Objective Textile objects pervade human environments and their versatile manipulation by robots would open up a whole range ofpossibilities, from increasing the autonomy of elderly and disabled people, housekeeping and hospital logistics, to novelautomation in the clothing internet business and upholstered product manufacturing. Although efficient procedures exist forthe robotic handling of rigid objects and the virtual rendering of deformable objects, cloth manipulation in the real world hasproven elusive, because the vast number of degrees of freedom involved in non-rigid deformations leads to unbearableuncertainties in perception and action outcomes.This proposal aims at developing a theory of cloth manipulation and carrying it all the way down to prototype implementation in our Lab. By combining powerful recent tools from computational topology and machine learning, we plan to characterize the state of textile objects and their transformations under given actions in a compact operational way (i.e. encoding task-relevant topological changes), which would permit probabilistic planning of actions (first one handed, then bimanual) that ensure reaching a desired cloth configuration despite noisy perceptions and inaccurate actions.In our approach, the robot will learn manipulation skills from an initial human demonstration, subsequently refined throughreinforcement learning, plus occasional requests for user advice. The skills will be encoded as parameterised dynamicalsystems, and safe interaction with humans will be guaranteed by using a predictive controller based on a model of the robotdynamics. Prototypes will be developed for 3 envisaged applications: recognizing and folding clothes, putting an elasticcover on a mattress or a car seat, and helping elderly and disabled people to dress. The broad Robotics and AI backgroundof the PI and the project narrow focus on clothing seem most appropriate to obtain a breakthrough in this hard fundamentalresearch topic. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learningreinforcement learningengineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2016-ADG - ERC Advanced Grant Call for proposal ERC-2016-ADG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant Coordinator AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS Net EU contribution € 2 194 024,00 Address Calle serrano 117 28006 Madrid Spain See on map Region Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS Spain Net EU contribution € 2 194 024,00 Address Calle serrano 117 28006 Madrid See on map Region Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Third-party Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure. UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA Spain Net EU contribution € 305 125,00 Address Calle jordi girona 31 08034 Barcelona See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
