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Shared Object Manipulation with a Team of Collaborative Quadrupeds

Shengzhi Wang, Niels Dehio, Xuanqi Zeng, Xian Yang, Lingwei Zhang, Yun-Hui Liu, K. W. Samuel Au

TL;DR

This paper extends a classical hybrid motion-force controller to a team of legged manipulator systems, enabling collaborative loco-manipulation of rigid objects with a force-closed grasp, and allows the robots to flexibly coordinate their movements.

Abstract

Utilizing teams of multiple robots is advantageous for handling bulky objects. Many related works focus on multi-manipulator systems, which are limited by workspace constraints. In this paper, we extend a classical hybrid motion-force controller to a team of legged manipulator systems, enabling collaborative loco-manipulation of rigid objects with a force-closed grasp. Our novel approach allows the robots to flexibly coordinate their movements, achieving efficient and stable object co-manipulation and transport, validated through extensive simulations and real-world experiments.

Shared Object Manipulation with a Team of Collaborative Quadrupeds

TL;DR

This paper extends a classical hybrid motion-force controller to a team of legged manipulator systems, enabling collaborative loco-manipulation of rigid objects with a force-closed grasp, and allows the robots to flexibly coordinate their movements.

Abstract

Utilizing teams of multiple robots is advantageous for handling bulky objects. Many related works focus on multi-manipulator systems, which are limited by workspace constraints. In this paper, we extend a classical hybrid motion-force controller to a team of legged manipulator systems, enabling collaborative loco-manipulation of rigid objects with a force-closed grasp. Our novel approach allows the robots to flexibly coordinate their movements, achieving efficient and stable object co-manipulation and transport, validated through extensive simulations and real-world experiments.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 13 sections, 17 equations, 2 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. Related Work on Hybrid Motion-Force Control
  3. FUNDAMENTALS
  4. Projected Inverse Dynamics Control
  5. Inferring Joint Accelerations and Contact Wrenches
  6. Task-Space Cartesian Impedance Control
  7. Projected Inverse Dynamics for Underactuated Robots
  8. Force-Closed Grasp
  9. PROPOSED METHOD
  10. Contact Constraints in Collaborative Control
  11. Cartesian Impedance Controller
  12. Numeric Optimization of Contact Forces
  13. Objective Function

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: An object manipulation scenario with a robot team.
  • Figure 2: Graphical representation of two collaborative quadrupeds with manipulators attached to the trunk. The foot contact force vector $\lambda^i_{cf}$ stacks the ground reaction forces on each foot in contact, whereas the contact wrench $\lambda^i_{ee} \in \mathds{R}^{6}$ describes the interaction between the box and the hand.

Theorems & Definitions (2)

  • Remark 1
  • Remark 2