Related papers: Non-impulsive Contact-Implicit Motion Planning for…

This paper presents an optimization-based motion planning methodology for snake robots operating in constrained environments. By using a reduced-order model, the proposed approach simplifies the planning process, enabling the optimizer to…

A fundamental issue at the core of trajectory optimization on smooth manifolds is handling the implicit manifold constraint within the dynamics. The conventional approach is to enforce the dynamic model as a constraint. However, we show…

In this paper, we present a real-time whole-body planner for collision-free legged mobile manipulation. We enforce both self-collision and environment-collision avoidance as soft constraints within a Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme…

Manipulating unknown objects in a cluttered environment is difficult because segmentation of the scene into objects, that is, object composition is uncertain. Due to this uncertainty, earlier work has concentrated on either identifying the…

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…

This paper presents a novel technique that allows for both computationally fast and sufficiently plausible simulation of vehicles with non-deformable tracks. The method is based on an effect we have called Contact Surface Motion. A…

We describe a framework for changing-contact robot manipulation tasks that require the robot to make and break contacts with objects and surfaces. The discontinuous interaction dynamics of such tasks make it difficult to construct and use a…

Robotic manipulation of rigid objects via deformable linear objects (DLO) such as ropes is an emerging field of research with applications in various rigid object transportation tasks. A few methods that exist in this field suffer from…

This paper presents a novel trajectory optimization formulation to solve the robotic assembly of the belt drive unit. Robotic manipulations involving contacts and deformable objects are challenging in both dynamic modeling and trajectory…

Nature suggests that exploiting the elasticities and natural dynamics of robotic systems could increase their locomotion efficiency. Prior work on elastic snake robots supports this hypothesis, but has not fully exploited the nonlinear…

Dynamic loco-manipulation calls for effective whole-body control and contact-rich interactions with the object and the environment. Existing learning-based control synthesis relies on training low-level skill policies and explicitly…

Manipulating a deformable linear object (DLO) such as wire, cable, and rope is a common yet challenging task due to their high degrees of freedom and complex deformation behaviors, especially in an environment with obstacles. Existing local…

Mastering robotic manipulation skills through reinforcement learning (RL) typically requires the design of shaped reward functions. Recent developments in this area have demonstrated that using sparse rewards, i.e. rewarding the agent only…

The deformable and continuum nature of soft robots promises versatility and adaptability. However, control of modular, multi-limbed soft robots for terrestrial locomotion is challenging due to the complex robot structure, actuator mechanics…

Inspired by how humans reason over discrete objects and their relationships, we explore whether compact object-centric and object-relation representations can form a foundation for multitask robotic manipulation. Most existing robotic…

Learning contact-rich, robotic manipulation skills is a challenging problem due to the high-dimensionality of the state and action space as well as uncertainty from noisy sensors and inaccurate motor control. To combat these factors and…

The objective function used in trajectory optimization is often non-convex and can have an infinite set of local optima. In such cases, there are diverse solutions to perform a given task. Although there are a few methods to find multiple…

We present a planning and control approach for collaborative transportation of objects in space by a team of robots. Object and robots in microgravity environments are not subject to friction but are instead free floating. This property is…

Imitation Learning (IL) holds great potential for learning repetitive manipulation tasks, such as those in industrial assembly. However, its effectiveness is often limited by insufficient trajectory precision due to compounding errors. In…

We present DisCo, a distributed algorithm for contact-rich, multi-robot tasks. DisCo is a distributed contact-implicit trajectory optimization algorithm, which allows a group of robots to optimize a time sequence of forces to objects and to…