Robotics Seminar: we are excited to host Vatsal Patel, a PhD student with Aaron Dolar at Yale University over zoom for this week's Robotics Seminar this Friday, February 21st, at 1 pm CT! See the talk details below.
Abstract:
Robots need to be equipped with general-purpose hardware that is robust to model inaccuracies, sensor latencies, or perception failures so that they can perform complex tasks in unstructured environments. Intelligence that adapts to these deficiencies does not just have to reside in the robot’s software. Mechanical intelligence – the passive, mechanical response of systems leveraging compliance, differentials, kinematics, or constraints – embedded in the robot’s hardware can absorb the slack and display intricate behaviors. As these mechanisms interact with the world, morphing and adapting as they go, they can also gather information that better inform the control actions of the system. Observing their adaptable behavior replaces the data otherwise obtained through dedicated sensor arrays. But intelligent robot hardware cannot be developed in isolation from the policies that operate it, and we need to integrate the design optimization of these mechanically smart architectures with the software. My research explores embedding mechanical intelligence into robot hands and sensor designs so that robots can carry out manipulation tasks with limited data and basic models, while acquiring information from their interactions with the environment. In this talk, I will share robot hand architectures that can carry out open-loop in-hand manipulation of unknown objects over large workspaces. I will also share our recent work on developing force-torque sensors using vision to observe the passive mechanical response of compliant mechanisms. And lastly, I will discuss how we can unify mechanical architecture optimization with control and planning choices to improve the robot’s ability to complete the target manipulation task.
Location: We will meet only virtually. Please use the following zoom meeting information to join us:
https://illinois.zoom.us/j/84149708803?pwd=R3JqMnk3VU0wWUZRbGtMd3o1YjZwdz09&from=addon
Meeting ID: 841 4970 8803
Password: 444347