Robohub.org
 

Dmitry Berenson: What Matters for Deformable Object | CMU RI Seminar


by
04 November 2017



share this:

Link to video on YouTube

Abstract: “Deformable objects such as cables and clothes are ubiquitous in factories, hospitals, and homes. While a great deal of work has investigated the manipulation of rigid objects in these settings, manipulation of deformable objects remains under-explored. The problem is indeed challenging, as these objects are not straightforward to model and have infinite-dimensional configuration spaces, making it difficult to apply established approaches for motion planning and control. One of the key challenges in manipulating deformable objects is selecting a model which is efficient to use in a control loop, especially when an accurate model is not available. Our approach to control uses a set of simple models of the object, determining which model to use at the current time step via a novel Multi-Armed Bandit algorithm that reasons over estimates of model utility. I will also present our work on interleaving planning and control for deformable object manipulation in cluttered environments, again without an accurate model of the object. Our method predicts when a controller will be trapped (e.g., by obstacles) and invokes a planner to bring the object near its goal. The key to making the planning tractable is to avoid simulating the motion of the object, instead only forward-propagating the constraint on overstretching. This approach takes advantage of the object’s compliance, which allows it to conform to the environment as long as stretching constraints are satisfied. Our method is able to quickly plan paths in environments with complex obstacle arrangements and then switch to the controller to achieve a desired object configuration.”




John Payne





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.

Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões

and   12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.

Interview with Amar Halilovic: Explainable AI for robotics

  10 Jun 2025
Find out about Amar's research investigating the generation of explanations for robot actions.

Robot Talk Episode 124 – Robots in the performing arts, with Amy LaViers

  06 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Amy LaViers from the Robotics, Automation, and Dance Lab about the creative relationship between humans and machines.

Robot Talk Episode 123 – Standardising robot programming, with Nick Thompson

  30 May 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Nick Thompson from BOW about software that makes robots easier to program.

Congratulations to the #AAMAS2025 best paper, best demo, and distinguished dissertation award winners

  29 May 2025
Find out who won the awards presented at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems last week.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence