghosh, S.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, June 2022 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Composite Layering of Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic Transducers
Composite Layering of Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic Transducers

Keplinger, C. M., Mitchell, S. K., Kellaris, N. A., Rothemund, P.

(US Patent App. 17436455), May 2022 (patent)

Abstract
A hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) transducer includes a composite, multi-layered structure. In an example, a HASEL transducer includes a dielectric layer including at least one fluid dielectric layer. The dielectric layer includes a first side and a second side opposing the first side. The HASEL transducer further includes a first electrode disposed at the first side of the dielectric layer, a second electrode disposed at the second side of the dielectric layer, a first outer layer disposed at the first electrode opposite the dielectric layer, and a second outer layer disposed at the second electrode opposite the dielectric layer. The first outer layer and second outer layer exhibit different mechanical and electrical properties from the dielectric layer.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Voltage dependent investigations on the spin polarization of layered heterostructues

Miller, M.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2022 (mastersthesis)

mms

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2021


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Learning Neural Causal Models with Active Interventions

Scherrer, N.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, November 2021 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

2021


[BibTex]


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Study of the Interventional Consistency of Autoencoders

Lanzillotta, G.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Physically Plausible Tracking & Reconstruction of Dynamic Objects

Strecke, M., Stückler, J.

KIT Science Week Scientific Conference & DGR-Days 2021, October 2021 (talk)

ev

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Skinned multi-infant linear body model
Skinned multi-infant linear body model

Hesse, N., Pujades, S., Romero, J., Black, M.

(US Patent 11,127,163, 2021), September 2021 (patent)

Abstract
A computer-implemented method for automatically obtaining pose and shape parameters of a human body. The method includes obtaining a sequence of digital 3D images of the body, recorded by at least one depth camera; automatically obtaining pose and shape parameters of the body, based on images of the sequence and a statistical body model; and outputting the pose and shape parameters. The body may be an infant body.

ps

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Promoting metacognitive learning through systematic reflection
Promoting metacognitive learning through systematic reflection

Frederic Becker, , Lieder, F.

The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (poster)

Abstract
Human decision-making is sometimes systematically biased toward suboptimal decisions. For example, people often make short-sighted choices because they don't give enough weight to the long-term consequences of their actions. Previous studies showed that it is possible to overcome such biases by teaching people a more rational decision strategy through instruction, demonstrations, or practice with feedback. The benefits of these approaches tend to be limited to situations that are very similar to those used during the training. One way to overcome this limitation is to create general tools and strategies that people can use to improve their decision-making in any situation. Here we propose one such approach, namely directing people to systematically reflect on how they make their decisions. In systematic reflection, past experience is re-evaluated with the intention to learn. In this study, we investigate how reflection affects how people learn to plan and whether reflective learning can help people to discover more far-sighted planning strategies. In our experiment participants solve a series of 30 planning problems where the immediate rewards are smaller and therefore less important than long-term rewards. Building on Wolfbauer et al. (2020), the experimental group is guided by four reflection prompts asking the participant to describe their planning strategy, the strategy's performance, and his or her emotional response, insights, and intention to change their strategy. The control group practices planning without reflection prompts. Our pilot data suggest that systematic reflection helps people to more rapidly discover adaptive planning strategies. Our findings suggest that reflection is useful not only for helping people learn what to do in a specific situation but also for helping people learn how to think about what to do. In future work, we will compare the effects of different types of reflection on the subsequent changes in people's decision strategies. Developing apps that prompt people to reflect on their decisions may be a promising approach to accelerating cognitive growth and promoting lifelong learning.

re

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning
Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning

Heindrich, L., Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Lieder, F.

Tübingen, Germany, The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (talk) Accepted

Abstract
The discovery of decision strategies is an essential part of creating effective cognitive tutors that teach planning and decision-making skills to humans. In the context of bounded rationality, this requires weighing the benefits of different planning operations compared to their computational costs. For small decision problems, it has already been shown that near-optimal decision strategies can be discovered automatically and that the discovered strategies can be taught to humans to increase their performance. Unfortunately, these near-optimal strategy discovery algorithms have not been able to scale well to larger problems due to their computational complexity. In this talk, we will present recent work at the Rationality Enhancement Group to overcome the computational bottleneck of existing strategy discovery algorithms. Our approach makes use of the hierarchical structure of human behavior by decomposing sequential decision problems into two sub-problems: setting a goal and planning how to achieve it. An additional metacontroller component is introduced to switch the current goal when it becomes beneficial. The hierarchical decomposition enables us to discover near-optimal strategies for human planning in larger and more complex tasks than previously possible. We then show in online experiments that teaching the discovered strategies to humans improves their performance in complex sequential decision-making tasks.

re

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic actuators

Keplinger, C. M., Acome, E. L., Kellaris, N. A., Mitchell, S. K.

