Gravity-aware proactive joint-level compensation for portable soft slender robots using a single IMU and real-time simulation

Jiewen Lai, Tian-Ao Ren, Pengfei Ye, Yanjun Liu, Jingyao Sun, Hongliang Ren, Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, Shenzhen Loop Area Institute

The International Journal of Robotics Research

Published online on January 31, 2026

Abstract

The International Journal of Robotics Research, Ahead of Print.
Soft slender robots with high aspect ratios are prone to passive deformation due to gravity, rendering conventional kinematics ineffective and necessitating gravity compensation. Existing solutions often rely on multiple onboard sensors, which increase ...