Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang, Zongyuan, Lehnert, Christopher, Browne, Will N., Roberts, Jonathan M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.20596
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917385011724288
author Zhang, Zongyuan
Lehnert, Christopher
Browne, Will N.
Roberts, Jonathan M.
author_facet Zhang, Zongyuan
Lehnert, Christopher
Browne, Will N.
Roberts, Jonathan M.
contents Acoustic feedback is a critical indicator for assessing the contact condition between the tool and the workpiece when humans perform grinding tasks with rotary tools. In contrast, robotic grinding systems typically rely on force sensing, with acoustic information largely ignored. This reliance on force sensors is costly and difficult to adapt to different grinding tools, whereas audio sensors (microphones) are low-cost and can be mounted on any medium that conducts grinding sound. This paper introduces a low-cost Acoustic Feedback Robotic Grinding System (AFRG) that captures audio signals with a contact microphone, estimates grinding force from the audio in real time, and enables closed-loop force control of the grinding process. Compared with conventional force-sensing approaches, AFRG achieves a 4-fold improvement in consistency across different grinding disc conditions. AFRG relies solely on a low-cost microphone, which is approximately 200-fold cheaper than conventional force sensors, as the sensing modality, providing an easily deployable, cost-effective robotic grinding solution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_20596
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Acoustic Feedback for Closed-Loop Force Control in Robotic Grinding
Zhang, Zongyuan
Lehnert, Christopher
Browne, Will N.
Roberts, Jonathan M.
Robotics
Acoustic feedback is a critical indicator for assessing the contact condition between the tool and the workpiece when humans perform grinding tasks with rotary tools. In contrast, robotic grinding systems typically rely on force sensing, with acoustic information largely ignored. This reliance on force sensors is costly and difficult to adapt to different grinding tools, whereas audio sensors (microphones) are low-cost and can be mounted on any medium that conducts grinding sound. This paper introduces a low-cost Acoustic Feedback Robotic Grinding System (AFRG) that captures audio signals with a contact microphone, estimates grinding force from the audio in real time, and enables closed-loop force control of the grinding process. Compared with conventional force-sensing approaches, AFRG achieves a 4-fold improvement in consistency across different grinding disc conditions. AFRG relies solely on a low-cost microphone, which is approximately 200-fold cheaper than conventional force sensors, as the sensing modality, providing an easily deployable, cost-effective robotic grinding solution.
title Acoustic Feedback for Closed-Loop Force Control in Robotic Grinding
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.20596