Related papers: Model-Based Manipulation of Linear Flexible Object…
Applications in fields ranging from home care to warehouse fulfillment to surgical assistance require robots to reliably manipulate the shape of 3D deformable objects. Analytic models of elastic, 3D deformable objects require numerous…
We study the problem of learning to perform multi-stage robotic manipulation tasks, with applications to cable routing, where the robot must route a cable through a series of clips. This setting presents challenges representative of complex…
Manipulating three-dimensional (3D) deformable objects presents significant challenges for robotic systems due to their infinite-dimensional state space and complex deformable dynamics. This paper proposes a novel model-free approach for…
We propose a hardware and software pipeline to fabricate flexible wearable sensors and use them to capture deformations without line of sight. Our first contribution is a low-cost fabrication pipeline to embed multiple aligned conductive…
In this paper, we present a general approach to automatically visual-servo control the position and shape of a deformable object whose deformation parameters are unknown. The servo-control is achieved by online learning a model mapping…
Flexible object manipulation of paper and cloth is a major research challenge in robot manipulation. Although there have been efforts to develop hardware that enables specific actions and to realize a single action of paper folding using…
Accurate modelling of object deformations is crucial for a wide range of robotic manipulation tasks, where interacting with soft or deformable objects is essential. Current methods struggle to generalise to unseen forces or adapt to new…
Manipulating deformable linear objects (DLOs) such as wires and cables is crucial in various applications like electronics assembly and medical surgeries. However, it faces challenges due to DLOs' infinite degrees of freedom, complex…
Intelligence lies not only in the brain (decision-making processes) but in the body (physical morphology). The morphology of robots can significantly influence how they interact with the physical world, crucial for manipulating objects in…
We present an approach for safe and object-independent human-to-robot handovers using real time robotic vision and manipulation. We aim for general applicability with a generic object detector, a fast grasp selection algorithm and by using…
Robotic manipulation of cloth is a challenging task due to the high dimensionality of the configuration space and the complexity of dynamics affected by various material properties. The effect of complex dynamics is even more pronounced in…
We describe the hardware design, force-rendering approach, and evaluation of a new reconfigurable haptic interface consisting of a network of hybrid motor-brake actuation modules that apply forces via cables. Each module contains both a…
We address the problem of shaping deformable plastic materials using non-prehensile actions. Shaping plastic objects is challenging, since they are difficult to model and to track visually. We study this problem, by using kinetic sand, a…
Active soft bodies can affect their shape through an internal actuation mechanism that induces a deformation. Similar to recent work, this paper utilizes a differentiable, quasi-static, and physics-based simulation layer to optimize for…
In this work, we consider a group of robots working together to manipulate a rigid object to track a desired trajectory in $SE(3)$. The robots do not know the mass or friction properties of the object, or where they are attached to the…
Robotic fabric manipulation is challenging due to the infinite dimensional configuration space, self-occlusion, and complex dynamics of fabrics. There has been significant prior work on learning policies for specific deformable manipulation…
We address the challenge of learning to manipulate deformable objects with unknown dynamics. In non-rigid objects, the dynamics parameters define how they react to interactions -- how they stretch, bend, compress, and move -- and they are…
When humans perform contact-rich manipulation tasks, customized tools are often necessary to simplify the task. For instance, we use various utensils for handling food, such as knives, forks and spoons. Similarly, robots may benefit from…
In everyday life collaboration tasks between human operators and robots, the former necessitate simple ways for programming new skills, the latter have to show adaptive capabilities to cope with environmental changes. The joint use of…
Clay sculpting is a nuanced, artistic task involving dexterous manipulation with long-horizon planning to achieve high-level goals. As a robotics problem, we formulate clay sculpting as a shape-to-shape matching challenge. Prior deformable…