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Soft-bodied intelligence for Manipulation

Objective

The main obstacle to a wide-spread adoption of advanced manipulation systems in industry is their complexity, fragility, lack of strength, and difficulty of use. This project describes a path of disruptive innovation for the development of simple, compliant, yet strong, robust, and easy-to-program manipulation systems. The idea is: Soft Manipulation (SoMa).

SoMa explores a new avenue of robotic manipulation with the environment, as opposed to manipulation of or in the environment. In our approach, the physical constraints imposed by objects in the environment and the manipulandum itself are not regarded as obstacles, but rather as opportunities to guide functional hand pre-shaping, adaptive grasping, and affordance-guided manipulation of objects. The exploitation of these opportunities, which we refer to as environmental constraints (EC), enables robust grasping and manipulation in dynamic, open, and highly variable environments.

The key ingredient for the exploitation of EC is softness of hands, i.e. their embodied ability to comply and adapt to features of the environment. The traditional paradigm for robotic manipulation is in complete disarray in front of this shift of focus: state-of-the-art grasp planners are targeted towards rigid hands and objects, and attempt to find algorithmic solutions to inherently complex, often ill-posed problems. Further complicating matters, the requirement of planning for soft, uncertain interactions between hand and environment is entirely beyond the state of the art. However, this is how humans most often use their hands, and how we plan to change robotic manipulation.

Call for proposal

H2020-ICT-2014

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Sub call

H2020-ICT-2014-1

Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT BERLIN
Net EU contribution
€ 1 690 482,50
Address
Strasse Des 17 Juni 135
10623 Berlin
Germany

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Region
Berlin Berlin Berlin
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00

Participants (6)

UNIVERSITA DI PISA
Italy
Net EU contribution
€ 1 574 062,50
Address
Lungarno Pacinotti 43/44
56126 Pisa

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Region
Centro (IT) Toscana Pisa
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00
FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA
Italy
Net EU contribution
€ 1 168 000,00
Address
Via Morego 30
16163 Genova

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Region
Nord-Ovest Liguria Genova
Activity type
Research Organisations
Other funding
€ 0,00
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV
Germany
Net EU contribution
€ 820 740,00
Address
Linder Hohe
51147 Koln

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Region
Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Research Organisations
Other funding
€ 0,00
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA
Austria
Net EU contribution
€ 229 618,75
Address
Am Campus 1
3400 Klosterneuburg

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Region
Niederösterreich Wiener Umland/Nordteil
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY (SWITZERLAND) GMBH
Switzerland
Net EU contribution
€ 25 500,00
Address
Hoeschgasse 45
8008 Zurich

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Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Other funding
€ 774 812,50
OCADO INNOVATION LIMITED
United Kingdom
Net EU contribution
€ 812 875,00
Address
Buildings One & Two Trident Place Mosquito Way
AL10 9UL Hatfield

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Region
East of England Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Hertfordshire
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Other funding
€ 0,00