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Haptic Perception with a Robot Hand: Requirements and Realization
This paper first discusses briefly some of the recent ideas of perceptual psychology on the human haptic system particularly those of J.J. Gibson and Klatzky and Lederman. Following this introduction, we present some of the requirements of robotic haptic sensing and the results of experiments using a Utah/MIT dexterous robot hand to derive geometric object information using active sensing
HEAP: A Sensory Driven Distributed Manipulation System
We address the problems of locating, grasping, and removing one or more unknown objects from a given area. In order to accomplish the task we use HEAP, a system of coordinating the motions of the hand and arm. HEAP also includes a laser range finer, mounted at the end of a PUMA 560, allowing the system to obtain multiple views of the workspace. We obtain volumetric information of the objects we locate by fitting superquadric surfaces on the raw range data. The volumetric information is used to ascertain the best hand configuration to enclose and constrain the object stably. The Penn Hand used to grasp the object, is fitted with 14 tactile sensors to determine the contact area and the normal components of the grasping forces. In addition the hand is used as a sensor to avoid any undesired collisions. The objective in grasping the objects is not to impart arbitrary forces on the object, but instead to be able to grasp a variety of objects using a simple grasping scheme assisted with a volumetric description and force and touch sensing
On the synthesis of feasible and prehensile robotic grasps
Trabajo presentado al ICRA celebrado en Minnesota del 14 al 18 de mayo de 2012.This work proposes a solution to the grasp synthesis problem, which consist of finding the best hand configuration to grasp a given object for a specific manipulation task while satisfying all the necessary constraints. This problem had been divided into sequential sub-problems, including contact region determination, hand inverse kinematics and force distribution, with the particular constraints of each step tackled independently. This may lead to unnecessary effort, such as when one of the problems has no solution given the output of the previous step as input. To overcome this issue, we present a kinestatic formulation of the grasp synthesis problem that introduces compliance both at the joints and the contacts. This provides a proper framework to synthesize a feasible and prehensile grasp by considering simultaneously the necessary grasping constraints, including contact reachability, object restraint, and force controllability. As a consequence, a solution of the proposed model results in a set of hand configurations that allows to execute the grasp using only a position controller. The approach is illustrated with experiments on a simple planar hand using two fingers and an anthropomorphic robotic hand using three fingers.This work was partially supported by the CICYT projects DPI2010-18449, DPI2010-15446 and DPI2011-22471, and by the European Commission under CP grants no. 248587, âTHE Hand Embodiedâ, and no. 270350, âROBLOGâ, within the FP7-ICT-2009-4-2-1 program âCognitive Systems and Roboticsâ.Peer Reviewe
A Hand-Eye-Arm Coordinated System
In this paper we present the description and experiments with a tightly coupled Hand-Eye-Arm manipulatory system. We explain the philosophy and the motivation for building a tightly coupled system that actually consists of very autonomous modules that communicate with each other via a central coordinator. We describe each of the modules in the system and their interactions with each other. We highlight the need for sensory driven manipulation, and explain how the above system, where the hand is equipped with multiple tactile sensors, is capable of both manipulating unknown objects, but also detecting and complying in the case of collisions. We explain the partition of the control of the system into various closed loops, representing coordination both at the level of gross manipulator motions as well as fine motions. We describe the various modes that the system can work in, as well as some of the experiments that are being currently performed using this system
Planning dextrous robot hand grasps from range data, using preshapes and digit trajectories
Dextrous robot hands have many degrees of freedom. This enables the manipulation of
objects between the digits of the dextrous hand but makes grasp planning substantially
more complex than for parallel jaw grippers. Much of the work that addresses grasp
planning for dextrous hands concentrates on the selection of contact sites to optimise
stability criteria and ignores the kinematics of the hand. In more complete systems,
the paradigm of preshaping has emerged as dominant. However, the criteria for the
formation and placement of the preshapes have not been adequately examined, and
the usefulness of the systems is therefore limited to grasping simple objects for which
preshapes can be formed using coarse heuristics.In this thesis a grasp metric based on stability and kinematic feasibility is introduced.
