Related papers: Hierarchical Contact-Rich Trajectory Optimization …
Contact-implicit trajectory optimization (CITO) is an effective method to plan complex trajectories for various contact-rich systems including manipulation and locomotion. CITO formulates a mathematical program with complementarity…
Joint space trajectory optimization under end-effector task constraints leads to a challenging non-convex problem. Thus, a real-time adaptation of prior computed trajectories to perturbation in task constraints often becomes intractable.…
As robots move from the laboratory into the real world, motion planning will need to account for model uncertainty and risk. For robot motions involving intermittent contact, planning for uncertainty in contact is especially important, as…
We introduce Reactive Action and Motion Planner (RAMP), which combines the strengths of sampling-based and reactive approaches for motion planning. In essence, RAMP is a hierarchical approach where a novel variant of a Model Predictive Path…
Reducing communication - either between levels of a memory hierarchy or between processors over a network - is a key component of performance optimization (in both time and energy) for many problems, including dense linear algebra, particle…
Legged robots are able to navigate complex terrains by continuously interacting with the environment through careful selection of contact sequences and timings. However, the combinatorial nature behind contact planning hinders the…
Performing large step-ups is a challenging task for a humanoid robot. It requires the robot to perform motions at the limit of its reachable workspace while straining to move its body upon the obstacle. This paper presents a non-linear…
We propose a novel hierarchical reinforcement learning framework for quadruped locomotion over challenging terrain. Our approach incorporates a two-layer hierarchy in which a high-level policy (HLP) selects optimal goals for a low-level…
We present a Matlab code for modelling and topology optimization of hyperelastic structures, including contact modelled by the Third Medium Contact (TMC) approach. By using the so-called HuHu-regularization we penalize the skew distortion…
Soft robotics has emerged as the standard solution for grasping deformable objects, and has proven invaluable for mobile robotic exploration in extreme environments. However, despite this growth, there are no widely adopted computational…
Modular robots can be tailored to achieve specific tasks and rearranged to achieve previously infeasible ones. The challenge is choosing an appropriate design from a large search space. In this work, we describe a framework that…
We propose a novel and efficient lifting approach for the optimal control of rigid-body systems with contacts to improve the convergence properties of Newton-type methods. To relax the high nonlinearity, we consider the state, acceleration,…
Robot manipulation in cluttered environments often requires complex and sequential rearrangement of multiple objects in order to achieve the desired reconfiguration of the target objects. Due to the sophisticated physical interactions…
We model Human-Robot-Interaction (HRI) scenarios as linear dynamical systems and use Model Predictive Control (MPC) with mixed integer constraints to generate human-aware control policies. We motivate the approach by presenting two…
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…
This work considers the path planning problem for a team of identical robots evolving in a known environment. The robots should satisfy a global specification given as a Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) formula over a set of regions of interest.…
Multi-robot systems enhance efficiency and productivity across various applications, from manufacturing to surveillance. While single-robot motion planning has improved by using databases of prior solutions, extending this approach to…
There is an increased demand for task automation in robots. Contact-rich tasks, wherein multiple contact transitions occur in a series of operations, are extensively being studied to realize high accuracy. In this study, we propose a…
Legged robots have the potential to traverse highly constrained environments with agile maneuvers. However, planning such motions requires solving a highly challenging optimization problem with a mixture of continuous and discrete decision…
Non-prehensile manipulation is challenging due to complex contact interactions between objects, the environment, and robots. Model-based approaches can efficiently generate complex trajectories of robots and objects under contact…