# Discrete Cosserat Approach for Multi-Section Soft Robots Dynamics

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.03660 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.03660/

## Key facts

- Cited by 8 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Feb 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Learning Low-Dimensional Strain Models of Soft Robots by Looking at the Evolution of Their Shape with Application to Model-Based Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.00138/) (2024)
- [Direct and inverse modeling of soft robots by learning a condensed FEM model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.11408/) (2023)
- [Data-driven Model Reduction for Soft Robots via Lagrangian Operator Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.08840/) (2024)
- [AI-Enabled Image-Based Hybrid Vision/Force Control of Tendon-Driven Aerial Continuum Manipulators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.18961/) (2026)
- [Reinforcement learning in linear embedding space unlocks generalizable control across soft robot configurations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.08104/) (2026)
- [From Digital to Physical Reservoir Computing: Co-Optimizing Soft Robotic Reservoirs via Dynamics Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00484/) (2026)
- [SoRoMoX: Fast, Differentiable, and Parallelizable Soft Robot Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.06650/) (2026)
- [Constraint-Aware Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Static Shape Estimation of Co-Manipulative Continuum Robots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.26273/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In spite of recent progress, soft robotics still suffers from a lack of unified modeling framework. Nowadays, the most adopted model for the design and control of soft robots is the piece-wise constant curvature model, with its consolidated benefits and drawbacks. In this work, an alternative model for multisection soft robots dynamics is presented based on a discrete Cosserat approach, which, not only takes into account shear and torsional deformations, essentials to cope with out-of-plane external loads, but also inherits the geometrical and mechanical properties of the continuous Cosserat model, making it the natural soft robotics counterpart of the traditional rigid robotics dynamics model. The soundness of the model is demonstrated through extensive simulation and experimental results for both plane and out-of-plane motions.