Robohub.org
 

Liatris: looking to change how robots see the world


by
20 October 2015



share this:
Liatris

Fully autonomous robotics could be developed today if objects could tell a robot what they are, their purpose and how to utilize them. Liatris is a new open source project built with ROS. Its objective is to reliably read an object’s pose and identity without relying on vision. It presents an opportunity to rip down the barriers that prevent robotics from being present in our everyday lives.

Traditionally, a robot would be required to identify and locate every object in its workspace. Liatris, which is built primarily using ROS, Kivy and Python, instead determines any object’s pose and identity using a touch screen and RFID reader.

The robot in the video is programmed to identify and grasp any object placed on the touch screen, regardless of the object’s shape, size or positioning. It perceives the object by utilizing the CAD model downloaded from Liatris’ API.

This also tells the robot how to grasp an object while avoiding collisions with other objects (thanks to MoveIt).

The result is an accurate 3D perception and mobile manipulation solution. Liatris can even work simultaneously with multiple objects and touch screens.

Learn more at  Liatris.org



tags: , ,


Mark Silliman is currently the CEO at Smartwaiver, an online waiver solution for businesses.
Mark Silliman is currently the CEO at Smartwaiver, an online waiver solution for businesses.


Subscribe to Robohub newsletter on substack



Related posts :

What I’ve learned from 25 years of automated science, and what the future holds: an interview with Ross King

and   14 Apr 2026
Ross King created the first robot scientist back in 2009. He spoke to us about the nature of scientific discovery, the role AI has to play, and his recent work in DNA computing.

Robot Talk Episode 151 – Robots to study the ocean, with Simona Aracri

  10 Apr 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Simona Aracri from National Research Council of Italy about innovative robot designs for oceanography and environmental monitoring.

Generative AI improves a wireless vision system that sees through obstructions

  08 Apr 2026
With this new technique, a robot could more accurately detect hidden objects or understand an indoor scene using reflected Wi-Fi signals.

Resource-constrained image generation and visual understanding: an interview with Aniket Roy

  07 Apr 2026
Aniket tells us about his research exploring how modern generative models can be adapted to operate efficiently while maintaining strong performance.

Back to school: robots learn from factory workers

  02 Apr 2026
A Czech startup is making factory automation easier by letting workers teach robots new tasks through simple demonstrations instead of complex coding.

Resource-sharing boosts robotic resilience

  31 Mar 2026
When a modular robot shares power, sensing, and communication resources among its individual units, it is significantly more resistant to failure than traditional robotic systems.

Robot Talk Episode 150 – House building robots, with Vikas Enti

  27 Mar 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Vikas Enti from Reframe Systems about using robotics and automation to build climate-resilient, high-performance homes.

A history of RoboCup with Manuela Veloso

and   24 Mar 2026
Find out how RoboCup got started and how the competition has evolved, from one of the co-founders.



Robohub is supported by:


Subscribe to Robohub newsletter on substack




 















©2026.02 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence