Related papers: Tactile Ergodic Coverage on Curved Surfaces
The transition to agile manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and high-mix-low-volume tasks require robot programming solutions that are flexible. However, most deployed robot solutions are still statically programmed and use stiff position control,…
This paper presents a differential geometric control approach that leverages SE(3) group invariance and equivariance to increase transferability in learning robot manipulation tasks that involve interaction with the environment.…
We consider the problem of combining potential field and ergodic search on multi-robot systems. Traditional ergodic search algorithms use metrics for ergodicity that account for the desired distribution at different scales. Recently, a heat…
In this paper, a novel tactile sensing mechanism for soft robotic fingers is proposed. Inspired by the proprioception mechanism found in mammals, the proposed approach infers tactile information from a strain sensor attached on the finger's…
Static granular packs have been studied in the last three decades in the frame of a modified equilibrium statistical mechanics that assumes ergodicity as a basic postulate. The canonical example on which this framework is tested consists in…
In this paper, a novel approach for parallel kinematic machine control relying on a fast exteroceptive measure is implemented and validated on the Orthoglide robot. This approach begins with rewriting the robot models as a function of the…
Contact-rich manipulation tasks in unstructured environments often require both haptic and visual feedback. However, it is non-trivial to manually design a robot controller that combines modalities with very different characteristics. While…
Grasping compliant objects is difficult for robots - applying too little force may cause the grasp to fail, while too much force may lead to object damage. A robot needs to apply the right amount of force to quickly and confidently grasp…
On-orbit servicing represents a critical frontier in future aerospace engineering, with the manipulation of dynamic non-cooperative targets serving as a key technology. In microgravity environments, objects are typically free-floating,…
Adept manipulation of articulated objects is essential for robots to operate successfully in human environments. Such manipulation requires both effectiveness--reliable operation despite uncertain object structures--and efficiency--swift…
In this work we study the problem of exploring surfaces and building compact 3D representations of the environment surrounding a robot through active perception. We propose an online probabilistic framework that merges visual and tactile…
A GelSight sensor uses an elastomeric slab covered with a reflective membrane to measure tactile signals. It measures the 3D geometry and contact force information with high spacial resolution, and successfully helped many challenging robot…
Cloth in the real world is often crumpled, self-occluded, or folded in on itself such that key regions, such as corners, are not directly graspable, making manipulation difficult. We propose a system that leverages visual and tactile…
6D robotic grasping beyond top-down bin-picking scenarios is a challenging task. Previous solutions based on 6D grasp synthesis with robot motion planning usually operate in an open-loop setting, which are sensitive to grasp synthesis…
Highly constrained manipulation tasks continue to be challenging for autonomous robots as they require high levels of precision, typically less than 1mm, which is often incompatible with what can be achieved by traditional perception…
The perception and recognition of the surroundings is one of the essential tasks for a robot. With preliminary knowledge about a target object, it can perform various manipulation tasks such as rolling motion, palpation, and force control.…
Sense of touch that allows robots to detect contact and measure interaction forces enables them to perform challenging tasks such as grasping fragile objects or using tools. Tactile sensors in theory can equip the robots with such…
With the goal of enabling the exploitation of impacts in robotic manipulation, a new framework is presented for control of robotic manipulators that are tasked to execute nominally simultaneous impacts. In this framework, we employ tracking…
Aerial manipulation has gained interest in completing high-altitude tasks that are challenging for human workers, such as contact inspection and defect detection, etc. Previous research has focused on maintaining static contact points or…
In this paper we address the challenge of exploration in deep reinforcement learning for robotic manipulation tasks. In sparse goal settings, an agent does not receive any positive feedback until randomly achieving the goal, which becomes…