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Current Projects
- RiSE
The RiSE project is a collaboration among researchers at the University
of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, Lewis & Clark
University and Boston Dynamics Inc. to develop an agile climbing robot
based on principles gleaned from the study of climbing animals. This
project is generously funded by the DARPA Biodynotics Program.
Previous Projects
- Tactile Sensing for Exploration
and Dexterous Manipulation
Tactile Sensing and Information Processing for Man and Machine Systems
is a joint project with Professor Gregory
Kovacs of the Center for Integrated Systems (CIS) Transducers
Group at Stanford and with Professors Robert Howe and Roger Brockett
at the Harvard Robotics Laboratory
to investigate mechanisms for acquiring and interpreting information
from tactile sensors for use with robotic and teleoperated hands. For
robotic hands we are also exploring how to program and control hands
that use tactile sensors. For teleoperated hands we are exploring how
best to relay haptic information to human operators. For part of this
work we are collaborating with physiologists from the University of
Umea, Sweden. This project is sponsored by the Perceptual Sciences Division
of the Office of Naval Research.
- Haptic Exploration Stylus
Haptic Exploration Stylus for Telegeology is a joint project with the
Intelligent Mechanisms
Group of the NASA Ames Research
Center to investigate issues surrounding using a needle-like sensor
to make teleoperated and autonomous geological observations. The project
involves developing a stylus sensor to collect haptic information useful
to a telescientist, interpreting the information, storing it, and displaying
the information on a haptic replay device.
- Interview
with Prof. Vermeij. Prof. Vermeij is a blind paleontologist
at U.C. Davis. He describes how he uses haptic feedback for field
exploration.
- Haptic Environment
Identification with Friction
Haptic Environment Identification is joint project with Interval Corporation.
Although friction is becoming increasingly important in manipulation,
the current state of the art in terms of identifying, modeling and displaying
frictional properties through a haptic interface is primitive. We are
therefore undertaking a series of experiments and analyses aimed at
identifying the main frictional properties of small devices and displaying
them through a haptic interface. See publications
by Christopher Richard and his thesis.
- Haptics in Education: The
Haptic Paddle
The haptic paddle is a one degree of freedom force-feedback joystick
that was developed to illustrate principles in an undergraduate mechanical
engineering class (ME161: Dynamic Systems) at Stanford University. The
goal was to create a demonstration tool that would be inexpensive, flexible,
and fun for the students.
Videos
- (387K) Telemanipulating a two fingered robot with
Virtual Technology's CyberGlove with
force-feedback. Forces sensed at the robotic fingers are replayed to
the user through the ungrounded device. Tests were performed, showing
that users could discriminate between objects with less than 0.5 cm
difference in width.
- Two short video clips of event-based manipulation
with a two-fingered hand:
- (137K)
Responding to an event in which an object is stripped from the grasp,
causing a hard constraint to be violated and prompting a transition
to a new phase in which the fingers retract.
- (223K)
Assembling an object into a corner. The corner location is unexpectedly
moved so that an object/floor contact occurs before finalassembly.
This event triggers a transition to a sliding phase that brings
the object into the corner.
Other Projects
- Object Proximity Sensing
for a Robot Arm
Proximity Sensing for Workstation Assistant Robot is a joint project
with the ProVAR Group at the
VA Rehabilitation Research and
Development Center to design and integrate proximity sensing capabilities
into a workstation assistant robot for quadriplegic individuals. The
goal is to use this sensing system as a safety measure (to prevent robot
collision with the workstation user) as well as a precision guide for
grasping objects. The particular sensor under investigation is the "Capaciflector".
- CCRMA-Related Projects
Other projects associated with the Dextrous Manipulation Lab through
the Center for Computer
Research in Music and Acoustics
(CCRMA):
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