Related papers: Learning Predictive Representations for Deformable…
In this paper we tackle the problem of deformable object manipulation through model-free visual reinforcement learning (RL). In order to circumvent the sample inefficiency of RL, we propose two key ideas that accelerate learning. First, we…
Planning for robotic manipulation requires reasoning about the changes a robot can affect on objects. When such interactions can be modelled analytically, as in domains with rigid objects, efficient planning algorithms exist. However, in…
Understanding and manipulating deformable objects (e.g., ropes and fabrics) is an essential yet challenging task with broad applications. Difficulties come from complex states and dynamics, diverse configurations and high-dimensional action…
We demonstrate model-based, visual robot manipulation of linear deformable objects. Our approach is based on a state-space representation of the physical system that the robot aims to control. This choice has multiple advantages, including…
A particular type of assistive robots designed for physical interaction with objects could play an important role assisting with mobility and fall prevention in healthcare facilities. Autonomous mobile manipulation presents a hurdle prior…
Manipulating deformable objects is a ubiquitous task in household environments, demanding adequate representation and accurate dynamics prediction due to the objects' infinite degrees of freedom. This work proposes DeformNet, which utilizes…
Commonly used linear and nonlinear constitutive material models in deformation simulation contain many simplifications and only cover a tiny part of possible material behavior. In this work we propose a framework for learning customized…
Manipulating deformable objects arises in daily life and numerous applications. Despite phenomenal advances in industrial robotics, manipulation of deformable objects remains mostly a manual task. This is because of the high number of…
Multi-task learning of deformable object manipulation is a challenging problem in robot manipulation. Most previous works address this problem in a goal-conditioned way and adapt goal images to specify different tasks, which limits the…
We propose a framework for deformable linear object prediction. Prediction of deformable objects (e.g., rope) is challenging due to their non-linear dynamics and infinite-dimensional configuration spaces. By mapping the dynamics from a…
This paper addresses the task of modeling Deformable Linear Objects (DLOs), such as ropes and cables, during dynamic motion over long time horizons. This task presents significant challenges due to the complex dynamics of DLOs. To address…
We have seen much recent progress in rigid object manipulation, but interaction with deformable objects has notably lagged behind. Due to the large configuration space of deformable objects, solutions using traditional modelling approaches…
This paper proposes a unified vision-based manipulation framework using image contours of deformable/rigid objects. Instead of using human-defined cues, the robot automatically learns the features from processed vision data. Our method…
Recent work has shown that object-centric representations can greatly help improve the accuracy of learning dynamics while also bringing interpretability. In this work, we take this idea one step further, ask the following question: "can…
While visual imitation learning offers one of the most effective ways of learning from visual demonstrations, generalizing from them requires either hundreds of diverse demonstrations, task specific priors, or large, hard-to-train…
In the field of robotic manipulation, the proficiency of deformable object manipulation lags behind human capabilities due to the inherent characteristics of deformable objects. These objects have infinite degrees of freedom, resulting in…
Robotic manipulation of deformable objects is a difficult problem especially because of the complexity of the many different ways an object can deform. Searching such a high dimensional state space makes it difficult to recognize, track,…
We present a new approach to instill 4D dynamic object priors into learned 3D representations by unsupervised pre-training. We observe that dynamic movement of an object through an environment provides important cues about its objectness,…
Deformable shape representations, parameterized by deformations relative to a given template, have proven effective for improved image analysis tasks. However, their broader applicability is hindered by two major challenges. First, existing…
Manipulating elasto-plastic objects remains a significant challenge due to severe self-occlusion, difficulties of representation, and complicated dynamics. This work proposes a novel framework for elasto-plastic object manipulation with a…