The preshaping paradigm is extended to include consideration of the trajectories that
the digits take during closure from preshape to final grasp. The resulting grasp family
is dependent upon task requirements and is designed for a set of "ideal" object-hand
configurations. The grasp family couples the degrees of freedom of the dextrous hand
in an anthropomorphic manner; the resulting reduction in freedom makes the grasp
planning less complex. Grasp families are fitted to real objects by optimisation of the
grasp metric; this corresponds to fitting the real object-hand configuration as close to
the ideal as possible. First, the preshape aperture, which defines the positions of the
fingertips in the preshape, is found by optimisation of an approximation to the grasp
metric (which makes simplifying assumptions about the digit trajectories and hand
kinematics). Second, the full preshape kinematics and digit closure trajectories are
calculated to optimise the full grasp metric.Grasps are planned on object models built from laser striper range data from two
viewpoints. A surface description of the object is used to prune the space of possible
contact sites and to allow the accurate estimation of normals, which is required by the
grasp metric to estimate the amount of friction required. A voxel description, built by
ray-casting, is used to check for collisions between the object and the robot hand using
an approximation to the Euclidean distance transform.Results are shown in simulation for a 3-digit hand model, designed to be like a simplified
human hand in terms of its size and functionality. There are clear extensions of the
method to any dextrous hand with a single thumb opposing multiple fingers and several
different hand models that could be used are described. Grasps are planned on a wide
variety of curved and polyhedral object
Graphite immobilisation in glass composite materials
Irradiated graphite is a problematic nuclear waste stream and currently raises significant concern
worldwide in identifying its long-term disposal route. This thesis describes the use of glass
materials for the immobilisation of irradiated graphite prepared by microwave, conventional and
sparks plasma sintering methods. Several potential glass compositions namely iron phosphate,
aluminoborosilicate, calcium aluminosilicate, alkali borosilicate and obsidian were considered
for the immobilisation of various loadings of graphite simulating irradiated graphite. The
properties of the samples produced using different processing methods are compared selectively.
An investigation of microwave processing using an iron phosphate glass composition revealed
that full reaction of the raw materials and formation of a glass melt occurs with consequent
removal of porosity at 8 minutes microwave processing. When graphite is present, iron
phosphate crystalline phases are formed with much higher levels of residual porosity of up to 43
% than in the samples prepared using conventional sintering under argon. It is found that
graphite reacts with the microwave field when in powder form but this reaction is minimised
when the graphite is incorporated into a pellet, and that the graphite also impedes sintering of the
glass. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates that reduction of iron occurs with concomitant graphite
oxidation. The production of graphite-glass samples using various powdered glass compositions
by conventional sintering method still resulted in high porosity with an average of 6-17 % for
graphite loadings of 20-25 wt%. Due to the use of pre-made glasses and controlled sintering
parameters, the loss of graphite from the total mass is reduced compared to the microwaved
samples; the average mass loss is < 0.8 %. The complication of iron oxidation and reduction is
present in all the iron containing base glasses considered and this increases the total porosity of
the graphite-glass samples. It is concluded that the presence of iron in the raw materials or base
glasses as an encapsulation media for the immobilisation of the irradiated graphite waste is not
advisable. The production of glass and graphite-glass samples based calcium aluminosilicate
composition by spark plasma sintering method is found highly suitable for the immobilisation of
irradiated graphite wastes. The advantages of the method includes short processing time i.e. < 40
minutes, improved sintering transport mechanisms, limited graphite oxidation, low porosity (1-4
%) and acceptable tensile strength (2-7 MPa). The most promising samples prepared using spark
plasma sintering method were loaded with 30-50 wt% graphite
Grasping With Mechanical Intelligence
Many robotic hands have been designed and a number have been built. Because of the difficulty of controlling and using complex hands, which usually have nine or more degrees of freedom, the simple one- or two-degree-of-freedom gripper is still the most common robotic end effector. This thesis presents a new category of device: a medium-complexity end effector. With three to five degrees of freedom, such a tool is much easier to control and use, as well as more economical, compact and lightweight than complex hands. In order to increase the versatility, it was necessary to identify grasping primitives and to implement them in the mechanism. In addition, power and enveloping grasps are stressed over fingertip and precision grasps. The design is based upon analysis of object apprehension types, requisite characteristics for active sensing, and a determination of necessary environmental interactions. Contained in this thesis are the general concepts necessary to the design of a medium-complexity end effector, an analysis of typica.1 performance, and a computer simulation of a grasp planning algorithm specific to this type of mechanism. Finally, some details concerning the UPenn Hand - a tool designed for the research laboratory - are presented
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