New research enables a robot to chart a better course
June 17th, 2026
GRASP 2026 PhD Student and Postdoctoral Researcher Brag Sheet!
Congratulations to all of the 2026 GRASP Laboratory alumni who have graduated or moved on to new positions during the 2025 to 2026 academic year! We’d like to highlight some of their outstanding achievements throughout their time at the University of Pennsylvania.
Delivery robots still learning from ‘edge cases,’ scientists say
A 2025 study from engineering experts at the University of Pennsylvania may have some solutions. They include improving complex internal sensors and addressing the simple optical illusion that makes clean glass harder to see than a dirty surface.
Vijay Kumar, dean of engineering at the University of Pennsylvania…
Dancing Through Life: From Origami Robotics to Sculptural Art
One way that the GRASP Lab has explored these boundaries is through the Sung Robotics Lab’s collaboration with The Arts League of Philadelphia, and more specifically through hosting Erin Rose Boyle, artist and the Assistant Director of Academic Enrichment Programs and Adjunct Assistant Professor at…
GRASP Lab Virtual Facility Tour
A virtual tour through our 21,000 square feet of research facilities.
Virtual GRASP Lab Demo Videos
#GRASPLab
Magnetic Origami Reprogramming and Folding System (MORF) is a joint project between GRASP's Sung Robotics and Figueroa Labs consisting of thermoplastic and magnetic laminate sheets that self-fold with an external magnetic field or heating.
Video: https://shorturl.at/ETDcs
#GRASP
Congratulations to Penn Engineering's Shu Yang on being named the 2027 recipient of the Adhesion Society's (@adhesion_the) Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science, sponsored by @3M.
The honor recognizes her pioneering contributions to adhesion science through interdisciplinary
GRASP's Kumar Lab developed EV-Catcher, a system that uses Event-based sensors to estimate impact locations of high-speed objects accurately.
Publication: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9815134
#GRASP #GRASPLab #KumarLab
Recent News
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Recent Publications
Publisher ASAB
Year 2026
Components of Contact: An Analysis of Contact-Implicit Control Strategies on Manipulation Primitives
Publisher ICRA
Year 2026
Publisher ICRA
Year 2026
Academics
The GRASP Laboratory incorporates a selective and rigorous robotics program for graduate and doctoral students that boasts a research-focused environment within a distinguished Ivy League university. GRASP students work and learn within an intellectual setting founded on the strength of its academic programs led by an expert faculty.
