Related papers: Collaborative Manipulation of Deformable Objects w…
Accurate knowledge of object poses is crucial to successful robotic manipulation tasks, and yet most current approaches only work in laboratory settings. Noisy sensors and cluttered scenes interfere with accurate pose recognition, which is…
In this work, we build on our method for manipulating unknown objects via contact configuration regulation: the estimation and control of the location, geometry, and mode of all contacts between the robot, object, and environment. We…
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…
Deformable objects present a formidable challenge for robotic manipulation due to the lack of canonical low-dimensional representations and the difficulty of capturing, predicting, and controlling such objects. We construct compact…
Robot manipulation in cluttered scenes often requires contact-rich interactions with objects. It can be more economical to interact via non-prehensile actions, for example, push through other objects to get to the desired grasp pose,…
We present a method for system identification of flexible objects by measuring forces and displacement during interaction with a manipulating arm. We model the object's structure and flexibility by a chain of rigid bodies connected by…
We provide a method for detecting and localizing objects near a robot arm using arm-mounted miniature time-of-flight sensors. A key challenge when using arm-mounted sensors is differentiating between the robot itself and external objects in…
Parameterizing finger rolling and finger-object contacts in a differentiable manner is important for formulating dexterous manipulation as a trajectory optimization problem. In contrast to previous methods which often assume simplified…
Most object manipulation strategies for robots are based on the assumption that the object is rigid (i.e., with fixed geometry) and the goal's details have been fully specified (e.g., the exact target pose). However, there are many tasks…
This paper addresses the problem of cooperative transportation of an object rigidly grasped by N robotic agents. We propose a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) scheme that guarantees the navigation of the object to a desired pose in…
This paper presents a framework for dynamic object catching using a quadruped robot's front legs while it stands on its rear legs. The system integrates computer vision, trajectory prediction, and leg control to enable the quadruped to…
This paper presents a novel control approach to dealing with object slip during robotic manipulative movements. Slip is a major cause of failure in many robotic grasping and manipulation tasks. Existing works increase grip force to…
The ability to model the underlying dynamics of visual scenes and reason about the future is central to human intelligence. Many attempts have been made to empower intelligent systems with such physical understanding and prediction…
Visual localization and mapping is a crucial capability to address many challenges in mobile robotics. It constitutes a robust, accurate and cost-effective approach for local and global pose estimation within prior maps. Yet, in highly…
From serving a cup of coffee to positioning mechanical parts during assembly, stable object placement is a crucial skill for future robots. It becomes particularly challenging under geometric uncertainties, e.g., when the object pose or…
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…
Using a deformable sheet to handle objects is convenient and found in many practical applications. For object manipulation through a deformable sheet that is held by multiple mobile robots, it is a challenging task to model the object-sheet…
This paper presents the technique of flex-and-flip manipulation. It is suitable for grasping thin, flexible linear objects lying on a flat surface. During the manipulation process, the object is first flexed by a robotic gripper whose…
Currently, manipulation tasks for deformable objects often focus on activities like folding clothes, handling ropes, and manipulating bags. However, research on contact-rich tasks involving deformable objects remains relatively…
Dexterous grasping of unseen objects in dynamic environments is an essential prerequisite for the advanced manipulation of autonomous robots. Prior advances rely on several assumptions that simplify the setup, including environment…