I.AM: Impact aware manipulation in logistics
Europe is leading the market of torque-controlled robots. These robots can withstand physical interaction with the environment, some also including impacts, while providing accurate sensing and actuation capabilities. I.AM. leveraged this technology and strengthened European leadership by endowing robots to exploit intentional impacts for manipulation. I.AM. focused on impact-aware manipulation for material handling in logistics, a new area of application for robotics that will grow considerably due to socio-economical drivers such as e-commerce booming and labor scarcity.
Alessandro Saccon, Associate Professor Robotics and Nonlinear Control (TU Eindhoven): “Now, we can make robots swiftly grab heavy objects with two arms, employing new methods that respect the natural impact dynamics of the system."
Impact
The research done by I.AM. resulted in robots that are impact-aware and are suited for fast physical interactions. That means the robots needed to learn to predict and react to what happens when they come into fast contact with heavy objects in the environment. That makes these robots different from traditional robots.
Typical robots are not designed to interact dynamically with their environment; making fast contact with surroundings is generally avoided. Much previous research has been focused on collision avoidance. The I.AM project targeted collision exploitation instead. The team looked into how a robot can, for example, hit heavy objects while ensuring that the execution of this action is reliable despite disturbances and perception inaccuracies.
The team discovered how to make robots swiftly grab a heavy object by developing new control and learning algorithms that respect the natural impact dynamics. They also understood how to use software simulations to obtain reliable predictions in intentional impact scenarios. This is essential in application domains requiring swift material handling, such as in warehouses and airports. The expected benefits include machine footprint reduction and limitation of worker injuries.
More info: https://i-am-project.eu/
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