Related papers: SimTO: A simulation-based topology optimization fr…
Current rigid linkage grippers are limited in flexibility, and gripper design optimality relies on expertise, experiments, or arbitrary parameters. Our proposed rigid gripper can accommodate irregular and off-center objects through a…
Robotic manipulation of deformable, one-dimensional objects (DOOs) like ropes or cables has important potential applications in manufacturing, agriculture, and surgery. In such environments, the task may involve threading through or…
Grasping is essential in robotic manipulation, yet challenging due to object and gripper diversity and real-world complexities. Traditional analytic approaches often have long optimization times, while data-driven methods struggle with…
Task-oriented object grasping and rearrangement are critical skills for robots to accomplish different real-world manipulation tasks. However, they remain challenging due to partial observations of the objects and shape variations in…
Selective fruit harvesting is a challenging manipulation problem due to occlusions and clutter arising from plant foliage. A harvesting gripper should i) have a small cross-section, to avoid collisions while approaching the fruit; ii) have…
Although wheeled robots have been predominant for planetary exploration, their geometry limits their capabilities when traveling over steep slopes, through rocky terrains, and in microgravity. Legged robots equipped with grippers are a…
Soft grippers have excellent adaptability for a variety of objects and tasks. Jamming-based variable stiffness materials can further increase soft grippers' gripping force and capacity. Previous universal grippers enabled by granular…
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…
Accurate deformable object manipulation (DOM) is essential for achieving autonomy in robotic surgery, where soft tissues are being displaced, stretched, and dissected. Many DOM methods can be powered by simulation, which ensures realistic…
Compliant and soft hands have gained a lot of attention in the past decade because of their ability to adapt to the shape of the objects, increasing their effectiveness for grasping. However, when it comes to grasping highly flexible…
Realizing a soft manipulator with biologically comparable flexibility and versatility often requires careful selection of materials and actuation, as well as attentive design of its structure, perception, and control. Here, we report a new…
Three-dimensional topology optimization (TO) is a powerful technique in engineering design, but readily usable, open-source implementations remain limited within the popular Python scientific environment. This paper introduces PyTopo3D, a…
Multi-suction-cup grippers are frequently employed to perform pick-and-place robotic tasks, especially in industrial settings where grasping a wide range of light to heavy objects in limited amounts of time is a common requirement. However,…
This paper presents a hierarchical, performance-based framework for the design optimization of multi-fingered soft grippers. To address the need for systematically defined performance indices, the framework structures the optimization…
We consider the problem of reorienting a rigid object with arbitrary known shape on a table using a two-finger pinch gripper. Reorienting problem is challenging because of its non-smoothness and high dimensionality. In this work, we focus…
Compliant grippers, owing to adaptivity and safety, have attracted considerable attention for unstructured grasping in real applications, such as industrial or logistic scenarios. However, accurately modeling the bidirectional relationship…
Data-driven approaches have become a dominant paradigm for robotic grasp planning. However, the performance of these approaches is enormously influenced by the quality of the available training data. In this paper, we propose a framework to…
Fluid-flow devices with low dissipation, but high contact area, are of importance in many applications. A well-known strategy to design such devices is multi-scale topology optimization (MTO), where optimal microstructures are designed…
We investigate the influence of particle stiffness on the grasping performance of granular grippers, a class of soft robotic effectors that utilize granular jamming for object manipulation. Through experimental analyses and X-ray imaging,…
In the robotic crop harvesting environment, foreign objects intrusion in the gripper workspace is frequently occurring and unignorable, however, rarely addressed. This paper presents a novel intelligent robotic grasping method capable of…