Robotics Seminar: Robotic Manipulation – From Representations to Actions

Abstract: Dexterous manipulation is a challenging and integral task involving a number of subproblems to be addressed, such as perception, planning, and control. Problem representation, which is an essential element in a system that defines what is actually the problem to be considered, determines both the capability of a system and the feasibility of applying such a system in real tasks.

In this talk, I will introduce how good representations can convert difficult problems into easier ones. In particular, I first discuss the development of representations for grasp optimization, as well as how a good representation can simplify and unify the whole grasping system, including globally optimal grasp planning, sensing, adaptation, and control. By expanding or varying this representation in terms of problem scenarios, I further show how it can greatly facilitate solving other problems, such as graspaware motion planning, optimal placement planning, and even dualarm manipulation. Second, I will introduce our work on underactuated manipulation using soft robotic hands. For underactuated hands without any joint encoders or tactile sensors, I present our representations that can enable a robot to interact with tabletop objects using nonprehensile manipulation to finally grasp it, and show how to register the object into its own handobject system once grasped, so as to eventually provide precise and dexterous inhand manipulation. Finally, I discuss how to develop representations for optimizing robot fingertip designs, especially for simple grippers with limited grasping skills. By installing those optimized fingertip designs onto drones, I further show that those optimized designs can enable the drones to perch or rest at various structures, achieving significant improvement in energy consumption.

Bio: Kaiyu Hang is a postdoctoral associate working with Prof. Aaron M. Dollar at the GRAB lab, Yale University. Hereceived his Ph.D. in Computer Science, specialized in Robotics and Computer Vision, under the supervision of Prof.Danica Kragic from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Before joining the GRAB lab, he was aresearch assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and a Junior Fellow of the Institute forAdvanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include representations andoptimization for robotic manipulation, motion planning, adaptive grasping and inhand manipulation, underactuated robotic hands, dualarm manipulation, and mobile manipulation.

A reception for attendees will be held at 2:00 p.m. in CS 150.