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object rotate in-hand, it is possible to reach a vertical orientation
without moving the robot, making the task much easier.
Flat solutions are being used in the REMODEL European
project for the manipulation of Deformable Linear Objects
(DLOs), in particular for cables. One of the project use cases is
the automated assembly of switchgears. A fundamental task
in the assembling phase is the insertion, with the following
mechanical connection, of the wire tip into the holes of the electromechanical
components, constituting the switchgear. For
the correct implementation of this task, under the assumptions
to know the positions of the sensor reference frame and of the
hole frame, it is possible to estimate a wire end frame, on the
basis of the tactile map. By aligning the wire end frame with
the hole frame, it is possible to correctly complete the task. Additional
assumptions concern the initial positioning of the wire
to grasp, which must ensure that the length of the protruding
part for the grasped wire remains almost constant. The whole
task can be executed as four subtasks: wire grasping from its
initial position, approaching to the hole frame, correction of
wire position and orientation on the basis of estimated wire
end frame, and final insertion. The tactile data are used for the
implementation of the correction subtask, without which the
insertion can be completed. In detail, the tactile map is used
to estimate the parameters of a quadratic model that approximates
the shape of the grasped wire. By knowing, from the
assumptions, the length of the protruding part, the parameters
of this part can also be estimated by fixing an estimated wire
end frame on the tip of the wire. In Fig. 2, an example of wire
shape estimation is shown, while Fig. 5 reports a sketch and
pictures from an experiment about how the estimated frame
is used. In particular, the estimated wire end frame is used to
correct the robotic trajectory in order to align this frame with
the hole frame, so that the final insertion can be completed. Finally,
note that the same tactile sensor data can be used to check
if during the insertion, unexpected contact occurs and if after
the screwing, the wire result is firmly connected [9].
Conclusions
This paper presented the evolution of tactile sensing technology
and the associated control methodology developed in our laboratory.
Tactile sensing is of paramount importance in unstructured
scenarios where the robot has to grasp objects of unknown
weight or deformable objects that change their shape as soon as
they are grasped. We showed how it is possible to combine our
tactile sensors at fingertips and suitable estimation and control
algorithms to manipulate both an object in a pick-and-place operation
and a deformable cable in an automated assembly task.
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Marco Costanzo (marco.costanzo@unicampania.it) is currently
a Research Fellow at the University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Italy. He received the Ph.D. degree in 2021 in Industrial
and Information Engineering with a thesis on in-hand
manipulation and the master's degree in 2017 in Information
Engineering. His research interests include advanced robotic
manipulation by using force/tactile sensing, as well as multimodal
sensing for safe human-robot interaction.
Salvatore Pirozzi (salvatore.pirozzi@unicampania.it) is an
Associate Professor with the University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli, Italy. His research interests include design and
modelling of innovative sensors, in particular of tactile solutions,
as well as interpretation and fusion of data acquired
from the developed sensors.
IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine
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