Interest Group on "Manipulation and grasping, lightweight manipulators"

Contact Persons:

Justification: The robotic community has always recognized the interaction of a robotic manipulation system with its environment as a key area. Although this is a very interesting and central issue the involved problems, both at the technical and methodological level, still represent a limiting factor in a number of important cases both in standard industrial applications and in non-conventional uses (e.g. space, soft material, dexterous manipulation, etc.). Among the relevant research fields interested in this area, one can enumerate the following: advanced sensors (e.g. tactile, force/torque, vision, etc.), mechanical structures and devices (e.g. parallel, redundant, flexible, etc.), planning, control, optimization. Due to these reasons, it is therefore of interest to create a synergy among researches and institution involved in these fields.

Aim & Objectives: Exchange of information and expertise. Promotion of common activities. Involvement of industrial partners. Establishment of links and co-operations with other interest groups. Definition of sub-groups focussed on relevant issues (e.g. sensors for manipulation, dexterity in tele-robotics, manipulation of soft material, new devices, non-conventional application of robotic manipulation,)

Possible Activities : Organization of workshops and sessions in International conferences in Europe, Establishment of an information network on these issues.

Expected Results : Set-up of an infrastructure for information exchange; stimulation of personnel (young researchers) exchange, establishment of links and co-operations with other IGs

Sub-Groups (open list):

1. Manipulation of limp soft material. Aim: development of innovative methods and solutions for limp soft stacked and difficult to handle material grasping and for fast manipulation and assembly (applications characterised by high ratio dynamic load/manipulator weight).
   Contact person: Prof. Rezia Molfino,
   molfino@dimec.unige.it
   PMAR Robot Design Laboratory;
2. Control problems in dexterous manipulation
   Contact person: Prof. Claudio Melchiorri
   Cmelchiorri@deis.unibo.it
   LAR - Laboratory of Automation and Robotics,
3. Visually-guided grasping
   Contact person: Prof. Pedro J Sanz
   sanzp@inf.uji.es
   Robotic Intelligence Laboratory; http://robot.act.uji.es