Related papers: On-line force capability evaluation based on effic…
This paper presents a novel approach to generalizing robot manipulation skills by combining a sampling-based task-and-motion planner with an offline reinforcement learning algorithm. Starting with a small library of scripted primitive…
From a maneuverability perspective, the main advantage of tilting multirotor UAVs lies in the dynamic variability of the feasible executable wrench, which represents a key asset for physical interaction tasks. Accordingly, cant-angle…
Force-directed (FD) algorithms can be used to explore relationships in social networks, visualize money markets, and analyze transaction networks. However, FD algorithms are mainly designed for visualizing static graphs in which the…
We consider transporting a heavy payload that is attached to multiple multirotors. The current state-of-the-art controllers either do not avoid inter-robot collision at all, leading to crashes when tasked with carrying payloads that are…
The traditional multicopter design method usually requires a long iterative process to find the optimal design based on given performance requirements. The method is uneconomical and inefficient. In this paper, a practical method is…
Aerial transportation robots using suspended cables have emerged as versatile platforms for disaster response and rescue operations. To maximize the capabilities of these systems, robots need to aggressively fly through tightly constrained…
We consider problems in which a mobile robot samples an unknown function defined over its operating space, so as to find a global optimum of this function. The path traveled by the robot matters, since it influences energy and time…
In this paper we study multi-robot path planning for persistent monitoring tasks. We consider the case where robots have a limited battery capacity with a discharge time $D$. We represent the areas to be monitored as the vertices of a…
Ergodic control synthesizes optimal coverage behaviors over spatial distributions for nonlinear systems. However, existing formulations model the robot as a non-volumetric point, whereas in practice a robot interacts with the environment…
This paper presents a novel algorithm for robot task and motion planning (TAMP) problems by utilizing a reachability tree. While tree-based algorithms are known for their speed and simplicity in motion planning (MP), they are not…
Visual exploration and smart data collection via autonomous vehicles is an attractive topic in various disciplines. Disturbances like wind significantly influence both the power consumption of the flying robots and the performance of the…
Complex high-dimensional spaces with high Degree-of-Freedom and complicated action spaces, such as humanoid robots equipped with dexterous hands, pose significant challenges for reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms, which need to wisely…
The ability to accomplish manipulation and locomotion tasks in the presence of significant time-varying external loads is a remarkable skill of humans that has yet to be replicated convincingly by humanoid robots. Such an ability will be a…
This work addresses the collaborative multi-robot autonomous online exploration problem, particularly focusing on distributed exploration planning for dynamically balanced exploration area partition and task allocation among a team of…
To solve multi-step manipulation tasks in the real world, an autonomous robot must take actions to observe its environment and react to unexpected observations. This may require opening a drawer to observe its contents or moving an object…
This paper presents resource-aware algorithms for distributed inter-robot loop closure detection for applications such as collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (CSLAM) and distributed image retrieval. In real-world scenarios,…
Legged manipulators extend robotic capabilities beyond static manipulation by integrating agile locomotion with versatile arm control. However, achieving precise manipulation while maintaining coordinated locomotion remains a major…
In practice, the parameters of control policies are often tuned manually. This is time-consuming and frustrating. Reinforcement learning is a promising alternative that aims to automate this process, yet often requires too many experiments…
In this work we introduce a novel weighted message-passing algorithm based on the cavity method to estimate volume-related properties of random polytopes, properties which are relevant in various research fields ranging from metabolic…
Meta-reinforcement learning algorithms can enable robots to acquire new skills much more quickly, by leveraging prior experience to learn how to learn. However, much of the current research on meta-reinforcement learning focuses on task…