Bodyware - Force control

    We are working on equipping our robots with sensors to grade how much force is exerted in the interaction with the environment. We are taking various approaches ranging from joint-level sensing, exploiting generic 6-axis force/torque sensors (also in collaboration with the Advanced Robotics department) and designing new cable tension sensors. The goal is to make the interaction with the iCub safer by controlling the robot’s mechanical impedance.

    People: Matteo Fumagalli, Alberto Parmiggiani, Marco Randazzo, Francesco Nori, Lorenzo Natale
    Related project: CHRIS


    6axis-james FEM
    The humanoid robot James with details on the position of a 6-axis f/t sensor FEM analys of cable tension sensor (above) and of a joint pulley of the iCub (below)

    References:

    L. Jamone, G. Metta, F. Nori and G. Sandini. James: A Humanoid Robot Acting over an Unstructured World. In IEEE/RAS conference on humanoid robots - Humanoids 2006, December 4-6th, 2006, Genoa, Italy.

    L. Natale, F. Nori, G. Sandini. G. Metta. Learning precise 3D reaching in a humanoid robot. In IEEE ICDL 2007. London, UK. July 11-13, 2007.