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Robots are expected to manipulate objects in a safe and dexterous way. For example, washing dishes is a dexterous operation that involves scrubbing the dishes with a sponge and rinsing them with water. It is necessary to learn it safely…

Robotics · Computer Science 2024-12-24 Shumpei Wakabayashi , Kento Kawaharazuka , Kei Okada , Masayuki Inaba

Object manipulation is a basic element in everyday human lives. Robotic manipulation has progressed from maneuvering single-rigid-body objects with firm grasping to maneuvering soft objects and handling contact-rich actions. Meanwhile,…

Robotics · Computer Science 2017-08-18 Leidi Zhao , Raheem Lawhorn , Siddharth Patil , Steve Susanibar , Lu Lu , Cong Wang , Bo Ouyang

We use reinforcement learning (RL) to learn dexterous in-hand manipulation policies which can perform vision-based object reorientation on a physical Shadow Dexterous Hand. The training is performed in a simulated environment in which we…

Living organisms can demonstrate highly adaptable and sophisticated responses using memory resulting from repeated exposure to external conditions or training. However, realizing similar adaptability in mechanical responses in inanimate,…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2025-12-02 Maitri Mandal , Pappu Acharya , Rituparno Mandal , Sayantan Majumdar

The accuracy and fidelity of deformation simulations are highly dependent upon the underlying constitutive material model. Commonly used linear or nonlinear constitutive material models only cover a tiny part of possible material behavior.…

Graphics · Computer Science 2018-08-16 Bin Wang , Paul Kry , Yuanmin Deng , Uri Ascher , Hui Huang , Baoquan Chen

Learning to manipulate objects efficiently, particularly those involving sustained contact (e.g., pushing, sliding) and articulated parts (e.g., drawers, doors), presents significant challenges. Traditional methods, such as robot-centric…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-03-18 Shijie Fang , Wenchang Gao , Shivam Goel , Christopher Thierauf , Matthias Scheutz , Jivko Sinapov

In this letter, we present an approach for learning in-hand manipulation skills with a low-cost, underactuated prosthetic hand in the presence of irreversible events. Our approach combines reinforcement learning based on visual perception…

Robotics · Computer Science 2019-11-21 Pietro Falco , Abdallah Attawia , Matteo Saveriano , Dongheui Lee

Non-prehensile pushing to move and reorient objects to a goal is a versatile loco-manipulation skill. In the real world, the object's physical properties and friction with the floor contain significant uncertainties, which makes the task…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-10-22 Ioannis Dadiotis , Mayank Mittal , Nikos Tsagarakis , Marco Hutter

We present a controller that allows an arm-like manipulator to navigate deformable cloth garments in simulation through the use of haptic information. The main challenge of such a controller is to avoid getting tangled in, tearing or…

Robotics · Computer Science 2017-08-02 Alexander Clegg , Wenhao Yu , Zackory Erickson , Jie Tan , C. Karen Liu , Greg Turk

Fabric manipulation is a long-standing challenge in robotics due to the enormous state space and complex dynamics. Learning approaches stand out as promising for this domain as they allow us to learn behaviours directly from data. Most…

Robotics · Computer Science 2022-11-15 Robert Lee , Jad Abou-Chakra , Fangyi Zhang , Peter Corke

This study proposes an imitation learning method based on force and position information. Force information is required for precise object manipulation but is difficult to obtain because the acting and reaction forces cannnot be separated.…

Robotics · Computer Science 2018-11-29 Tsuyoshi Adachi , Kazuki Fujimoto , Sho Sakaino , Toshiaki Tsuji

Grasping an object when it is in an ungraspable pose is a challenging task, such as books or other large flat objects placed horizontally on a table. Inspired by human manipulation, we address this problem by pushing the object to the edge…

Robotics · Computer Science 2023-02-28 Hao Zhang , Hongzhuo Liang , Lin Cong , Jianzhi Lyu , Long Zeng , Pingfa Feng , Jianwei Zhang

This paper proposes a new control framework for manipulating soft objects. A Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach is used to make the shape of a deformable object reach a set of desired points by controlling a robotic arm which…

Many objects, such as tools and household items, can be used only if grasped in a very specific way - grasped functionally. Often, a direct functional grasp is not possible, though. We propose a method for learning a dexterous pre-grasp…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-02-27 Dmytro Pavlichenko , Sven Behnke

Dexterous manipulation with a multi-finger hand is one of the most challenging problems in robotics. While recent progress in imitation learning has largely improved the sample efficiency compared to Reinforcement Learning, the learned…

Robotics · Computer Science 2022-06-30 Yueh-Hua Wu , Jiashun Wang , Xiaolong Wang

Humans excel in complex long-horizon soft body manipulation tasks via flexible tool use: bread baking requires a knife to slice the dough and a rolling pin to flatten it. Often regarded as a hallmark of human cognition, tool use in…

Robotics · Computer Science 2023-10-19 Haochen Shi , Huazhe Xu , Samuel Clarke , Yunzhu Li , Jiajun Wu

Dexterous in-hand manipulation (IHM) for arbitrary objects is challenging due to the rich and subtle contact process. Variable-friction manipulation is an alternative approach to dexterity, previously demonstrating robust and versatile 2D…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-03-05 Qiyang Yan , Zihan Ding , Xin Zhou , Adam J. Spiers

Manipulating deformable objects, such as fabric, is a long standing problem in robotics, with state estimation and control posing a significant challenge for traditional methods. In this paper, we show that it is possible to learn fabric…

Robotics · Computer Science 2020-10-08 Robert Lee , Daniel Ward , Akansel Cosgun , Vibhavari Dasagi , Peter Corke , Jurgen Leitner

Simulation is a useful tool in situations where training data for machine learning models is costly to annotate or even hard to acquire. In this work, we propose a reinforcement learning-based method for automatically adjusting the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2019-05-15 Nataniel Ruiz , Samuel Schulter , Manmohan Chandraker

Robotic manipulation of flexible objects is widely required in both industrial and service applications. Among such objects, paper-like materials exhibit distinct mechanical characteristics compared to cloth, being more sensitive to…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-05-13 Yi Dong , Yang Li , Jinjun Duan , Zhendong Dai