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We present a method for multi-class segmentation from RGB-D data in a realistic warehouse picking setting. The method computes pixel-wise probabilities and combines them to find a coherent object segmentation. It reliably segments objects in cluttered scenarios, even when objects are translucent, reflective, highly deformable, have fuzzy surfaces, or consist of loosely coupled components. The robust...
Attaching a flexible tactile skin to an existing robotic system is relatively easy compared to integrating most other tactile sensor designs. In this paper we show that material classification purely based on the spatio-temporal signal of a flexible tactile skin can be robustly performed in a real world setting. We compare different classification algorithms and feature sets, including features adopted...
New vision sensors, such as the Dynamic and Active-pixel Vision sensor (DAVIS), incorporate a conventional camera and an event-based sensor in the same pixel array. These sensors have great potential for robotics because they allow us to combine the benefits of conventional cameras with those of event-based sensors: low latency, high temporal resolution, and high dynamic range. However, new algorithms...
The objective of this paper is to investigate the problem of how to best combine and fuse color and depth measurements for incremental pose estimation or 3D tracking. Subsequently a framework will be proposed that allows to formulate the problem with a unique measurement vector and not to combine them in an ad-hoc manner. In particular, the full color and depth measurement will be defined as a 4-vector...
Pushing is a motion primitive useful to handle objects that are too large, too heavy, or too cluttered to be grasped. It is at the core of much of robotic manipulation, in particular when physical interaction is involved. It seems reasonable then to wish for robots to understand how pushed objects move.
This paper introduces ANYmal, a quadrupedal robot that features outstanding mobility and dynamic motion capability. Thanks to novel, compliant joint modules with integrated electronics, the 30 kg, 0.5m tall robotic dog is torque controllable and very robust against impulsive loads during running or jumping. The presented machine was designed with a focus on outdoor suitability, simple maintenance,...
We present the EP-Face connector, a novel connector for hybrid chain-lattice type modular robots that is high-strength (88.4N), compact, fast, power efficient, and robust to position errors.
We present a new palm design that features a dense array of micro-spines for the JPL Robosimian human-scale climbing robot. A linearly-constrained spine mechanism is introduced and analyzed using adhesion and stiffness models. This mechanism achieves a spine density of 19/cm2 and a mean adhesion of 67N (207kPa) on coarse concrete surfaces. The models are validated on two different surfaces with two...
Lateral skin stretch is a promising technology for haptic display of information between an autonomous or semi-autonomous car and a driver. We present the design of a steering wheel with an embedded lateral skin stretch display and report on the results of tests (N=10) conducted in a driving vehicle in suburban traffic. Results are generally consistent with previous results utilizing skin stretch...
Much of estimation of human internal state (goal, intentions, activities, preferences, etc.) is passive: an algorithm observes human actions and updates its estimate of human state. In this work, we embrace the fact that robot actions affect what humans do, and leverage it to improve state estimation. We enable robots to do active information gathering, by planning actions that probe the user in order...
Object shape information is essential for robot manipulation tasks, in particular for grasp planning and collision-free motion planning. But in general a complete object model is not available, in particular when dealing with unknown objects. We propose a method for completing shapes that are only partially known, which is a common situation when a robot perceives a new object only from one direction...
In this paper we've equipped a cylindrical end-effector with an array of capacitive sensors in order to implement 3D contour following. During the task, using proximity servoing, the sensors are aligned parallel to the surface and kept at a target distance. In addition, due to the spatial resolution, it's possible to estimate the surface's curvature in two dimensions along the rows and columns of...
We present a drift-free pose estimation scheme for rigid body and its supporting platform by fusing only two gyroscopes and the relative complementary measurements. The fusion design not only provides robust relative attitude estimation between the rigid body and the platform, but also is capable of identifying partial global absolute attitudes without capturing any absolute attitude information....
We address the following question: is it possible to reconstruct the geometry of an unknown environment using sparse and incomplete depth measurements? This problem is relevant for a resource-constrained robot that has to navigate and map an environment, but does not have enough on-board power or payload to carry a traditional depth sensor (e.g., a 3D lidar) and can only acquire few (point-wise) depth...
In this paper, a single mobile robot is used to patrol an indoor environment composed of rooms. The robot is required to monitor the rooms and detect visitors as many as possible. A key idea in the patrolling mission is to allow the robot to utilize information about visitor trends. Thus far, we have focused on a visiting probability as the trend. However, the visitor trends usually change over time...
To enable robotic sensing for tasks with requirements on weight, size, and cost, we develop an ultra-tiny line laser range sensor based on the Time-of-Flight (TOF) principle. With delicate circuit design and optical attachments, we create a sensor as small as 35[mm] × 27[mm] × 30[mm] and as light as 20[g]. The line sensor samples 272 pixels (256 effective pixels) uniformly distributed within the measurement...
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