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Upcoming tutorial at IROS 2024

We are pleased to announce an upcoming tutorial titled “Foundations of Interaction Control for Contact Robots: Energy-Based Methods and Interactive Learning”  at International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2024) in Abu Dhabi featuring presentation on Unified Force-Impedance Control by Sami Haddadin from Technical University of Munich.

Abstract:

Unified force-impedance control (UFIC) aims at integrating the advantages of impedance control and force control. Compliance and exact force regulation are equally important abilities in modern robot manipulation. The developed passivity-based framework builds on the energy tank concept and is suitable for serial rigid and flexible-joint robots. Furthermore, it is able to deal either with direct force measurements or model-based contact force estimation. Thus, in this theoretical framework, the most relevant practical systems are covered and shown to be stable for arbitrary passive environments. Particular focus is also laid on a robust impedance-based contact/non-contact stabilization methodology that prevents abrupt, unwanted, and potentially dangerous movements of the manipulator in case of contact loss, a well-known problem of both impedance and force control. The validity of the approach is shown in simulation and through various experiments. Our work roots in Haddadin (2015); Schindlbeck and Haddadin (2015), where the basic UFIC regulation controller was proposed. In the present paper, we significantly advance this idea into a complete theoretical UFIC tracking framework, including rigorous stability analysis and extensive experimental evidence.

For more information, please visit the tutorial’s website.

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ReconCycle at IFAM 2024

The results of the project, regarding the automatic disassembly of smoke detectors, were presented at the trade fair for automation, mechatronics, sensor technology, and measurement technologies (IFAM 2024) in Ljubljana, Slovenia from February 13th–15th 2024.

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President of Slovenia visited ReconCycle demonstrator at JSI

On June 2nd, 2023, the president of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, paid a visit to JSI. The director of the institute, along with his colleagues, provided her with an overview of the institute’s organization and activities, as well as current events both within the institute and in the broader scientific community. They talked about developments in the field of robotics, artificial intelligence, physics, biochemistry and environmental sciences. The president also visited the Department of Automatics, Biocybernetics, and Robotics, where we had the opportunity to showcase the ReconCycle project and the ReconCycle workcell in more detail. During the visit, we provided a demonstration of a simplified disassembly use case, illustrating the innovative technologies and processes employed in the project.

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qbrobotics grippers at ICRA 2023

ICRA 2023 was held from May 29th – June 2nd in the International Convention Centre (ICC) of ExCeL, London, UK. In the conference exhibition area, qbrobotics showed the grasping and manipulation versatility of qb SoftHand 2 Reserch and the integration of sensing capabilities on the Variable Stiffness Gripper. Both devices were in part developed in ReconCycle project.

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Plenary of Antonio Bicchi at ICRA 2022

The head of IIT research team in ReconCycle Antonio Bicchi was a plenary speaker at ICRA 2022, which was held in Philadelphia, USA. In his talk prof. Bicchi discussed embodied intelligence as determined and anticipated by the physics of the body which mediates our interaction with the world. He explained how artificial hands and haptics, prostheses and avatars can be conceived and realized to better serve humans in different environments. His presentation included the results from several projects including ReconCycle.