A Method for Selecting the Next Best Angle-of-Approach for Touch-Based Identification of Beam Members in Truss Structures

A robot designed to climb truss structures such as power transmission towers is expected to have an adequate tactile sensing in the grippers to identify a structural beam member and its properties. Depending on how a gripper grasps a structural member, defined as the Angle-of-Approach (AoA), the extracted tactile data can result in erroneous identifications due to the similarities in beam cross-sectional shapes and sizes. In these cases, further grasps at favorable Angles-of-Approach (AoAs) are required to correctly identify the beam member and its properties. This paper presents an information-based method which uses tactile data to determine the next best AoA for the identification of beam members in truss structures. The method is used in conjunction with a state estimate of beam shape, dimension, and AoA calculated by a Random Forest classifier. The method is verified through simulation by using the data collected using a soft gripper retrofitted with simple tactile sensors. The results show that this method can correctly identify a structural beam member and its properties with a small number of grasps (typically fewer than 4). This method can be applied to other adaptive robotic gripper designs fitted with suitable tactile sensors, regardless of the number of sensors used and their layout.

[1]  Heinz Wörn,et al.  Haptic object recognition using passive joints and haptic key features , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[2]  Joel W. Burdick,et al.  The next best touch for model-based localization , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[3]  Mehmet Remzi Dogar,et al.  Robust proprioceptive grasping with a soft robot hand , 2018, Auton. Robots.

[4]  Aude Billard,et al.  Multi-contact haptic exploration and grasping with tactile sensors , 2016, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[5]  R. Klatzky,et al.  Identifying objects from a haptic glance , 1995, Perception & psychophysics.

[6]  Ian D. Walker,et al.  Kinematics and the Implementation of an Elephant's Trunk Manipulator and Other Continuum Style Robots , 2003, J. Field Robotics.

[7]  Mehmet Remzi Dogar,et al.  Haptic identification of objects using a modular soft robotic gripper , 2015, 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).

[8]  Daniel M. Vogt,et al.  Soft Somatosensitive Actuators via Embedded 3D Printing , 2018, Advanced materials.

[9]  Jivko Sinapov,et al.  Object category recognition by a humanoid robot using behavior-grounded relational learning , 2011, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[10]  Danica Kragic,et al.  Enhancing visual perception of shape through tactile glances , 2013, 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[11]  Aaron M. Dollar,et al.  Single-Grasp Object Classification and Feature Extraction with Simple Robot Hands and Tactile Sensors , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Haptics.

[12]  Dikai Liu,et al.  A topology optimisation based design of a compliant gripper for grasping objects with irregular shapes , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM).

[13]  Gerald E. Loeb,et al.  Bayesian Exploration for Intelligent Identification of Textures , 2012, Front. Neurorobot..

[14]  Koh Hosoda,et al.  Repetitive grasping with anthropomorphic skin-covered hand enables robust haptic recognition , 2008, 2008 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[15]  R. Klatzky,et al.  Hand movements: A window into haptic object recognition , 1987, Cognitive Psychology.

[16]  Dikai Liu,et al.  Experimental Verification of a Completely Soft Gripper for Grasping and Classifying Beam Members in Truss Structures , 2018, 2018 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM).

[17]  R. Adam Bilodeau,et al.  Monolithic fabrication of sensors and actuators in a soft robotic gripper , 2015, 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).

[18]  Kaspar Althoefer,et al.  A computationally fast algorithm for local contact shape and pose classification using a tactile array sensor , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[19]  Tony J. Dodd,et al.  Feeling the Shape: Active Exploration Behaviors for Object Recognition With a Robotic Hand , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems.

[20]  Veronica J. Santos,et al.  Haptic exploration of fingertip-sized geometric features using a multimodal tactile sensor , 2014, Sensing Technologies + Applications.

[21]  Nathan F. Lepora,et al.  Exploratory Tactile Servoing With Active Touch , 2017, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

[22]  Yiannis Demiris,et al.  Incrementally Learning Objects by Touch: Online Discriminative and Generative Models for Tactile-Based Recognition , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Haptics.