(US Patent 10995779), May 2021 (patent)

Abstract
Hydraulically-amplified, self-healing, electrostatic actuators that harness electrostatic and hydraulic forces to achieve various actuation modes. Electrostatic forces between electrode pairs of the actuators generated upon application of a voltage to the electrode pairs draws the electrodes in each pair towards each other to displace a liquid dielectric contained within an enclosed internal cavity of the actuators to drive actuation in various manners. The electrodes and the liquid dielectric form a self-healing capacitor whereby the liquid dielectric automatically fills breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Robotic Surgery Training in AR: Multimodal Record and Replay

Krauthausen, F.

pages: 1-147, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, May 2021, Study Program in Software Engineering (mastersthesis)

hi

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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An electric machine with two-phase planar Lorentz coils and a ring-shaped Halbach array for high torque density and high-precision applications

Nguyen, V., Javot, B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

(EP21170679.1), April 2021 (patent)

Abstract
An electric machine, in particular a motor or a generator, comprising a rotor and a stator, wherein the rotor comprises a planar, ring-shaped rotor base element and the stator comprises a planar ring-shaped stator base element, wherein the rotor base element and the stator base element are aligned along an axial axis (Z) of the electric machine, wherein a plurality of magnet elements are arranged around the circumference of the ring-shaped rotor base element forming a Halbach magnet-ring assembly, wherein the Halbach magnet-ring assembly generates a magnetic field (BR) with axial and azimuthal components, wherein a plurality of coils are arranged around the circumference (C) of the ring-shaped stator base element.

hi

Project Page [BibTex]


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Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic Transducers Harnessing Zipping Mechanism

Keplinger, C. M., Acome, E. L., Kellaris, N. A., Mitchell, S. K., Morrissey, T. G.

(US Patent 20210003149A1), January 2021 (patent)

Abstract
Hydraulically-amplified, self-healing, electrostatic transducers that harness electrostatic and hydraulic forces to achieve various actuation modes. Electrostatic forces between electrode pairs of the transducers generated upon application of a voltage to the electrode pairs draws the electrodes in each pair towards each other to displace a liquid dielectric contained within an enclosed internal cavity of the transducers to drive actuation in various manners. The electrodes and the liquid dielectric form a self-healing capacitor whereby the liquid dielectric automatically fills breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown. Due to the resting shape of the cavity, a zipping-mechanism allows for selectively actuating the electrodes to a desired extent by controlling the voltage supplied.

rm

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


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Direct detection of spin Hall effect induced torques in platinum/ferromagnetic bilayer systems

Alten, F.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, January 2021 (mastersthesis)

mms

[BibTex]


Sensor Arrangement for Sensing Forces and Methods for Fabricating a Sensor Arrangement and Parts Thereof
Sensor Arrangement for Sensing Forces and Methods for Fabricating a Sensor Arrangement and Parts Thereof

Sun, H., Martius, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

(PCT/EP2021/050230), Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Max Planck Ring 4, January 2021 (patent)

Abstract
The invention relates to a vision-based haptic sensor arrangement for sensing forces, to a method for fabricating a top portion of a sensor arrangement, and to a method for fabricating a sensor arrangement.

al hi

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Method for force inference, method for training a feed-forward neural network, force inference module, and sensor arrangement
Method for force inference, method for training a feed-forward neural network, force inference module, and sensor arrangement

Sun, H., Martius, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

(PCT/EP2021/050231), Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Max Planck Ring 4, January 2021 (patent)

Abstract
The invention relates to a method for force inference of a sensor arrangement for sensing forces, to a method for training a feed-forward neural network, to a force inference module, and to a sensor arrangement.

al hi

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]