Related papers: Surfing on an uncertain edge: Precision cutting of…
Fluidically actuated soft robots have promising capabilities such as inherent compliance and user safety. The control of soft robots needs to properly handle nonlinear actuation dynamics, motion constraints, workspace limitations, and…
We want to enable fine manipulation with a multi-fingered robotic hand by using modern deep reinforcement learning methods. Key for fine manipulation is a spatially resolved tactile sensor. Here, we present a novel model of a tactile skin…
Recent progress in robotic manipulation has dealt with the case of previously unknown objects in the context of relatively simple tasks, such as bin-picking. Existing methods for more constrained problems, however, such as deliberate…
Learning-based model predictive control has emerged as a powerful approach for handling complex dynamics in mechatronic systems, enabling data-driven performance improvements while respecting safety constraints. However, when computational…
Most previous bounding-box-based segmentation methods assume the bounding box tightly covers the object of interest. However it is common that a rectangle input could be too large or too small. In this paper, we propose a novel segmentation…
Tissue manipulation is a frequently used fundamental subtask of any surgical procedures, and in some cases it may require the involvement of a surgeon's assistant. The complex dynamics of soft tissue as an unstructured environment is one of…
We address the challenge of enabling bipedal robots to traverse rough terrain by developing probabilistically safe planning and control strategies that ensure dynamic feasibility and centroidal robustness under terrain uncertainty.…
In a standard classification framework a set of trustworthy learning data are employed to build a decision rule, with the final aim of classifying unlabelled units belonging to the test set. Therefore, unreliable labelled observations,…
Detection, segmentation and tracking of fruits and vegetables are three fundamental tasks for precision agriculture, enabling robotic harvesting and yield estimation applications. However, modern algorithms are data hungry and it is not…
We propose a novel multi-section cable-driven soft robotic arm inspired by octopus tentacles along with a new modeling approach. Each section of the modular manipulator is made of a soft tubing backbone, a soft silicon arm body, and two…
Robotic tree pruning requires highly precise manipulator control in order to accurately align a cutting implement with the desired pruning point at the correct angle. Simultaneously, the robot must avoid applying excessive force to rigid…
In order to manipulate a deformable object, such as rope or cloth, in unstructured environments, robots need a way to estimate its current shape. However, tracking the shape of a deformable object can be challenging because of the object's…
We introduce RoboNinja, a learning-based cutting system for multi-material objects (i.e., soft objects with rigid cores such as avocados or mangos). In contrast to prior works using open-loop cutting actions to cut through single-material…
Robotic manipulation has made significant advancements, with systems demonstrating high precision and repeatability. However, this remarkable precision often fails to translate into efficient manipulation of thin deformable objects. Current…
Optimal decision making requires that classifiers produce uncertainty estimates consistent with their empirical accuracy. However, deep neural networks are often under- or over-confident in their predictions. Consequently, methods have been…
In the recent years, branch-and-cut algorithms have been the target of data-driven approaches designed to enhance the decision making in different phases of the algorithm such as branching, or the choice of cutting planes (cuts). In…
Robotic cutting is a challenging contact-rich manipulation task where the robot must simultaneously negotiate unknown object mechanics, large contact forces, and precise motion requirements. We introduce a new active virtual-model control…
Outcomes of data-driven AI models cannot be assumed to be always correct. To estimate the uncertainty in these outcomes, the uncertainty wrapper framework has been proposed, which considers uncertainties related to model fit, input quality,…
Previous soft tissue manipulation studies assumed that the grasping point was known and the target deformation can be achieved. During the operation, the constraints are supposed to be constant, and there is no obstacles around the soft…
Understanding whether deep neural networks are effectively optimized remains challenging, as training occurs in highly nonconvex landscapes and standard metrics provide limited visibility into layer-wise learning quality. This challenge is…