Zero-shot Sim-to-Real Transfer for Reinforcement Learning-based Visual Servoing of Soft Continuum Arms

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Yang, Hsin-Jung, Khosravi, Mahsa, Walt, Benjamin, Krishnan, Girish, Sarkar, Soumik
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Yang, Hsin-Jung
Khosravi, Mahsa
Walt, Benjamin
Krishnan, Girish
Sarkar, Soumik
author_facet Yang, Hsin-Jung
Khosravi, Mahsa
Walt, Benjamin
Krishnan, Girish
Sarkar, Soumik
contents Soft continuum arms (SCAs) soft and deformable nature presents challenges in modeling and control due to their infinite degrees of freedom and non-linear behavior. This work introduces a reinforcement learning (RL)-based framework for visual servoing tasks on SCAs with zero-shot sim-to-real transfer capabilities, demonstrated on a single section pneumatic manipulator capable of bending and twisting. The framework decouples kinematics from mechanical properties using an RL kinematic controller for motion planning and a local controller for actuation refinement, leveraging minimal sensing with visual feedback. Trained entirely in simulation, the RL controller achieved a 99.8% success rate. When deployed on hardware, it achieved a 67% success rate in zero-shot sim-to-real transfer, demonstrating robustness and adaptability. This approach offers a scalable solution for SCAs in 3D visual servoing, with potential for further refinement and expanded applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_16916
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Zero-shot Sim-to-Real Transfer for Reinforcement Learning-based Visual Servoing of Soft Continuum Arms
Yang, Hsin-Jung
Khosravi, Mahsa
Walt, Benjamin
Krishnan, Girish
Sarkar, Soumik
Robotics
Systems and Control
Soft continuum arms (SCAs) soft and deformable nature presents challenges in modeling and control due to their infinite degrees of freedom and non-linear behavior. This work introduces a reinforcement learning (RL)-based framework for visual servoing tasks on SCAs with zero-shot sim-to-real transfer capabilities, demonstrated on a single section pneumatic manipulator capable of bending and twisting. The framework decouples kinematics from mechanical properties using an RL kinematic controller for motion planning and a local controller for actuation refinement, leveraging minimal sensing with visual feedback. Trained entirely in simulation, the RL controller achieved a 99.8% success rate. When deployed on hardware, it achieved a 67% success rate in zero-shot sim-to-real transfer, demonstrating robustness and adaptability. This approach offers a scalable solution for SCAs in 3D visual servoing, with potential for further refinement and expanded applications.
title Zero-shot Sim-to-Real Transfer for Reinforcement Learning-based Visual Servoing of Soft Continuum Arms
topic Robotics
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.16916