1,151 research outputs found
Manipulating Highly Deformable Materials Using a Visual Feedback Dictionary
The complex physical properties of highly deformable materials such as
clothes pose significant challenges fanipulation systems. We present a novel
visual feedback dictionary-based method for manipulating defoor autonomous
robotic mrmable objects towards a desired configuration. Our approach is based
on visual servoing and we use an efficient technique to extract key features
from the RGB sensor stream in the form of a histogram of deformable model
features. These histogram features serve as high-level representations of the
state of the deformable material. Next, we collect manipulation data and use a
visual feedback dictionary that maps the velocity in the high-dimensional
feature space to the velocity of the robotic end-effectors for manipulation. We
have evaluated our approach on a set of complex manipulation tasks and
human-robot manipulation tasks on different cloth pieces with varying material
characteristics.Comment: The video is available at goo.gl/mDSC4
PAMPC: Perception-Aware Model Predictive Control for Quadrotors
We present the first perception-aware model predictive control framework for
quadrotors that unifies control and planning with respect to action and
perception objectives. Our framework leverages numerical optimization to
compute trajectories that satisfy the system dynamics and require control
inputs within the limits of the platform. Simultaneously, it optimizes
perception objectives for robust and reliable sens- ing by maximizing the
visibility of a point of interest and minimizing its velocity in the image
plane. Considering both perception and action objectives for motion planning
and control is challenging due to the possible conflicts arising from their
respective requirements. For example, for a quadrotor to track a reference
trajectory, it needs to rotate to align its thrust with the direction of the
desired acceleration. However, the perception objective might require to
minimize such rotation to maximize the visibility of a point of interest. A
model-based optimization framework, able to consider both perception and action
objectives and couple them through the system dynamics, is therefore necessary.
Our perception-aware model predictive control framework works in a
receding-horizon fashion by iteratively solving a non-linear optimization
problem. It is capable of running in real-time, fully onboard our lightweight,
small-scale quadrotor using a low-power ARM computer, to- gether with a
visual-inertial odometry pipeline. We validate our approach in experiments
demonstrating (I) the contradiction between perception and action objectives,
and (II) improved behavior in extremely challenging lighting conditions
Deep Visual Foresight for Planning Robot Motion
A key challenge in scaling up robot learning to many skills and environments
is removing the need for human supervision, so that robots can collect their
own data and improve their own performance without being limited by the cost of
requesting human feedback. Model-based reinforcement learning holds the promise
of enabling an agent to learn to predict the effects of its actions, which
could provide flexible predictive models for a wide range of tasks and
environments, without detailed human supervision. We develop a method for
combining deep action-conditioned video prediction models with model-predictive
control that uses entirely unlabeled training data. Our approach does not
require a calibrated camera, an instrumented training set-up, nor precise
sensing and actuation. Our results show that our method enables a real robot to
perform nonprehensile manipulation -- pushing objects -- and can handle novel
objects not seen during training.Comment: ICRA 2017. Supplementary video:
https://sites.google.com/site/robotforesight
Using a 3DOF Parallel Robot and a Spherical Bat to hit a Ping-Pong Ball
Playing the game of Ping-Pong is a challenge to human abilities since it requires developing skills, such as fast reaction capabilities, precision of movement and high speed mental responses. These processes include the utilization of seven DOF of the human arm, and translational movements through the legs, torso, and other extremities of the body, which are used for developing different game strategies or simply imposing movements that affect the ball such as spinning movements. Computationally, Ping-Pong requires a huge quantity of joints and visual information to be processed and analysed, something which really represents a challenge for a robot. In addition, in order for a robot to develop the task mechanically, it requires a large and dexterous workspace, and good dynamic capacities. Although there are commercial robots that are able to play Ping-Pong, the game is still an open task, where there are problems to be solved and simplified. All robotic Ping-Pong players cited in the bibliography used at least four DOF to hit the ball. In this paper, a spherical bat mounted on a 3-DOF parallel robot is proposed. The spherical bat is used to drive the trajectory of a Ping-Pong ball.Fil: Trasloheros, Alberto. Universidad Aeronáutica de Querétaro; MéxicoFil: Sebastián, José MarÃa. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas; EspañaFil: Torrijos, Jesús. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas; España. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Carelli Albarracin, Ricardo Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Automática. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de IngenierÃa. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: Roberti, Flavio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Automática. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de IngenierÃa. Instituto de Automática; Argentin
Reliable vision-guided grasping
Automated assembly of truss structures in space requires vision-guided servoing for grasping a strut when its position and orientation are uncertain. This paper presents a methodology for efficient and robust vision-guided robot grasping alignment. The vision-guided grasping problem is related to vision-guided 'docking' problems. It differs from other hand-in-eye visual servoing problems, such as tracking, in that the distance from the target is a relevant servo parameter. The methodology described in this paper is hierarchy of levels in which the vision/robot interface is decreasingly 'intelligent,' and increasingly fast. Speed is achieved primarily by information reduction. This reduction exploits the use of region-of-interest windows in the image plane and feature motion prediction. These reductions invariably require stringent assumptions about the image. Therefore, at a higher level, these assumptions are verified using slower, more reliable methods. This hierarchy provides for robust error recovery in that when a lower-level routine fails, the next-higher routine will be called and so on. A working system is described which visually aligns a robot to grasp a cylindrical strut. The system uses a single camera mounted on the end effector of a robot and requires only crude calibration parameters. The grasping procedure is fast and reliable, with a multi-level error recovery system
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