Ümit Şen

Ümit Şen

Hi! My name is Ümit. I am a graduate researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, advised by Prof. Gina Olson. My research investigates how the compliance seen in snake locomotion can be translated into robotics. I design and build soft snake robots that take their inspiration from nature.

Previously, I conducted research on haptics at Kadir Has University under the supervision of Prof. Mine Sarac. There I developed a wearable haptic device and worked on gamifying haptic user studies.

Before that, my first research experiences were in robot swarm coordination and visible light positioning.

Google Scholar

Research

Characterization and Correlation of Robotic Snake Scale Friction and Locomotion Speed
Ü. Şen, A. Mahegan, and G. Olson
2026 IEEE 9th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), Kanazawa, Japan, 2026, pp. 786–793
10.1109/RoboSoft67810.2026.11522876
A Highly Articulated Backbone for Soft Snake Robots
Y. Nandwana, U. Sen, and G. Olson
Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (Living Machines 2025), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 15582, Springer, Cham, 2026
10.1007/978-3-031-07448-5_20
Hand Dominance and Congruence for Wrist-Worn Haptics Using Custom Voice-Coil Actuation
A. Adeyemi, U. Sen, S. M. Ercan, and M. Sarac
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 3053–3059, Apr. 2024
10.1109/LRA.2024.3360815
Gamifying Haptics User Studies: Comparison of Response Times From Smartphone Interfaces
B. Kudsi, D. Xu, U. Sen, K. T. Yoshida, F. Stroppa, C. M. Nunez, and M. Sarac
IEEE Transactions on Haptics, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 423–429, Apr. 2025
10.1109/TOH.2025.3536885
3D Indoor Positioning with Spatial Modulation for Visible Light Communications
U. Sen, Y. E. Yesilirmak, I. O. Bayman, T. Arsan, E. Panayirci, and N. Stevens
Optics Communications, vol. 529, p. 129091, Feb. 2023
10.1016/j.optcom.2022.129091
Circular Formations of Non-Communicating Robot Groups via Local Strategies
F. Kerestecioğlu, Ü. Şen, Ç. Işıkver, and A. Göktekin
Adaptive Behavior, Aug. 2024
10.1177/10597123231204627

Design

Bio-inspired Snake Robot Design

Mimicking Scales

Dorsal Scales
Western Forest File Snake
Western Forest File Snake (Mehelya poensis)1
Fat Burrowing Asp
Fat Burrowing Asp (Atractaspis corpulenta)1
Timber Rattlesnake dorsal scales Fabricated modular dorsal scales
Live snake dorsal scales1 and fabricated modular dorsal scales: Molded with VytaFlex20 polyurethane rubber and 3D-printed PETG scales
Ventral Scales
Kirtland's Snake
Kirtland's Snake (Clonophis kirtlandii)1
Western Yellow-bellied Racer
Western Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor ssp. mormon)1
Red-Black Striped Snake
Red-Black Striped Snake (Bothrophthalmus lineatus)1
Ventral scale main design
15 degree scale angle 25 degree scale angle 35 degree scale angle 45 degree scale angle
Modular pseudo-skin design with different scale angles ranging from 15° to 45°
Full skin assembly Skin assembly bending
Full skin assembly with bending
Coast Garter Snake ventral scales Bio-inspired ventral skin design
Live snake ventral scales1 and bio-inspired ventral skin design

Mimicking Muscles

Lateral view of snake axial muscles
Lateral view of snake axial muscles5
Full robot assembly with McKibben actuators, side view
Full robot assembly, side view
McKibben artificial muscles
McKibben artificial muscles
McKibben artificial muscles mimic the iliocostalis and the semispinalis

Mimicking Skeleton

Cervical vertebra of a Reticulated Python
Cervical vertebra of a Reticulated Python, UF Herp 656242
Bio-inspired snake robot vertebra
Bio-inspired snake robot vertebra
Bio-inspired snake robot vertebra
Bio-inspired snake robot vertebra
Gaboon viper complete skeleton
Complete skeleton of Bitis gabonica3
Snake skeleton
Snake skeleton4
Snake robot prototype, SolidWorks assembly
Snake robot prototype: full backbone assembly modeled in SolidWorks

Mimicking Locomotion

Snakes cannot move without anisotropic friction6
Eastern Milksnake
Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)1
Manchurian Black Ratsnake
Manchurian Black Ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii)1
Kirtland's Snake
Kirtland's Snake (Clonophis kirtlandii)1

Mimicking Compliance

References

  1. Snake photographs via iNaturalist.
  2. Cervical vertebra of a Reticulated Python, UF Herp 65624, courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History (CC BY 4.0).
  3. "Bitis gabonica complete skeleton" by Stefan3345, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
  4. "Snake skeleton" by dbking, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
  5. Tingle, J. L., Jurestovsky, D. J., & Astley, H. C. (2023). The relative contributions of multiarticular snake muscles to movement in different planes. Journal of Morphology, 284(6), e21591. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21591
  6. "Snake can't get traction on fleece blanket = snake treadmill!" by Dr. Rachel, Exotic Pet Vet, via YouTube.