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Advancing the physical intelligence and performance of roBOTs towards human-like bi-manual objects MANipulation

Project description

A leap forward in manipulation technology

The intricate dexterity of human hands presents a challenging standard for robotics. Conventional machines cannot emulate human-like dexterity and adaptability when handling diverse objects in complex environments. In this context, the EU-funded MANiBOT project aims to bridge this gap by developing bi-manual mobile robots endowed with unparalleled manipulation prowess. The project emerges as a beacon of innovation, aiming to bridge the gap between human and robotic manipulation capabilities. Confronting the complexities of handling diverse objects in ever-changing environments, this endeavour seeks to unlock a new era of bi-manual mobile robots with human-like prowess. Project outcomes will be tested across four use cases in retail and transportation sectors, addressing tasks like shelves restocking and baggage handling.

Objective

The MANiBOT research aims at bi-manual mobile robots, able to perform a wide variety of manipulation tasks with highly diverse objects, possibly partly or fully unknown beforehand, in a human-like manner and performance. To achieve this, we advance and fuse all necessary technologies, from multimodal perception, cognition and control, to novel cognitive mechatronics. We develop new environment understanding and object/pose recognition methods, empowered through adaptive, context-aware fusion of vision, proximity and tactile sensing and emphasizing on adequate efficiency for fast and effective manipulation, even of objects without precise model, including deformable ones, and in diverse, challenging environments with human presence. We also develop a novel suite of manipulation primitives including non-prehensile manipulations, which along with bi-manual manipulation will allow the transfer of diverse objects with various sizes, weights, shapes, materials and rigidities from a mobile robot, with performance close to that of humans, even upon significant spatial constraints. The above are fused through a novel approach for robot cognitive functions based on multi-level robot cycles that allow learning, composing and swiftly adapting robot behaviors for complex manipulations, covering key topics of sequential manipulation of multiple objects to achieve complex goals. We push the limits of physical intelligence of bimanual mobile robots by coupling our methods with novel cognitive mechatronics, fusing advanced tactile and proximity sensors with a bi-manual mobile manipulator, optimized for energy efficiency and increased autonomy, including HRI capabilities for trustworthy and efficient operation. Our outcomes will be evaluated in four use cases, in three pilot sites (TRL5), in challenging environments where the handling of abundance of different objects is needed; in retail/supermarkets and transport/airports, for shelves restocking and baggage handling operations.

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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02

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Coordinator

ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 058 750,00
Address
CHARILAOU THERMI ROAD 6 KM
57 001 THERMI THESSALONIKI
Greece

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Region
Βόρεια Ελλάδα Κεντρική Μακεδονία Θεσσαλονίκη
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 058 750,00

Participants (11)

Partners (1)

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