Locomotion as Manipulation with ReachBot

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chen, Tony G., Newdick, Stephanie, Di, Julia, Bosio, Carlo, Ongole, Nitin, Lapotre, Mathieu, Pavone, Marco, Cutkosky, Mark R.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Chen, Tony G.
Newdick, Stephanie
Di, Julia
Bosio, Carlo
Ongole, Nitin
Lapotre, Mathieu
Pavone, Marco
Cutkosky, Mark R.
author_facet Chen, Tony G.
Newdick, Stephanie
Di, Julia
Bosio, Carlo
Ongole, Nitin
Lapotre, Mathieu
Pavone, Marco
Cutkosky, Mark R.
contents Caves and lava tubes on the Moon and Mars are sites of geological and astrobiological interest but consist of terrain that is inaccessible with traditional robot locomotion. To support the exploration of these sites, we present ReachBot, a robot that uses extendable booms as appendages to manipulate itself with respect to irregular rock surfaces. The booms terminate in grippers equipped with microspines and provide ReachBot with a large workspace, allowing it to achieve force closure in enclosed spaces such as the walls of a lava tube. To propel ReachBot, we present a contact-before-motion planner for non-gaited legged locomotion that utilizes internal force control, similar to a multi-fingered hand, to keep its long, slender booms in tension. Motion planning also depends on finding and executing secure grips on rock features. We use a Monte Carlo simulation to inform gripper design and predict grasp strength and variability. Additionally, we use a two-step perception system to identify possible grasp locations. To validate our approach and mechanisms under realistic conditions, we deployed a single ReachBot arm and gripper in a lava tube in the Mojave Desert. The field test confirmed that ReachBot will find many targets for secure grasps with the proposed kinematic design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_00973
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Locomotion as Manipulation with ReachBot
Chen, Tony G.
Newdick, Stephanie
Di, Julia
Bosio, Carlo
Ongole, Nitin
Lapotre, Mathieu
Pavone, Marco
Cutkosky, Mark R.
Robotics
Caves and lava tubes on the Moon and Mars are sites of geological and astrobiological interest but consist of terrain that is inaccessible with traditional robot locomotion. To support the exploration of these sites, we present ReachBot, a robot that uses extendable booms as appendages to manipulate itself with respect to irregular rock surfaces. The booms terminate in grippers equipped with microspines and provide ReachBot with a large workspace, allowing it to achieve force closure in enclosed spaces such as the walls of a lava tube. To propel ReachBot, we present a contact-before-motion planner for non-gaited legged locomotion that utilizes internal force control, similar to a multi-fingered hand, to keep its long, slender booms in tension. Motion planning also depends on finding and executing secure grips on rock features. We use a Monte Carlo simulation to inform gripper design and predict grasp strength and variability. Additionally, we use a two-step perception system to identify possible grasp locations. To validate our approach and mechanisms under realistic conditions, we deployed a single ReachBot arm and gripper in a lava tube in the Mojave Desert. The field test confirmed that ReachBot will find many targets for secure grasps with the proposed kinematic design.
title Locomotion as Manipulation with ReachBot
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.00973