Manipulation of Flexible Objects

Abstract

Since decades, industrial robots are capable of grasping and manipulating rigid objects. This is possible because the geometry and position of such objects is known beforehand by the control software. For service robots, the task is more challenging, since it requires the robot to know all types of objects present in the environment (e.g., in an apartment) and to recognize them on the fly to automatically determine the manipulation strategy. Manipulating flexible objects is even more difficult, since along with their position, their shape also varies depending on the applied forces and on their physical properties. Yet, this task is paramount in many fields, spanning from construction to food industry and surgery. This entry reviews applications, challenges, past research works, and perspectives of flexible robot manipulation.

Dual-arm Coordinated Manipulation for Object Twisting with Human Intelligence

“…In this case, the robot controller needs to be capable of estimating the current shape and state online for coordination. Shape estimation with extra sensory systems [9], local deformation model [10], internal force based impedance control strategy [11], and sliding mode control law [12] are developed for the flexible objects manipulation.…”

Adaptive Shape Servoing of Elastic Rods using Parameterized Regression Features and Auto-Tuning Motion Controls

“…T HE manipulation of deformable objects is currently an open (and hot) research problem in robotics [1] that has attracted many researchers due to its great applicability in many areas, e.g. manipulating fabrics [2], shaping of food materials [3], assembling soft components [4], manipulating cables [5], interacting with tissues [6], etc.…”