50 accepted papers
Grasping unknown objects from a single view has remained a challenging topic in robotics due to the uncertainty of partial observation. Recent advances in large-scale models have led to benchmark solutions such as GraspNet-1Billion. However, such learning-based approaches still face a critical limit…
Precisely grasping an object is a challenging task due to pose uncertainties. Conventional methods have used cameras and fixtures to reduce object uncertainty. They are effective but require intensive preparation, such as designing jigs based on the object geometry and calibrating cameras with high-…
Clustered-object environments challenge robotic grasp planning and implementation mainly for two reasons: (i) the limited inter-object clearance leaves insufficient space for conventional gripper fingers to approach and wrap the target object without collisions, and (ii) perception-induced position
This work proposes a learning method to accelerate robotic pick-and-place planning by predicting shared grasps. Shared grasps are defined as grasp poses feasible to both the initial and goal object configurations in a pick-and-place task. Traditional analytical methods for solving shared grasps eval
This work proposes a learning method to accelerate robotic pick-and-place planning by predicting shared grasps. Shared grasps are defined as grasp poses feasible to both the initial and goal object configurations in a pick-and-place task. Traditional analytical methods for solving shared grasps eval…
The Craft Assembly Task - a robotic assembly task inspired by handmade crafts - poses unique challenges relative to a traditional object assembly task.It involves open-ended decisions that are difficult to automate, with previous work relying on prior assumptions or expert knowledge, limiting scalab
The food packaging industry goes through changes in food items and their weights quite rapidly. These items range from easy-to-pick, single-piece food items to flexible, long and cluttered ones. We propose a replaceable bit-based gripper system to tackle the challenge of weight-based handling of clu
This study addresses a flexible holding tool for robotic disassembly. We propose a shell-type soft jig that securely and universally holds objects, mitigating the risk of component damage and adapting to diverse shapes while enabling soft fixation that is robust to recognition, planning, and control…
This paper presents a novel non-contact sensing device for constructing stiffness distribution maps on soft-material surfaces. Since directly contacting and measuring each point is inefficient, the device applies an air jet to the surface to induce deformation, and the resulting displacement is meas
This work presents a method for automatically detecting and recognizing test tube types in a rack. It leverages automatic segmentation, clustering, and labeling processes to eliminate the need for explicitly preparing training data. These processes are addressed by using combined global prediction a…
Robotic grasping is facing a variety of real-world uncertainties caused by non-static object states, unknown object properties, and cluttered object arrangements. The difficulty of grasping increases with the presence of more uncertainties, where commonly used learning-based approaches struggle to p
In assembly tasks, multiple operations, such as positioning, snap-fitting, and screw fastening, are often required for a single workpiece. The multiple operations add complexity to the planning process. To address this challenge, we propose an assembly sequence planning method that considers the com
Precisely grasping an object is a challenging task due to pose uncertainties. Conventional methods have used cameras and fixtures to reduce object uncertainty. They are effective but require intensive preparation, such as designing jigs based on the object geometry and calibrating cameras with high-
This work presents a framework for a robot with a multi-fingered hand to freely utilize daily tools, including functional parts like buttons and triggers. An approach heatmap is generated by selecting a functional finger, indicating optimal palm positions on the object's surface that enable the func
Diffusion models demonstrate superior performance in capturing complex distributions from large-scale datasets, providing a promising solution for quadrupedal locomotion control. However, the robustness of the diffusion planner is inherently dependent on the diversity of the pre-collected datasets.
This work presents a method for automatically detecting and recognizing test tube types in a rack. It leverages automatic segmentation, clustering, and labeling processes to eliminate the need for explicitly preparing training data. These processes are addressed by using combined global prediction a
This paper proposes to use a high-compliance soft wrist to improve the performance of robotic peg-in-hole in uncertain environments. In contrast to past research in this field, in which force control with relatively low compliance has been used, we propose a method that searching and aligning motion
Inspired by traditional handmade crafts, where a person improvises assemblies based on the available objects, we formally introduce the Craft Assembly Task. It is a robotic assembly task that involves building an accurate representation of a given target object using the available objects, which do
In this letter, we present a novel approach for planning an object's Next Best Views (NBV) so that a depth camera can collect the object's surface point cloud and reconstruct its 3D model with a small number of consequent views. Our focus is especially on thin and curved metal plates, and we use a r
This paper presents a stiffness-changeable soft finger using chain mail jamming. This finger can achieve adaptive grasping and in-hand manipulation by reshaping and exerting changeable gripping force. The jamming phenomenon happens when particles in a chamber get interlocked where confining pressure…
Wire harnesses are essential connecting components in manufacturing industry but are challenging to be automated in industrial tasks such as bin picking. They are long, flexible and tend to get entangled when randomly placed in a bin. This makes it difficult for the robot to grasp a single one in de
Industrial bin picking for tangled-prone objects requires the robot to either pick up untangled objects or perform separation manipulation when the bin contains no isolated objects. The robot must be able to flexibly perform appropriate actions based on the current observation. It is challenging due
To safely and efficiently extract an object from the clutter, this paper presents a bimanual manipulation planner in which one hand of the robot is used to slide the target object out of the clutter while the other hand is used to support the surrounding objects to prevent the clutter from collapsin…
Robotic pick-and-place has been researched for a long time to cope with uncertainty of novel objects and changeable environments. Past works mainly focus on learning-based methods to achieve high precision. However, they have difficulty being generalized for the limitation of specified training mode
When generating robot motions based on instructions such as cooking recipes, ambiguity of the instructions and lack of necessary information are problematic for the robot. To solve this problem, we propose an efficient motion planning approach for a dual-arm robot by constructing a graph repre-senti…
