Hydrosoft: Non-Holonomic Hydroelastic Models for Compliant Tactile Manipulation

Miquel Oller, An Dang, Nima Fazeli
University of Michigan
Paper arXiv Code (Coming Soon)
Teaser 1
Teaser 2
Teaser 3
Teaser 4

Hydrosoft is a computationally efficient, path-dependent, and differentiable model for simulating and controlling soft, compliant robotic components in dexterous manipulation tasks.

The Hydrosoft Model

Hydrosoft extends traditional hydroelastic contact models to be non-holonomic, meaning it accounts for the history of deformation. Its main features are:

  1. Path-Dependent Force Buildup: It tracks how forces accumulate incrementally as the sensor deforms, modeling the “memory” of the material.
  2. Coulomb Friction: It accurately models static and dynamic friction forces during sticking and slipping contact.
  3. Non-Smooth Contact Transitions: It handles the making and breaking of contact smoothly.
  4. Differentiability: The model is designed to be differentiable, enabling the use of gradient-based optimization for control and planning.
  5. Computational Efficiency: It balances physical accuracy with speed.

GIF 1
GIF 2
GIF 3

Pressing Motion: Contact forces (yellow) between the hydroelastic element (red) and the solid (blue) are proportional to penetration.

Shear Motion: Contact forces (yellow) follow Coulumb's Friction and are within the friction cone (green)

Simulation Results

Planar Manipulation

GIF 1

Topdown Pushing

GIF 2

Topdown Rotation

GIF 3

Rolling


Arbitrary Geometries

GIF 1

Rubik Block

GIF 2

Strawberry

GIF 3

Mr. Cow

Real World Experiments

Planar Manipulation

Topdown Pushing

Topdown Rotation

Rolling

In-hand Rotation Objects

Rubik Block

Strawberry

Corn

Cabbage

Light Bulb

Spray Bottle

Team

Miquel Oller
Miquel Oller
An Dang
An Dang
Nima Fazeli
Nima Fazeli

BibTeX


      @misc{2509.13126,
        Author = {Miquel Oller and An Dang and Nima Fazeli},
        Title = {Hydrosoft: Non-Holonomic Hydroelastic Models for Compliant Tactile Manipulation},
        Year = {2025},
        Eprint = {arXiv:2509.13126},
        }