Related papers: Multi-mode Trajectory Optimization for Impact-awar…

In this work we present a trajectory Optimization framework for whole-body motion planning through contacts. We demonstrate how the proposed approach can be applied to automatically discover different gaits and dynamic motions on a…

Automating contact-rich manipulation of viscoelastic objects with rigid robots faces challenges including dynamic parameter mismatches, unstable contact oscillations, and spatiotemporal force-deformation coupling. In our prior work, a…

Gradient-based methods can efficiently optimize controllers by leveraging differentiable simulation and physical priors. However, contact-rich manipulation remains challenging because hybrid contact dynamics often produce discontinuous or…

We present DisCo, a distributed algorithm for contact-rich, multi-robot tasks. DisCo is a distributed contact-implicit trajectory optimization algorithm, which allows a group of robots to optimize a time sequence of forces to objects and to…

This paper presents a unified control framework for robust trajectory tracking and moving obstacle avoidance applicable to a broad class of mobile robots. By formulating a generalized kinematic transformation, we convert diverse vehicle…

This paper proposes a novel approach to motion planning and decision-making for automated vehicles, using a multi-modal Model Predictive Path Integral control algorithm. The method samples with Sobol sequences around the prior input and…

The hybrid nature of multi-contact robotic systems, due to making and breaking contact with the environment, creates significant challenges for high-quality control. Existing model-based methods typically rely on either good prior knowledge…

Flexible manufacturing processes demand robots to easily adapt to changes in the environment and interact with humans. In such dynamic scenarios, robotic tasks may be programmed through learning-from-demonstration approaches, where a…

To achieve seamless human-robot interactions, robots need to intimately reason about complex interaction dynamics and future human behaviors within their motion planning process. However, there is a disconnect between state-of-the-art…

Legged robots are typically in rigid contact with the environment at multiple locations, which add a degree of complexity to their control. We present a method to control the motion and a subset of the contact forces of a floating-base…

Hybrid locomotion, which combines multiple modalities of locomotion within a single robot, enables robots to carry out complex tasks in diverse environments. This paper presents a novel method for planning multi-modal locomotion…

In this paper, we present a novel method for mobile manipulators to perform multiple contact-rich manipulation tasks. While learning-based methods have the potential to generate actions in an end-to-end manner, they often suffer from…

This paper investigates real-time control strategies for dynamical systems that involve frictional contact interactions. Hybridness and underactuation are key characteristics of these systems that complicate the design of feedback…

Robotic manipulation is essential for modernizing factories and automating industrial tasks like polishing, which require advanced tactile abilities. These robots must be easily set up, safely work with humans, learn tasks autonomously, and…

We propose a hybrid feedback control strategy that safely steers a point-mass robot to a target location optimally from all initial conditions in the n-dimensional Euclidean space with a single spherical obstacle. The robot moves straight…

We present a novel method for optimizing the posture of kinematically redundant torque-controlled robots to improve robustness during impacts. A rigid impact model is used as the basis for a configuration-dependent metric that quantifies…

Industrial robots are widely used in diverse manufacturing environments. Nonetheless, how to enable robots to automatically plan trajectories for changing tasks presents a considerable challenge. Further complexities arise when robots…

We present a planning and control approach for collaborative transportation of objects in space by a team of robots. Object and robots in microgravity environments are not subject to friction but are instead free floating. This property is…

Learning contact-rich manipulation skills is essential. Such skills require the robots to interact with the environment with feasible manipulation trajectories and suitable compliance control parameters to enable safe and stable contact.…

Recent studies on quadruped robots have focused on either locomotion or mobile manipulation using a robotic arm. Legged robots can manipulate heavier and larger objects using non-prehensile manipulation primitives, such as planar pushing,…