Towards Robust Planar Translations using Delta-manipulator Arrays

May 2021

Towards Robust Planar Translations using Delta-manipulator Arrays

Authors:

Skye Thompson, Pragna Mannam, Zeynep Temel, and Oliver Kroemer
Conference Paper
Proceedings of (ICRA) International Conference on Robotics and Automation

Abstract:

Distributed manipulators - consisting of a set of actuators or robots working cooperatively to achieve a manipulation task - are robust and flexible tools for performing a range of planar manipulation skills. One novel example is the delta array, a distributed manipulator composed of a grid of delta robots, capable of performing dexterous manipulation tasks using strategies incorporating both dynamic and static contact. Hand-designing effective distributed control policies for such a manipulator can be complex and time consuming, given the high-dimensional action space and unfamiliar system dynamics. In this paper, we examine the principles guiding development and control of such a delta array for a planar translation task. We explore policy learning as a robust cooperative control approach, allowing for smooth manipulation of a range of objects, showing improved accuracy and efficiency over baseline human-designed policies.

Notes:

@conference{Thompson-2021-128557,
author = {Skye Thompson And Pragna Mannam And Zeynep Temel And Oliver Kroemer},
title = {Towards Robust Planar Translations using Delta-manipulator Arrays},
booktitle = {Proceedings of (ICRA) International Conference on Robotics and Automation},
year = {2021},
month = {May},
keywords = {manipulation, distributed systems},
}
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