This paper presents a combined task and motion planner for a robot arm to carry out 3D metal wire curving tasks by collaborating with a bending machine. We assume a collaborative robot that is safe to work in a human environment but has a weak payload to bend objects with large stiffness, and develo…
Picking a thin object placed on a flat surface is challenging as contact regions are limited. Scooping grasp is a commonly used method for handling thin objects. However, the sharp fingertips are required to achieve the successful scooping motion, which are dangerous. This letter proposes a novel gr
This article presents a novel software architecture enabling the analysis of assembly actions from fine-grained hand motions. Unlike previous works that compel humans to wear ad-hoc devices or visual markers in the human body, our approach enables users to move without additional burdens. Modules de…
This paper proposes a robot assembly planning method by automatically reading the graphical instruction manuals designed for humans. Essentially, the method generates an Assembly Task Sequence Graph (ATSG) by recognizing a graphical instruction manual. An ATSG is a graph describing the assembly task…
This paper presents a motion planning algorithm that enables robots to efficiently pick up objects by considering simultaneous multi-object grasping. At the center of the algorithm is a cost function that helps to determine one of the following three grasping policies considering distance and fricti…
This letter proposes a framework for an autonomous humanoid robot, aimed at searching for a target object in an unknown environment using 3D-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). The robot determines, while walking, the next viewpoint from an environment map and aggregated object recognition
Robotic assembly tasks involve complex and low-clearance insertion trajectories with varying contact forces at different stages. While the nominal motion trajectory can be easily obtained from human demonstrations through kinesthetic teaching, teleoperation, simulation, among other methods, the forc…
Synergy provides a practical approach for expressing various postures of a multi-fingered hand. However, a conventional synergy defined for reproducing grasping postures cannot perform in-hand manipulation, e.g., tasks that involve simultaneously grasping and manipulating an object. Locking the posi…
Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods have been proven successful in solving manipulation tasks autonomously. However, RL is still not widely adopted on real robotic systems because working with real hardware entails additional challenges, especially when using rigid position-controlled manipulators.
In this paper, we address efficiently and robustly collecting objects stored in different trays using a mobile manipulator. A resolution complete method, based on precomputed reachability database, is proposed to explore collision-free inverse kinematics (IK) solutions and then a resolution complete…
In this letter, we present a planner for manipulating tethered tools using dual-armed robots. The planner generates robot motion sequences to maneuver a tool and its cable while avoiding robot-cable entanglements. Firstly, the planner generates an object manipulation motion sequence (OMMS) to handle
This letter proposes a novel robotic hand design for assembly tasks. The idea is to combine two simple grippers-an inner gripper, which is used for precise alignment, and an outer gripper, which is used for stable holding. Conventional robotic hands require complicated compliant mechanisms or compli
This letter designs a mechanical tool for robots with two-finger parallel grippers, which extends the functionality of the robotic gripper without additional requirements on tool exchangers or other actuators. The fundamental kinematic structure of the mechanical tool is two symmetric parallelograms
Planning dual-arm assembly of more than three objects is a challenging Task and Motion Planning (TAMP) problem. The assembly planner shall consider not only the pose constraints of objects and robots, but also the gravitational constraints that may break the finished part. This paper proposes a plan…
In this research, we tackle the challenge of picking only one object from a randomly stacked pile where the objects can potentially be tangled. No solution has been proposed to solve this challenge due to the complexity of picking one and only one object from the bin of tangled objects. Therefore, w…
This paper explores the use of robots to autonomously assemble parts with variations in colors and textures. Specifically, we focus on peg-in-hole assembly with some initial position uncertainty and holes located on surfaces of different colors and textures. Two in-hand cameras and a force-torque se…
This paper develops an adaptive gripper for peg-in-hole tasks. Conventional grippers require complicated compliant mechanisms or complicated control strategy and force sensing to successfully insert pegs into holes. Different from them, this paper proposes a simple gripper with an L-shape finger as…
Robotic failure is all too common in unstructured robot tasks. Despite well-designed controllers, robots often fail due to unexpected events. Robots under a sense-plan-act paradigm do not have an additional loop to check their actions. In this work, we present a principled methodology to bootstrap o…
This paper develops intelligent algorithms for robots to reorient objects. Given the initial and goal poses of an object, the proposed algorithms plan a sequence of robot poses and grasp configurations that reorient the object from its initial pose to the goal. While the topic has been studied exten…
Pick-and-place regrasp extends the manipulation capability of a robot by using a sequence of regrasps to accomplish tasks that are not possible using a single grasp due to constraints such as kinematics or collisions between the robot and the environment. Previous work on pick-and-place only leverag…
Pick-and-place regrasp is an important manipulation skill for a robot. It helps a robot accomplish tasks that cannot be achieved within a single grasp, due to constraints such as kinematics or collisions between the robot and the environment. Previous work on pick-and-place regrasp only leveraged fl
The goal of this letter is to develop efficient regrasp algorithms for single-arm and dual-arm regrasp and compares the performance of single-arm and dual-arm regrasp by running the two algorithms thousands of times. We focus on pick-and-place regrasp, which reorients an object from one placement to
We present a novel method for caging grasps in this paper by stretching ropes on the surface of a 3D object. Both topology and shape of a model to be grasped has been considered in our approach. Our algorithm can guarantee generating local minimal rings on every topological branches of a given model
In this study, we experimentally investigated the effect of robot fingertip stiffness on the maximum resistible force. The maximum resistible force is defined as the maximum tangential force at which the fingertip can maintain contact when applying and increasing tangential/shearing force. We includ…
We propose an evaluation method of grasp stability which takes into account the elastic deformation of fingertips from the viewpoint of energy. An evaluation value of grasp stability is derived as the minimum energy which causes slippage of a fingertip on its contact surface. To formulate the evalua…