High Accuracy Mobile Manipulation in Challenging Environments

Accepted full-day workshop at external pageICRA 2019. May 23, 2019 8:30-17:00, Room 517d, Palais des congrès de Montréal. Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

Robotic technologies have revolutionized industrial manufacturing because of their ability to locate tools in 3D space with superhuman accuracy. This ability has not yet transferred to mobile robots, however. As a result, mobile robots still struggle to perform manipulation tasks quickly and reliably outside of industrial environments. The need for such capabilities are prevalent in emerging applications such as building construction, mining, space and service robotics, where mobile robots need to modify their environment through physical interaction. The grand challenge in developing such systems lies in the requirement for seamless integration of advanced sensing, control, and hardware systems. This systems-level challenge motivates the need for researchers working in these different areas to come together to consider the broader goal of developing highly capable mobile manipulation systems. By linking the needs of the various applications considered with the capabilities of state-of-the-art robotic methods, we hope to:

• Identify capability gaps in modern mobile manipulation systems

• Motivate challenges within the considered robotic domains which are currently limiting the applicability of modern mobile manipulation systems

• Find synergies among researchers who work in similar technical areas but consider different robotic applications