Event Location: GHC 6501Abstract: Many approaches to improving robotic manipulation have focused on reach-to-grasp tasks, where the arm motion and hand configuration are planned for grasping an object. In these solutions, the object placement is often considered fixed in the environment and is carefully grasped from its presented configuration. In contrast, humans often take advantage [...]

Event Location: NSH 3002Abstract: Society is becoming more automated with robots beginning to perform most tasks in factories and starting to help out in home and office environments. Arguably, one of the most important functions of robots is the ability to manipulate objects in their environment to accomplish primitive tasks. Because the space of possible [...]

Event Location: NSH 3002Abstract: Assembly is a task at which robots excel, but only as long as they operate in well-controlled environments such as factories or assembly lines. This thesis presents a comprehensive planning and execution framework that enables mobile manipulator robots to overcome this limitation and assemble large structures in physically challenging environments. In [...]