[23]  Pejman Iravani,et al.  Bayesian tactile object recognition: Learning and recognising objects using a new inexpensive tactile sensor , 2015, 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

[24]  Henrik I. Christensen,et al.  Custom soft robotic gripper sensor skins for haptic object visualization , 2017, 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).

[25]  Robin Andrew Russell,et al.  Object recognition by a 'smart' tactile sensor , 2000 .

[26]  C. Balkenius,et al.  Experiments with Proprioception in a Self-Organizing System for Haptic Perception , 2007 .

[27]  Kaspar Althoefer,et al.  Novel Tactile-SIFT Descriptor for Object Shape Recognition , 2015, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[28]  Susan J. Lederman,et al.  Extracting object properties through haptic exploration. , 1993, Acta psychologica.

[29]  Yonghua Chen,et al.  Innovative Design of Embedded Pressure and Position Sensors for Soft Actuators , 2018, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

[30]  Trevor Darrell,et al.  Using robotic exploratory procedures to learn the meaning of haptic adjectives , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[31]  Wolfram Burgard,et al.  Object identification with tactile sensors using bag-of-features , 2009, 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[32]  Giorgio Battistelli,et al.  A novel Bayesian filtering approach to tactile object recognition , 2016, 2016 IEEE-RAS 16th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids).

[33]  Allison M. Okamura,et al.  Haptic exploration of objects with rolling and sliding , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[34]  Mats Jackson,et al.  Bending angle prediction and control of soft pneumatic actuators with embedded flex sensors: a data-driven approach , 2017 .

[35]  Ruzena Bajcsy,et al.  Object exploration in one and two fingered robots , 1987, Proceedings. 1987 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[36]  Leo Breiman,et al.  Random Forests , 2001, Machine Learning.

[37]  Francesco Zanichelli,et al.  Haptic object recognition with a dextrous hand based on volumetric shape representations , 1994, Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Conference on MFI '94. Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems.

[38]  Kenneth S. Roberts,et al.  Haptic object recognition using a multi-fingered dextrous hand , 1989, Proceedings, 1989 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[39]  Gunther Heidemann,et al.  Dynamic tactile sensing for object identification , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[40]  Nikolaus Correll,et al.  A soft pneumatic actuator that can sense grasp and touch , 2015, 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).

[41]  Shinichi Hirai,et al.  A 3D printed soft gripper integrated with curvature sensor for studying soft grasping , 2016, 2016 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII).

[42]  Hui Yang,et al.  Size recognition and adaptive grasping using an integration of actuating and sensing soft pneumatic gripper , 2018, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[43]  John Nassour,et al.  Design of new Sensory Soft Hand: Combining air-pump actuation with superimposed curvature and pressure sensors , 2018, 2018 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft).

[44]  Giorgio Metta,et al.  Active contour following to explore object shape with robot touch , 2013, 2013 World Haptics Conference (WHC).

[45]  Dmitry Berenson,et al.  Improving Soft Pneumatic Actuator fingers through integration of soft sensors, position and force control, and rigid fingernails , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

[46]  Lorenzo Rosasco,et al.  Combining sensory modalities and exploratory procedures to improve haptic object recognition in robotics , 2016, 2016 IEEE-RAS 16th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids).

[47]  Robert J. Webster,et al.  Design and Kinematic Modeling of Constant Curvature Continuum Robots: A Review , 2010, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[48]  Alfonso García-Cerezo,et al.  Enhancing Perception with Tactile Object Recognition in Adaptive Grippers for Human–Robot Interaction , 2018, Sensors.

[49]  Anibal T. de Almeida,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of bending and pressure sensors for a soft prosthetic hand , 2018 .

[50]  Allison M. Okamura,et al.  Feature Detection for Haptic Exploration with Robotic Fingers , 2001, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[51]  Gregory D. Hager,et al.  Tactile-Object Recognition From Appearance Information , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.