Using a deformable sheet to handle objects is convenient and found in many
practical applications. For object manipulation through a deformable sheet that
is held by multiple mobile robots, it is a challenging task to model the
object-sheet interactions. We present a computational model and algorithm to
capture the object position on the deformable sheet with changing robotic team
formations. A virtual variable cables model (VVCM) is proposed to simplify the
modeling of the robot-sheet-object system. With the VVCM, we further present a
motion planner for the robotic team to transport the object in a
three-dimensional (3D) cluttered environment. Simulation and experimental
results with different robot team sizes show the effectiveness and versatility
of the proposed VVCM. We also compare and demonstrate the planning results to
avoid the obstacle in 3D space with the other benchmark planner.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, accepted by RAL&CASE 2022 in June 24, 202